By Laurie Coker Rating: A+ An all-star cast graces the big screen with Melissa McCarthy at the center of the new, hilariously funny summer comedy, Spy, that screened at SXSW this year. Jude Law and Rose Byrne and the ever macho Jason Statham join McCarthy in a fun spoof of espionage films. McCarthy, who walked… Continue reading Review: SPY (SXSW)
Category: Reviews
SXSW Film 2015 Review: PEACE OFFICER
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) From directors Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber comes this disturbing and sobering documentary that couldn’t have arrived at a more relevant time. The film follows the story of Dub Lawrence, a former sheriff of Davis County, Utah who started the state’s first SWAT team. Through the… Continue reading SXSW Film 2015 Review: PEACE OFFICER
Review: LOVE & MERCY (SXSW)
By Laurie Coker Rating: A At SXSW this year, I had opportunity to meet John Cusack and Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys, who were in town to promote their movie Love & Mercy, a biopic about the life of Wilson and the doctor who nearly ruined it completely. As a fan of the Beach… Continue reading Review: LOVE & MERCY (SXSW)
Review: SAN ANDREAS
By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ Earthquake, Towering Inferno, Twister and Poseidon Adventure are just a few of a long like of disaster movies. There is little fresh about recent cataclysm showings, expect perhaps for special effects. Time has given directors opportunity to create big as life images of earthquakes, floods and dystopian worlds. Computer imagery put… Continue reading Review: SAN ANDREAS
Review: SUNSET EDGE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Writer/director and artist Daniel Peddle offers a cerebral, tense, and suspenseful thriller that portrays two starkly different portraits of unbridled youth and shows its audience what can happen when they collide. Shot and produced on a low budget, Sunset Edge may be a simple looking film,… Continue reading Review: SUNSET EDGE
SXSW Film 2015 Review: RESULTS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) From Andrew Bujaski, the writer/director of Funny Ha Ha and Computer Chess comes this sometimes smart and acerbic comedy about a handful of people who are unhappy for various reasons, but hope to soon discover their happiness while attempting to remain physically fit. Though not as… Continue reading SXSW Film 2015 Review: RESULTS
Review: SAN ANDREAS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) I have such mixed feelings when it comes to disaster movies. I enjoyed the ones that premiered during the 1970s (Earthquake, Airport, The Poseidon Adventure) but then again, I was a kid when I first watched them. Actually, some of these movies are quite good, In… Continue reading Review: SAN ANDREAS
SXSW Film 2015 Review: TWINSTERS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) This lovely and adorable documentary tells the story of how two twins, separated at birth, reunited and became the close siblings they were meant to be. American actress Samantha Futerman and French fashion student Anais Bordier were both originally born in Korea, but were eventually adopted… Continue reading SXSW Film 2015 Review: TWINSTERS
Review: POLTERGEIST (2015)
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) The original Poltergeist is one of the first horror movies I watched as a kid. With a milder PG rating, it was one of the few horror films that I could get away with watching without my parents’ restriction. My argument, beside the rating, was that… Continue reading Review: POLTERGEIST (2015)
SXSW Film/Fantastic Fest 2015 Review: THE INVITATION
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi and directed by Karyn Kusama, this taut thriller had me on the edge of my seat trying to guess the truth behind all of the characters and the frightening scenario they experience. Still in pain, some time after the… Continue reading SXSW Film/Fantastic Fest 2015 Review: THE INVITATION