By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) After bringing his directorial debut (Man of Tai Chi) to Fantastic Fest last year, Keanu Reeves has returned. This year Keanu attended the festival in support of his latest starring role, an assassin seeking revenge in the bullet-riddled John Wick. Known infamously in the underworld, John Wick… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: JOHN WICK
Category: Reviews
Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) For those who thought the end of Dead Snow was the end for hero Martin (Vegar Hoel), writer/director Tommy Wirkola has something to say about that. Picking up exactly where the first movie ends, Dead Snow 2 not only gives audiences more of a backstory for… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review: DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS DEAD
Fantastic Fest 2014 Review/Interview: KUNG FU ELLIOT
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) From Canada, this often hilarious, yet sometimes unnerving, documentary about a self-proclaimed karate expert turned movie director tells an entertaining, but truly bizarre story. Elliot Scott lives to make action movies in Nova Scotia. He, his girlfriend Linda, and an assortment of friends and collaborators have… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review/Interview: KUNG FU ELLIOT
Fantastic Fest 2014 Review/Interview: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Director Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood, Machete Maidens Unleashed) continues his series of documentaries on cinema history with another brash and entertaining film about a couple of infamous Israeli producers who took the film world by storm. Starting in the late 1970s and continuing through the 1980s… Continue reading Fantastic Fest 2014 Review/Interview: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS
Review: THE ZERO THEORUM
By Laurie Coker Rating: D I never imagined that I would dislike any performance by two time Oscar winning actor Christoph Waltz, but I found little interesting or memorable about him in Terry Gilliam’s chaotic science fiction epic The Zero Theorem. Actually, I lied. Waltz and his co-stars offer splendid performances, but can’t help but… Continue reading Review: THE ZERO THEORUM
Review: THE MAZE RUNNER
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The popular trend of young adult novel adaptations has yet another cinematic offering for their fans and anyone else who has enjoyed this movie fad. In addition to the hunger gamers, the divergents, and the sparkly, mopey vampires, audiences can now follow the adventures of Thomas… Continue reading Review: THE MAZE RUNNER
Review: THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) As people are imperfect, there is no such thing as a perfect family. We all have our familial issues, some worse than others, but if we can find some common ground in love with our siblings, parents and other relatives, there’s not much more to need. If… Continue reading Review: THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU
Review: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: THEM
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Writer/directors Derek Cianfrance and Lars Von Trier both have unique styles of filmmaking and storytelling, but both know how to write about people, relationships and the dark and melancholy direction that these relationships often follow. A new name can be added to the list of esteemed filmmakers… Continue reading Review: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY: THEM
Review: A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES
By Laurie Coker Rating: C After hearing mumblings as I left the screening, I might be one of a few who actually didn’t hate Liam Neeson’s latest film, A Walk Among the Tombstones, directed and adapted to screening by Scott Frank. This does not mean, however, that I like it either. A lumbering pace and… Continue reading Review: A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES
Review; THE DROP
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Tom Hardy’s face, except perhaps as Bane in the last Batman, is becoming quite familiar these days and in each film, whether comedy, romance or drama, he shows his natural talent as an actor. In The Drop, a new film by director Michael Roskam (Bullhead), Hardy melds in to a… Continue reading Review; THE DROP