By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Not since the movie King Kelly (SXSW Alum, 2012) have I seen a more modern style of filmmaking, besides the often frustrating found-footage horror film. 9 Rides takes place on a New Years Eve in the car of an Uber driver working the eventful night to… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: 9 RIDES
Category: Reviews
SXSW Film 2016 Review: DEMOLITION
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Close to two years ago, acclaimed director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) offered audiences the true story of Cheryl Strayed and how she overcame her grief for her deceased mother and her subsequent drug abuse in the amazing film Wild. This year Vallée and screenwriter Bryan Sipe brought to… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: DEMOLITION
Review: THE BOSS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 1.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Melissa McCarthy is a tremendously talented actress and comedian currently working in television and film. However, if she continues making comedy films that range from mediocre to exasperatingly bad, she will soon wear out her welcome. McCarthy has starred in good movies (Spy, St. Vincent,… Continue reading Review: THE BOSS
SXSW Film 2016 Review: THE GOOD NEIGHBOR
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) My second favorite Midnighter film of the festival is a suspenseful and edgy thriller that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud. Ethan (Logan Miller) and Sean (Keir Gilchrist) are two high school boys conducting a “social experiment.” They attempt to convince their grouchy neighbor Harold Grainey (James… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: THE GOOD NEIGHBOR
SXSW Film 2016 Review: PET
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) My favorite Midnighter of the festival is an utterly disturbing film about an animal shelter employee named Seth (Dominic Monaghan) who becomes so obsessed with his former high school classmate Claire (Jeanette McCurdy) that he takes her prisoner. Keeping her locked up in a cage in… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: PET
Austin Film Festival 2015 Review: I SAW THE LIGHT
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) 2015’s festival offered the highly anticipated biopic of Hank Williams starring Tom Hiddleston in the lead role. The British actor, best known for portraying Loki in three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, not only portrays the legendary country music singer, but does all of the… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2015 Review: I SAW THE LIGHT
SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
By Liz Lopez Rating: B+ Directed and written by Richard Linklater, Everybody Wants Some!! is the SXSW Film Festival Opening Night film in the Headliners category and after a couple of more screenings during the festival, followed by a fundraiser for the Austin Film Society on March 26th, it opens in theaters nationwide on April… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
SXSW Film 2016 Review: TRANSPECOS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature is a tense, nail-biting character-driven drama that takes place along the U.S./Mexico Border. A trio of Border Patrol agents are almost finished with their long, boring shift at a highway checkpoint in the desert. Young and… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: TRANSPECOS
Austin Film Festival 2015 Review: I SAW THE LIGHT
By Liz Lopez Rating: B Marc Abraham’s biopic of Hank Williams, I Saw the Light, has incredible performances from Tom Hiddleston (as Williams) and Elizabeth Olsen (as his first wife, Audrey), and several of Williams’ timeless songs, including Cold, Cold Heart, Your Cheatin’ Heart and Lovesick Blues among many others. I grew up hearing country… Continue reading Austin Film Festival 2015 Review: I SAW THE LIGHT
SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) I found it fitting that the opening night film of Austin’s largest and most recognized international film festival would feature the newest film by Austin favorite-son filmmaker Richard Linklater. Following the critical success of his twelve-year project Boyhood, Linklater decided to make what has been dubbed… Continue reading SXSW Film 2016 Review: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!