By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) At last year’s Fantastic Fest I watched and enjoyed an intense, edgy and visceral film titled Camino. Because the film stars stunt person-turned-actress Zoe Bell and director/actor Nacho Vigalondo, I went in pretty certain I was in for an exciting treat. Though I was mostly familiar… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2015 Review and Interview: CAMINO
Category: Reviews
Review: LONDON HAS FALLEN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Three years ago, the movie Olympus Has Fallen failed to impress me. The Antoine Fuqua-helmed action vehicle comes across as a Die Hard imitator, loaded with action film clichés and terrible writing. So when I first heard that Olympus producers Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel and screenwriters… Continue reading Review: LONDON HAS FALLEN
Review: ZOOTOPIA
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) The first major contender for best animated feature of the year has arrived. I know. I know. March has barely started and there are still nine months left in 2016. However, this movie really impressed me and I think it will be a tough act to… Continue reading Review: ZOOTOPIA
Review: SON OF SAUL
By Liz Lopez Rating: A Fantastic Fest Review Hungarian writer-director László Nemes feature debut, Son of Saul, (co-scripted with Clara Royer), was in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year and was a feature screened at the 2015 Fantastic Fest in Austin. By now with several film reviews available over the last few months,… Continue reading Review: SON OF SAUL
Review: TRIPLE 9
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) After leaving the screening for this movie and I having a chance to think everything over, I came to the conclusion that writer Matt Cook and director John Hillcoat are big Michael Mann (Heat, Collatteral) fans. Don’t get me wrong. I like his work also (except… Continue reading Review: TRIPLE 9
Review: EDDIE THE EAGLE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Normally I detest overly sentimental movies because they come across as artificial, saccharine and overtly manipulative. However, when a movie has a genuine heart at its core and tells a true and inspirational story, it is rather difficult in finding fault in someone for wanting to… Continue reading Review: EDDIE THE EAGLE
Review/Interview: TOUCHED WITH FIRE
By Liz Lopez Rating: B- [SXSW Review and New interview] Paul Dalio’s drama Touched with Fire Arrives in Theaters Nationwide People can connect in different ways and in different places, and each situation certainly has its own individual circumstances and story. These connections can lead to a romance between the individuals, even though some that… Continue reading Review/Interview: TOUCHED WITH FIRE
Review: RISEN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) There have been various movie adaptations about the life, work, death and impact of Jesus Christ, but most of these films follow a certain formula. The epic 1959 motion picture Ben Hur takes another route and tells a tale about the impact of Jesus on the… Continue reading Review: RISEN
Fantastic Fest 2015 Review: THE WITCH
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) My biggest complaint about horror films is that the filmmakers who make the movies often don’t take the material seriously and resort to hokem and cheap parlor tricks to jolt their audiences. Loud music, sudden loud noises, and other variations of jump scares might succeed in… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2015 Review: THE WITCH
Review: RACE
By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- Historical biopics hit and miss with audiences and sports films almost always lean toward the feel-good underdog narrative, but Jesse Owens’ story, as depicted in Race, plays on a balance of history and agreeable storytelling. More than just a snippet from the life of Owens’ himself, Race offers a tiny… Continue reading Review: RACE