By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) From Uruguay, this film by director Pablo Stoll, tells the story of a true modern, nuclear family. Dentist Rodolfo’s (Humberto De Vargas) most recent relationship has fallen apart and in his loneliness, he attempts to reconnect with his daughter Ana (Anaclara Ferreya Palfy) and his ex-wife… Continue reading Cine Las Americas 16 Review: 3
Category: Reviews
Cine Las Americas 16 Review: BLANCANIEVES
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) It is a fairy tale that has been told and retold countless times, but never like this. Opening the 16th Annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, writer/director Pablo Berger’s version of the Brothers Grimm tale, has a darker, more realistic take than other incarnations and… Continue reading Cine Las Americas 16 Review: BLANCANIEVES
Review: STARBUCK
By Renee’ Collins Rating: 5 (Out of 5 Reels) As his lover announces her pregnancy, David Wozniak/Starbuck (Patrick Huard), a fortysomething slacker receives other life-changing news: 142 people, all of them the result of artificial insemination, have filed a class action lawsuit against him, their biological father (IMDB). This plotline is definitely unique which is… Continue reading Review: STARBUCK
Review: OBLIVION
By Renee’ Collins Rating: 4.5 (Out of 5 Reels) To be honest I was not at all sure what to expect from this film because I thought it was going to be another Tom Cruise testosterone fest but I was pleasantly surprised. A veteran, Jack (Tom Cruise) assigned to extract Earth’s remaining resources begins to… Continue reading Review: OBLIVION
Review: LORDS OF SALEM
By Laurie Coker Rating: F- As part of my midnight features review for SXSW, I covered Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem, so I want to allude to that review, and I’d like to begin this one by saying, even with the passage of time, I still think the film is complete trash. I find it… Continue reading Review: LORDS OF SALEM
Review: STARBUCK
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Typically when a film’s story has a ridiculous or implausible premise, it is a huge turn off for me. Occasionally, though, a film comes along that can take the preposterous and run with it so well that it becomes easy to forget its absurdity. French Canadian… Continue reading Review: STARBUCK
Review: THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
By Laurie Coker Rating: B- For cast appeal alone, The Place Beyond the Pines will draw big and rightly so. Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper highlight the cast and for their efforts all is well with The Place Beyond the Pines. It is, however, director Derek Gianfrance and co-writers Ben Coccio and Darius Marder’s script that falters. It… Continue reading Review: THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
Review: 42
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Baseball, THE American pastime – I suppose, but perhaps not as much today as in the past. Still, its heroes are our heroes and few don’t know the significance of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson in sports and in the United States. Director/script writer Brian Helgeland’s biopic gives audiences a… Continue reading Review: 42
Review: 42
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers broke some major racial barriers when they signed African American baseball player Jackie Robinson. This courageous decision would set a precedent which would later influence efforts to remove the policy of segregation in all facets of everyday life, a policy first… Continue reading Review: 42
Review: THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
By Mark Saldana Rating 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Derek Cianfrance really is an exceptional film writer and director. His romantic tragedy Blue Valentine broke the hearts of film audiences and earned the acclaim of critics in 2010. He has such wonderful grasp of human relationships and the consequences of our behavior and actions. While… Continue reading Review: THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES