By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Currently playing in New York at the Angelika Film Center & CMX, and opening on April 26 in Los Angeles, is the new bold and provocative film by writer/director Jeff Lipsky. In 2015, I first discovered the work of Jeff Lipsky when a studio representative reached… Continue reading Review: THE LAST
Category: Reviews
SXSW 2019 Review: PET SEMATARY
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) At what was probably way too young an age, I read Stephen King’s horror novel Pet Sematary and was definitely spooked. King’s fresh spin on “the living dead” gave me chills and frights that probably kept me awake on some nights. I was also rather taken… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: PET SEMATARY
Film Review: Based on true events, “The Best of Enemies” Shows Changes in 1970s Durham
By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ First-time feature filmmaker Robin Bissell wrote the script inspired by “The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South” written by Osha Gray Davidson. Daily life in the mid-twentieth-century South was still not an easy time in North Carolina when the KKK still ran their operations very publicly.
Review: SHAZAM!
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) After receiving some mixed or negative critical responses with some of their recent DC films, it seems like Warner Bros. Studios has been working hard to salvage what they can from the DC Extended Universe. They did manage a big win with Wonder Woman, and achieved… Continue reading Review: SHAZAM!
Review: DUMBO
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) In 1941, Disney studios, in an attempt to recuperate from their financial losses from Fantasia, released a simple, but winning crowd pleaser. Dumbo went on to achieve great success, and at the time, some critical praise. However, the original film is definitely a product of its… Continue reading Review: DUMBO
Review: THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Tech wars is the material of modern legend, but at its core, the song remains the same. Money talks and b.s. walks. These are tge central themes of this indie drama by Kim Nguyen starring Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård. Not only does greed corrupt, but… Continue reading Review: THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT
SXSW 2019 Review: THE BEACH BUM
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Six years after Harmony Korine wowed and probably offended audiences at 2013’s SXSW with Spring Breakers, the rebellious director chose the Austin festival to debut his latest offering. Much like the director and the characters in some of his previous films, the titular protagonist of The… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: THE BEACH BUM
Film Review: Decades Later, the WW II Story Seen in “The Aftermath” Still Hits the Heart
By Liz Lopez Rating B – It is never easy to watch scenes of war – in any country or any era – and the opening scenes of “The Aftermath” shows the viewers what Hamburg, Germany looks like after the World War II bombing. The first part of the city we see is destroyed and… Continue reading Film Review: Decades Later, the WW II Story Seen in “The Aftermath” Still Hits the Heart
SXSW 2019 Review: US
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) After impressing audiences and critics with his directorial debut Get Out, Jordan Peele is back with a new horror entry which was selected as the opening night film for this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Though I would hardly call his second feature indicative of a sophomore… Continue reading SXSW 2019 Review: US
Review: THE MUSTANG
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) In the US, there is a program where wild Mustang horses are captured for their own protection and sent to prisons to be trained and auctioned. This program has been proven to be very therapeutic for inmates incarcerated for terrible crimes and allows them to find… Continue reading Review: THE MUSTANG