By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) In 2014, John Wick hit theaters and offered audiences incendiary action sequences with outstanding stunt work, along with imaginative and exciting world building. This formula makes the first installment a cool and badass action flick that earned a gleeful fan base. More of these same elements that make… Continue reading Review: JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2
Category: Reviews
Review: I’M NOT YOUR NEGRO
By Laurie Coker Rating: A+ I’m Not Your Negro is perhaps one of the best films of its kind and is positively one of the best of the year. James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic, brings to theaters a moving look at the poignant and stormy account of… Continue reading Review: I’M NOT YOUR NEGRO
Review: THE COMEDIAN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) Taylor Hackford’s newest film is a bewildering and sometimes frustrating mess that does have some hilarious moments, but also has some painfully unfunny moments and poor development of its main character. Robert De Niro stars as a one-time comic superstar barely hanging on to the remains… Continue reading Review: THE COMEDIAN
Review: THE SPACE BETWEEN US
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) As far as teen romance movies go, this one, which incorporates a prominent sci fi element, is sweet, often adorable and has a lot of heart. Now, regarding the science fiction portion of the film, that’s where things get a tad silly, and the melodrama that… Continue reading Review: THE SPACE BETWEEN US
Review: A DOG’S PURPOSE
By Laurie Coker Rating: D+/C- Dog lovers will flock to see A Dog’s Purpose, based on the 2010 best-selling novel written by American humorist W. Bruce Cameron, but most will leave the theater disappointed. Top-billed veteran Dennis Quaid and actress Peggy Lipton (of Mod Squad fame) star alongside a variety of dogs in this overly… Continue reading Review: A DOG’S PURPOSE
Review: A DOG’S PURPOSE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The controversy surrounding this movie does raise questions about both the ethical treatment of animals on movie sets and the sensationalism that often comes with scandalous stories broken by notorious tabloid journalism. However, I am not here to address either issue within the controversy. Though I… Continue reading Review: A DOG’S PURPOSE
Review: GOLD
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The best thing about this latest, “Based on Actual Events,” movie is the earnest and passionate performance Matthew McConaughey gives in it. The worst thing, however, is the somewhat lackluster way that director Stephen Gaghan presents the story. Thankfully, Gold isn’t another Scorsese clone like American Hustle,… Continue reading Review: GOLD
Review: PATERSON
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Jim Jarmusch’s latest film tells the story of a humble artist who creates his work on his own terms, and seems to relish his struggle to create it regularly. I cannot think of another filmmaker more appropriate for telling this story than Jarmusch, an artist known… Continue reading Review: PATERSON
Review: SPLIT
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) After a bit of a dry spell of uncompelling work, M. Night Shyamalan made a bit of a comeback with his horror-thriller The Visit in 2015, a film that kept the production simple and the story elemental, intriguing, and ultimately frightening. Shymalan is back with another… Continue reading Review: SPLIT
Review: XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) As I left the theater following this screening, I had come to the conclusion that this film is ridiculous, dumb, over-the-top, and features some of the worst writing I had seen in a while. At the same time, I also realized that I had an absolute… Continue reading Review: XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE