Review: RISK

By Liz Lopez Rating: B- Academy Award-winning director Laura Poitras (‘Citizenfour’) has had incredible access to WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, who has been under political asylum at London’s Ecuadorian embassy for several years. The documentary she directed and produced, “Risk”, arrives in United States theaters after the 2016 Cannes Film Festival (Directors’ Fortnight). Filmed over… Continue reading Review: RISK

Cine Las Americas 20 Review: ME ESTAS MATANDO SUSANA

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) On Wednesday, May 3, Austin’s 20th annual, Cine Las Americas International Film Festival began with this hilarious relationship comedy from Mexico.  Every year, the film festival highlights mostly Spanish language films from Mexico, Spain, the United States, and nations of Latin America.  The festival also features… Continue reading Cine Las Americas 20 Review: ME ESTAS MATANDO SUSANA

Review: THE DINNER

By Laurie Coker Rating: D Writer-director Oren Moverman’s The Dinner starring Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall and Richard Gere starts nowhere and ends in precisely the same place. Touted as a drama, mystery, suspense film, it is none of the above. Instead, it is a dark, muddled mess of nonsense and dysfunction. Based on… Continue reading Review: THE DINNER

Review: THE CIRCLE

By Laurie Coker Rating: D When a film doesn’t screen for press, red flags fly. The Circle starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson did not, at least not in Austin. It is not difficult to understand why. Riding on the heels of Beauty and the Beast, Watson even coupled with Hanks is given little with… Continue reading Review: THE CIRCLE

Review: NATASHA

By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Opening on April 28, 2017 in New York City is a truly remarkable film about Russian-Jewish immigrants living in Canada.  Written and directed by David Bezmozgis, Natasha is a coming-of-age story about an intelligent, and somewhat assimilated, Russian-Jewish teenager dealing with familial problems while trying to… Continue reading Review: NATASHA