Review: PHILOMENA

By Laurie Coker Rating: A- I realize it’s completely cliché to say this, but Dame Judi Dench could read a phone book and people would listen. Ms. Dench’s remarkable, venerable performance and the screenplay, adapted by her co-star Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope from Martin Sixsmith’s 2009 nonfiction book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee makes every… Continue reading Review: PHILOMENA

Review: BEST MAN HOLIDAY

By Laurie Coker Rating: B- In 1999, director Malcolm D. Lee gave us The Best Man, and this year, his all star cast returns in its sequel Best Man Holiday, catching  fans up on the lives of the same friends fifteen years later. Clear cast chemistry kept me connected to a film that sometimes flounders… Continue reading Review: BEST MAN HOLIDAY

Screening Pass Giveaway: THE BOOK THIEF

TVR invites you and a guest to a SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING 7:00 PM Thursday, November 21 Regal Arbor @ Great Hills 9828 Great Hills Trail, Suite 800 Austin Based on the beloved bestselling book, THE BOOK THIEF tells the inspirational story of a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when… Continue reading Screening Pass Giveaway: THE BOOK THIEF

AFF 2013 Review: NSFW

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) For those who are not-so-savvy in internet lingo, NSFW stands for Not Safe For Work. This abbreviation labels internet content that should only be viewed at home and not at work.  This film has this appropriate title, as the main character, Elenore (Audrey Kovar), spends much… Continue reading AFF 2013 Review: NSFW

AFF 2013 Review: ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) The final night of the Austin Film Festival fell on October 31 this year. Appropriately, the programmers of AFF chose to screen a horror film for their closing night movie.  Mixing comedy, horror, and some action, All Cheerleaders Die does deliver some laughs and thrills, but… Continue reading AFF 2013 Review: ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

AFF 2013 Review: CHILD OF GOD

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) James Franco’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s third novel is appropriately as raw, primitive and coarse as its feral title character.  Franco, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vince Jolivette, never filters or dilutes the sometimes sickening and often disturbing subject matter. This faithfulness to McCarthy’s novel makes… Continue reading AFF 2013 Review: CHILD OF GOD