Category: Reviews

By Liz Lopez Rating: A Recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) stars as the leading character in The BFG (short for The Big Friendly Giant), directed by Steven Spielberg, based on screenwriter Melissa Mathison’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1982 children’s book. Even though I have not read the source material, nor viewed the… Continue reading Review: THE BFG

By Liz Lopez Rating: C In a matter of one week, I have viewed three films that have had images that I find disturbing and by the time I finished with the last one, Wiener-Dog, written and directed by Todd Solondz, my immediate thoughts were negative. I have viewed one of this filmmaker’s features before… Continue reading Review: WIENER-DOG

By Liz Lopez Rating: C Writers/directors The Daniels (Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan) are known for their music videos (Turn Down for What) and their first feature film to write and direct is Swiss Army Man that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won the Directing Award, and recently screened at… Continue reading Review: SWISS ARMY MAN

By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) After being underwhelmed by The Purge, and pleasantly surprised with the improved, but still problematic The Purge: Anarchy,  I now get to review the next chapter in the Purge franchise.  Writer/director James DeMonaco is back with another installment in his subversive series of violence and destruction.… Continue reading Review: THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Infamously known as the “farting corpse movie,” Swiss Army Man, all flatulence aside, is probably the most bizarre and most unique film of the year (so far).  At the same time, this movie might also be the most imaginative and heartwarming fantasy film of the year.… Continue reading Review: SWISS ARMY MAN

By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The true story of Southern revolutionary Newton Knight is a fascinating one.  Knight’s life and work was definitely ahead of its time, as he did more for race relations during that era, than any politician could.  His actions would have both positive and negative results for… Continue reading Review: THE FREE STATE OF JONES

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) After receiving universal acclaim with 2011’s Drive and discordant responses for 2013’s  Only God Forgives, Danish writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn is back in theaters with another film that has already polarized audiences and critics.  Refn’s The Neon Demon takes a story similar to All About Eve… Continue reading Review: THE NEON DEMON

By Liz Lopez Rating: A No matter what age a film fan is, he or she has probably heard of, if not viewed, the following films: Carrie, 1976; Dressed to Kill, 1980; Blow Out, 1981; Scarface, 1983; The Untouchables, 1987; Carlito’s Way, 1993; and Mission: Impossible, 1996. These are but a few of the feature… Continue reading Review: DE PALMA

By Laurie Coker Rating: A Thirteen years ago, when Finding Nemo hit theaters, nothing popped to indicate that ditzy, memory challenged Dory was lost. Now, Disney and Pixar bring back old favorites and new creature characters to offer the backstory to one of animated movies’ most beloved and likable characters. Finding Dory is a visually… Continue reading Review: FINDING DORY

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Kevin Hart’s comedies have been either hit or miss for me.  Though I enjoyed Get Hard and About Last Night, I had problems and complaints with the Think Like a Man movies, both Ride Along films and The Wedding Ringer.  I like Hart’s comic stylings, but… Continue reading Review: CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE