Category: Reviews

Review: FRANKIE

By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) From French New Wave to “Mumblecore” there have been some great films that beautifully create and capture candid slice of life moments while seemingly effortlessly developing characters and putting forth some powerful narratives. Unfortunately, Frankie is not one of those movies. Writer/director Ira Sachs makes a… Continue reading Review: FRANKIE

Review: DOCTOR SLEEP

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) To this day, Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining remains as an icon piece of horror cinema. Though King has never liked Kubrick’s take on his story, the movie has certainly had an impact on horror cinema that even King cannot deny. In 2013,… Continue reading Review: DOCTOR SLEEP

Review: MIDWAY

By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The bombing of Pearl Harbor certainly was such a shock to the U.S. government that forced their hands to get completely involved in World War II. However, the imperative and impactful Battle of Midway proved that America would not be completely defeated. The relevance of this… Continue reading Review: MIDWAY

Review: TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

Linda Hamilton, left, and Arnold Schwarzenegger star in Skydance Productions and Paramount Pictures' "TERMINATOR: DARK FATE."

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ The Terminator: Dark Fate feature film will be called a sequel, remake, reboot and on occasion, not necessary, but for die – hard and regular fans of the Terminator franchise, this is the film not to miss. Yes, there were some not so great films in the franchise after the… Continue reading Review: TERMINATOR: DARK FATE

Austin Film Festival 2019 Review: MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN

Gugu Mbatha-Raw (left) as Laura Rose and Edward Norton as Lionel Essrog in "Motherless Brooklyn."

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the novel of the same name by Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn has acclaimed actor Edward Norton pulling triple duty as screenwriter, director, and lead. If one knows even just a little bit about the process of feature film production, then it is clear that… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2019 Review: MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN

Austin Film Festival 2019 Review: HARRIET

4130_D002_00630_R Cynthia Erivo stars as Harriet Tubman in HARRIET, a Focus Features release. Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) On the opening night of the festival Austin Film Festival Executive Director Barbara Morgan talked about this year’s lineup of films and mentioned that there are several titles which could qualify as “Oscar bait.” I definitely have to applaud the programmers this year for assembling a… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2019 Review: HARRIET

Austin Film Festival 2019 Review: THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN

By Liz Lopez Rating: A There is nothing to soften the blow of what happened to Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. in his own home almost eight years ago. The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain film does not spare any punches and it made me feel as if I was present and watching the real events and actions… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2019 Review: THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN

Austin Film Festival 2019 Short Film Review: IT’S ME (ERA YO)

By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Andrea Casaseca has written and directed the family drama short film, “It’s Me” (Era Yo), and in the 11 minute 30 seconds that I viewed the film, I could not help but want to know more of this family’s story. The three main characters are created such that the audience… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2019 Short Film Review: IT’S ME (ERA YO)

Parasite

By Laurie Coker Rating: A+ Admittedly, I prefer to watch films with no subtitles. I become extremely distracted by them and miss things happening on the screen, but the film Parasite holds interest so intensely, that, like seeing a train wreck, it is impossible to look away. Director/ co-writer Bong Joon Ho and writer Han… Continue reading Parasite