By Liz Lopez Rating: A Many of us have heard of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom as the last film performance by the late Chadwick Boseman and have highly anticipated it. The new Netflix film is directed by George C. Wolfe based on the acclaimed play by August Wilson, adapted by film and television series actor,… Continue reading MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Category: MAIN
GREENLAND
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) When I signed up to review this film, I had the strong feeling that I had selected a disastrous disaster film. What I mean by disastrous is that I just had a bad feeling that this would be another horrendous overindulgent spectacle of bad CG destruction… Continue reading GREENLAND
FATALE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Both writer David Loughery and director Deon Taylor seem to enjoy making thriller flicks about psychotic obsessives, as this film isn’t their first rodeo. Last year, the filmmaking duo made the fun melodramatic thriller The Intruder. Now granted, both The Intruder and their latest collaboration, Fatale,… Continue reading FATALE
I’M YOUR WOMAN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Now available on Amazon Prime Video is a noir thriller that definitely had me on the edge of my seat with that utterly nervous feeling in my tummy. Actress Rachel Brosnahan shines brightly as a confused and frightened woman on the run with her child in… Continue reading I’M YOUR WOMAN
WANDER DARKLY
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Wander Darkly, in more ways than one, is an apt title for this film. For audiences, the film can feel like wandering around in the dark, looking for light and clarity. Writer/director Tara Miele disorients her audience quite effectively and often frustratingly. The journey does eventually… Continue reading WANDER DARKLY
Austin Film Festival 2020 Review: STARDUST
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) The fact that the Bowie estate disavowed this movie and did not allow the use of David Bowie’s music was definitely a bad sign from the get-go. Nevertheless, the Austin Film Festival, a movie fest which celebrates and whole-heartedly supports the role of writing in filmmaking,… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2020 Review: STARDUST
NOMADLAND
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) While Nomadland is mainly a character study of one woman’s attempt to survive and endure past hardships, it is also a reflection of a group of people who have given up the traditional life that once failed them. Writer/director Chloe Zhao has taken Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction… Continue reading NOMADLAND
BLACK BEAR
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The black bear is that elephant in the room that is the soul of humanity. It is the ugly, animalistic beast that often destroys, maims, and wreaks havoc when it escapes us. The black bear often emerges from within the hearts and souls of artists as… Continue reading BLACK BEAR
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo
By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Valencian filmmaker Javier Polo wrote the screenplay together with Sixto Xavier García about a sound engineer who always wears black and loves to record all different types of sounds in the environment on his time off from work. Coincidently, he begins to feel as if he is surrounded by pink… Continue reading The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo
INSERT COIN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) In the 1980s, video game companies Bally/Midway and Williams competed fiercely for the big money generated by coin operated games. The two companies merged in 1988 when Williams took over Bally/Midway after mother company Bally decided to diversify into other ventures. This blend of brains, talent,… Continue reading INSERT COIN