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
Category: Reviews
SXSW 2017 Review: FITS AND STARTS
By Laurie Coker Rating: B Having enjoyed Sally Fields’ quirky little comedy, Hello My Name is Doris, seeing another film by writer/director Laura Terruso seemed a good option at SXSW this year. Indie films make for some of the best and yes, sometimes, the worst of the festival. Fits and Starts follows a struggling novelist… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: FITS AND STARTS
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
Review: HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) The name Eugenio Derbez is pretty well known among the citizens of Mexico, as well as Latino-Americans. The comedic actor has starred in many Spanish language films, and has made a few appearances in some English language ones. With How to Be A Latin Lover, Derbez… Continue reading Review: HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER
Review: THE LOST CITY OF Z
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) During the first three decades of the twentieth century, British military officer and renowned explorer Percival Harrison Fawcett led multiple expeditions through Brazil to discover the lost cities of legend, but achieved only moderate successes and never uncovered any cities of gold. His courage and tenacity… Continue reading Review: THE LOST CITY OF Z
Review: UNFORGETTABLE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Going into this movie, I was expecting something a little different from what I actually watched. The main trailer for the film comes across more melodramatic and fantastical, like a feature-length soap opera. The preview actually misleads, as the drama and thrills in Unforgettable are actually… Continue reading Review: UNFORGETTABLE
SXSW 2017 Review: FREE FIRE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Acclaimed British director Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers, High Rise) brought his latest film to this year’s SXSW. Free Fire, which features an extraordinary cast portraying a motley mix of colorful characters, is a classic “shoot ’em up” flick that delivers plenty of great lines and… Continue reading SXSW 2017 Review: FREE FIRE
Review: THEIR FINEST
By Renee’ Collins Rating: 4.5 (Out of 5 Reels) A British film crew attempts to boost morale during World War II by making a propaganda film after the Blitzkrieg (IMDB). Imagine what it is like to live in a place that is bombed daily and running into a bomb shelter or the tube in London… Continue reading Review: THEIR FINEST
Review: THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Who would’ve thought that after sixteen years, and seven films, the Fast & Furious movie franchise would still be racing along and having excited fans race to the cinemas for a dose of adrenaline-fueled fun and utter craziness? What is even more incredible is that after… Continue reading Review: THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS