By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Who is Norman Oppenheimer? What exactly does he do and why? The title of this film labels Norman as a “New York Fixer,” and the amiable, but pushy character can help fix things, but his meddling eventually gets him into trouble. After all, this a rise… Continue reading Review: NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER
Category: Reviews
Cine Las Americas 20 Review: EL CIUDADANO ILUSTRE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) My Cine Las Americas film festival continued the next night with this hilarious gem from Argentina. El Cidudano Ilustre/The Distinguished Citizen tells a rather amusing tale about Daniel Mantovani, a man who left his humble small town in Argentina to achieve both critical and financial success as… Continue reading Cine Las Americas 20 Review: EL CIUDADANO ILUSTRE
Review: SNATCHED
By Laurie Coker rating: B- Amy Schumer can be worrisome. Her devil may care attitude and trash talking potty mouth works for some, but is offing putting for others. Her new film, co-starring the delightful Goldie Hawn, Snatched allows her to be funny without too much over-the-top nastiness. Her pairing with Hawn is what makes… Continue reading Review: SNATCHED
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: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) It doesn’t happen that often that a sequel is either as good as or is better than its first installment, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and with James Gunn in the director’s chair, anything can happen. One again Gunn brings his wild-eyed imagination and wicked… Continue reading Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
By Renee’ Collins Rating: 4 (Out of 5 Reels) Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) true parentage (IMDB). Visually this film is spectacular and all of the beloved characters are back as well… Continue reading Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will constantly be compared to its predecessor, but even if it stood alone, it entertains wittily and with visually stunning zeal. Writer-director James Gunn knows how to draw the finest out of his characters and make the best of his special effects. Staying for three… Continue reading Review: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2
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
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