By Laurie Coker Rating B- Garth Stein’s transparent, yet touching tale and Kevin Costner’s gravelly voiceover of the canine lead in The Art of Racing in the Rain offer a breath of fresh air in a season fraught with dismal dramas and over-blown action thrillers. Regardless of the formulaic story ploys, director Simon Curtis manages to rise… Continue reading Review: THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN
Category: Reviews
Review: EDIE
By Laurie Coker Rating: B People who complete amazing feats of strength, determination, and perseverance fill the world. However, we rarely hear about octogenarians who climb mountains. Director Simon Hunter and screenwriter Elizabeth O’Halloran weave a beautiful tale of life after death – death of a husband that is. Sheila Hancock stars as Edie, a… Continue reading Review: EDIE
Review: PROMISE AT DAWN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) A single mother struggles to provide her son with the best and most successful life possible. Now I know this simple synopsis sounds rather cliche and common in cinema now. However, considering that the story takes place between the 1920s and 1950s makes this a more… Continue reading Review: PROMISE AT DAWN
Review: THE ANGEL HAS FALLEN
The angel HAS fallen. The Angel has Fallen is a sequel that should have fallen before it was in the can. Starring Gerard Butler, Morgan Freeman, and Jada Picket Smith, The Angel has Fallen relies too heavily on action and chase sequences and fails to deliver a story of any merit, not that one is… Continue reading Review: THE ANGEL HAS FALLEN
SXSW 2019 Review: “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins”
By Liz Lopez Rating: A Director Janice Engel’s feature documentary was screened during SXSW a few months ago and is easily one of my favorites from this year’s festival. I am not the only one to think so, as this film is an Audience Award Winner in the Festival Favorites category. Engel and Monique Zavistovski… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins”
Review: BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) So far, it has been a great year for inspirational, feel-good cinema. And considering that the real world has taken some scary and disturbing turns in the past few years, maybe crowd-pleasing cinema is just what the doctor has ordered. Comedic actress Jillian Bell gets her… Continue reading Review: BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON
Review: AFTER THE WEDDING
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on Suzanne Bier’s Danish film Efter brylluppet, After the Wedding has plenty of stong, compelling material, but its execution and presentation gets bogged down with indulgent melodrama and a third act and epilogue that play out rather flatly. I suppose an argument could be made… Continue reading Review: AFTER THE WEDDING
Review: ANGEL HAS FALLEN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) If anyone had asked me six years ago that I will enjoy the two sequels to Olympus Has Fallen, I would have thought them insane. Even though the films in this franchise franchise often have dumb and silly elements, they do have likable characters, incendiary action… Continue reading Review: ANGEL HAS FALLEN
Review: ONE CHILD NATION
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) In 1979, the government of China implemented a birth planning program which included a strict policy of limiting the birth of children to one per family in an attempt at controlling the population growth and improving a troubled economy. Though the nation was in need of… Continue reading Review: ONE CHILD NATION
Review: READY OR NOT
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) From directors Matt Bettinelli-Opus and Tyler Gillett comes a wicked dark comedy that takes a childhood staple and turns it into a “most dangerous game.” With a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, the directors offer audience delightfully disturbing and twisted doses of violence,… Continue reading Review: READY OR NOT