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By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ Empty and idiotic about sums up the “horror/thriller” The Empty Man. Running an interminable two hours and seventeen minutes, writer/director David Prior’s vision never takes flight. Prior adapts his script from the popular graphic novel of the same name, but far too much goes unexplained and underplayed to garner attention… Continue reading THE EMPTY MAN

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Fourteen years later, actor/comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has returned as his most famous/infamous character, the often beloved, sometimes hated journalist from Kazakhstan named Borat. Call it serendipity or perfect timing, but Borat has returned to America at a crazy time. Going into this mockumentary, my obvious… Continue reading BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+ Take Out Girl is a little Indy film that almost could have been – great. Director Hisonni Johnson can’t quite pull off the tension necessary to capture the heart of the deeply disturbing story of desperation and deceit. Rich characters and a solid cast offer promise but the film falls… Continue reading TAKE OUT GIRL

By Laurie Coker Rating: C Filmmaking partners Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, best known for off-Hollywood-type films, team up in Synchronic, a sci-fi mystery starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan. Playing on their knack for arthouse-style filmmaking, the directing duo delves into some dark places -physical and mental – creating what might have been a… Continue reading Synchronic

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ The Devil Has a Name” is a fictionalized drama of true events in California. News in recent years have shed light on the practice of oil companies dumping toxic wastewater into vital waterways and director and Oscar-nominated actor Edward James Olmos’ latest feature the Central Valley’s water contamination, based on… Continue reading THE DEVIL HAS A NAME

By Laurie Coker Rating: C There is wonder in the escapism of classic literature. I love the beauty of a well-filmed period piece. Based on the riveting 1938 Daphne Du Maurier novel, director Ben Wheatley presents a tale of love and secrecy set against the backdrop of breathtaking Hartland Quay in Devon and Hatfield House… Continue reading REBECCA

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the children’s novel of the same name, The War With Grandpa is a fun and amiable movie for the whole family to enjoy. The film focusses on two vastly different generations, each with their own problems, but with one thing in common. Both parties… Continue reading THE WAR WITH GRANDPA