Category: Festivals

SXSW Film 2016 Review: DEMOLITION

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Close to two years ago, acclaimed director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) offered audiences the true story of Cheryl Strayed and how she overcame her grief for her deceased mother and her subsequent drug abuse in the amazing film Wild.  This year Vallée and screenwriter Bryan Sipe brought to… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: DEMOLITION

SXSW Film 2016 Review: HIRED GUNS

By Renee’ Collins Rating: 5 (Out of 5 Reels) A documentary film about session and touring musicians that are hired by well-established and famous bands and artists like Metallica, KISS, and Billy Joel. These hired guns may not be household names, but are still masters of their craft (IMDB). This is one of the best… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: HIRED GUNS

SXSW Film 2016 Review: THE GOOD NEIGHBOR

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) My second favorite Midnighter film of the festival is a suspenseful and edgy thriller that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud.  Ethan (Logan Miller) and Sean (Keir Gilchrist) are two high school boys conducting a “social experiment.”  They attempt to convince their grouchy neighbor Harold Grainey (James… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: THE GOOD NEIGHBOR

SXSW Film 2016 Review: PET

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) My favorite Midnighter of the festival is an utterly disturbing film about an animal shelter employee named Seth (Dominic Monaghan) who becomes so obsessed with his former high school classmate Claire (Jeanette McCurdy) that he takes her prisoner.  Keeping her locked up in a cage in… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: PET

SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Directed and written by Richard Linklater, Everybody Wants Some!! is the SXSW Film Festival Opening Night film in the Headliners category and after a couple of more screenings during the festival, followed by a fundraiser for the Austin Film Society on March 26th, it opens in theaters nationwide on April… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

SXSW Film 2016 Review: TRANSPECOS

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature is a tense, nail-biting character-driven drama that takes place along the U.S./Mexico Border.  A trio of Border Patrol agents are almost finished with their long, boring shift at a highway checkpoint in the desert.  Young and… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: TRANSPECOS

SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) I found it fitting that the opening night film of Austin’s largest and most recognized international film festival would feature the newest film by Austin favorite-son filmmaker Richard Linklater.  Following the critical success of his twelve-year project Boyhood, Linklater decided to make what has been dubbed… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

SXSW Film 2016 Review: MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special supernatural thriller had a North American Premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in the Headliners category and now is in theatrical release. Writer/director Nichols’ fourth feature reunites him with actor Michael Shannon (Take Shelter, Mud, Shotgun Stories). The film may appear to be one story at… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: MIDNIGHT SPECIAL