By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Progress and prosperity have both positive and negative effects. During the Industrial Revolution, humanity made advancements in technology; however, initially, living standards declined and in the long run, some of the processes developed during this period would have some negative effects on the environment. More recently… Continue reading Review: THEO’S HOUSE (Opening Exclusively at the Quad Cinema in New York)
Category: Film Reviews
AFF 2014 Review: WILD
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Jean Marc Vallee, director of one of my favorite films of 2013 (Dallas Buyers Club), returns this year with another affecting true story. The acclaimed director has, with screenwriter Nick Hornsby, adapted Cheryl Strayed’s critically acclaimed and best selling memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on… Continue reading AFF 2014 Review: WILD
Review: TOP FIVE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Actor/comedian Chris Rock writes,directs, and stars in this film which comes across like a reflection on his career and some of the questionable choices he has made as an actor. With a handful of genuinely funny moments, Top Five does offer some entertainment and smart insight… Continue reading Review: TOP FIVE
Review: HORRIBLE BOSSES 2
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day are back and the results are not that bad. I am not a huge fan of the first film, but I do like it. I feel that the first movie delivers fun laughs, but ultimately doesn’t use some of… Continue reading Review: HORRIBLE BOSSES 2
Review: PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) This spin-off movie, featuring the lovable characters from the Madagascar series, is cute and funny, but often too cartoonish for its own good. Much like the Mr. Peabody and Sherman feature film, Penguins of Madagascar has plenty of old school, cartoon humor with all of its… Continue reading Review: PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
Review: THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) This biopic/romance story of physicist Stephen Hawking and his love Jane Wilde Hawking may have a formulaic structure, but that doesn’t make their true story any less compelling. The fact that this film is written directed and performed with much heart makes it that much more… Continue reading Review: THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Review: THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) For this second-to-the-last installment of the Hunger Games saga, director Francis Lawrence and writers Peter Craig, Danny Strong, and Suzanne Collins have taken a much more serious and dramatic approach. In fact this movie feels more real-world than the hyper-stylized world established in the first two… Continue reading Review: THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1
Review: HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Cliff hangers make viewers come back and monetarily, for filmmakers and networks, they make bank. Splitting a novel adaptation into two different films (like the final Harry Potter) makes sense, because it makes money, but to fans a year gap annoys more than it excites. The latest installment of the… Continue reading Review: HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY
Review: LOW DOWN
By Laurie Coker Rating: C Oscilloscope’s new film Low Down’s exceptional cast delivers impressively in this cliché ridden, true story of drug addiction and the damage it does. Based on the memoir of Any-Jo Albany, Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy Tales From Childhood, the film follows a young girl though the rabbit hole… Continue reading Review: LOW DOWN
AFF 2014 Review: ROSEWATER
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The shocking true story, that inspired Jon Stewart’s directorial debut, sounds so absurd that one could easily think someone concocted it for a Daily Show comedy sketch. As absurd as the circumstances surrounding the abduction of journalist Maziar Bahari sound, they are factual. Bahari and his… Continue reading AFF 2014 Review: ROSEWATER