Category: Reviews

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The dust,  mixed reviews and responses to Disney’s Aladdin remake haven’t even had enough time to settle yet, and the studio is back with yet another redo.  This time Disney and director Jon Favreau have taken the Lion King story and have given it a photo… Continue reading Review: THE LION KING (2019)

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Considering that I saw a work-in-progress version of the film at this year’s SXSW, I held back from writing a review until I saw the actual theatrical version. Well, as it turns out, both versions are pretty much identical. And that’s a good thing too because… Continue reading Review: STUBER

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) After writer/director Ari Aster made a huge breakthrough last year with his near-perfect feature film debut, Hereditary, the talented horror auteur is back. Though strikingly different from his previous movie, Midsommar shows the filmmaker’s talents beautifully and is arguably one of the best horror films in… Continue reading Review: MIDSOMMAR

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) In just four MCU films, Peter Parker/Spider-Man has been through a lot. That is a bit of an understatement, considering that the hero’s ages in this movie’s universe has ranged between fifteen and sixteen. Queen’s beloved wall crawler just wants to go home and enjoy some… Continue reading Review: SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) “All you need is love. Love is all you need.” Simply, but beautifully put, these lyrics from one of The Beatles’ more beloved songs may as well have been the legendary band’s credo. It is most definitely the key theme of this film which delivers a… Continue reading Review: YESTERDAY

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Even though Disney/Pixar could have ended a successful franchise with a trilogy, they opted to make it a quadrilogy, and the results aren’t actually bad. The latest installment in the Toy Story saga shows a tremendous amount of love for its characters and stories; though I… Continue reading Review: TOY STORY 4

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) At this point in my work in film criticism, I have to just shug and go with the flow when I hear about a new remake. I mean; honestly, what can I do? When Disney, the world’s biggest studio is producing mostly remakes and others are… Continue reading Review: CHILD’S PLAY (2019)

By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) In East Jerusalem, teenager Benni (Avigail Kovari) and her most devout father Yehoshua (Gal Toren) cling to their faith and traditions while dealing with political strife and still coping with the tragic death of Benni’s mother and Yehoshua’s wife. Things become rather complicated and challenging when… Continue reading Israeli Film Center Festival 2019 Review: RED COW

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) This particular film from Ethiopian-Israeli director Aalam-Warqe Davidian tells a very desperate story of Jews in Ethiopia trying to escape persecution and civil war. The protagonist Mina (Betalehem Asmamawe), a 16 year-old young lady, and her family are attempting to illegally emigrate to Israel. Meanwhile, Mina’s… Continue reading Israeli Film Center Festival 2019 Review: FIG TREE