Category: Reviews

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) Inspired by the gothic novel by Sarah Waters, Academy Award nominated director Lenny Abrahamson (Room) has created a gloomy and occasionally eerie film that looks gorgeously dank and has plenty of mood to spare.  However, given all of its fine world building and aesthetic wickedness, the… Continue reading Review: THE LITTLE STRANGER

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) In 2014, directors Jonathan and Josh Baker released a short film titled Bag Man which further inspired the inventive filmmakers to do a feature film version of the story.  Four years later, the Bakers have returned with a finished product, an entertaining movie called Kin. Though… Continue reading Review: KIN

By Jan Hamilton Set in England, shortly after the Second World War, this movie is a combination of the British country manor drama and a scary movie, which are my favorite and least favorite movie categories, respectively. The film tells the story of young Dr. Faraday and his strange experiences with the Ayres family. Thirty… Continue reading Review: THE LITTLE STRANGER

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Now that smart phones, computers, internet and social media play such large roles in most people’s lives, it was only a matter of time before movies would follow suit.  The Blumhouse horror features Unfriended and Unfriended: Dark Web have both attempted to use electronic media in… Continue reading Review: SEARCHING

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) While there have been several films where an underappreciated and taken-for-granted housewife finds an escape from her usual rut, this particular film definitely has some strong assets in its stars Kelly Macdonald and Irrfan Khan.  The two talented and charming actors share an enjoyably awkward chemistry… Continue reading Review: PUZZLE

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 1.5 (Out of 4 Stars) From Brian Henson, son of late Muppet creator Jim Henson, comes a movie which attempts to entertain adult audiences with raunch, shock and awe, but ultimately falls flat. The Happytime Murders takes puppet characters similar to Jim Henson’s Muppets and places them in adult scenarios of… Continue reading Reviews: THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) With gorgeous visuals and beautiful and poignant beats, Albert Hughes’s sentimental film, which offers a fictionalized depiction of humanity’s first relationship with dogs, is sure to become a moderate crowd-pleaser.  Though the movie does have its magical moments, it does run a little too long by… Continue reading Review: ALPHA

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) Poor writing/character development, messy editing and inexplicable acting choices plague what is sometimes a grtipping and intense action-thriller by director Peter Berg.  Berg, who works with Indonesian actor/stuntman/ fight choreographer Iko Uwais, manages to create and capture some amazing action sequences of visceral violence, but just… Continue reading Review: MILE 22

By Mark Saldana  Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the popular novel by Kevin Kwan, Jon M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians may sometimes play like a soap opera or a typical romantic comedy, but it is actually more than that.  This charming and entertaining movie celebrates and critiques a beautiful Asian culture with… Continue reading Review: CRAZY RICH ASIANS