By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ From 1973 to 1986, every year (yes, starting in high school), my friends and I traveled to South Padre Island (only 100 miles from home) for spring break. I know firsthand and all too well, having held many a head over the toilet, the decadence and pandemonium typical of this… Continue reading Review: SPRING BREAKERS (SXSW 2013)
Category: Reviews
Review: ADMISSION
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the novel by Jean Hanff Koelitz, screenwriter Karen Croner’s film adaptation is a bit messy. Directed by Paul Weitz, the film pushes for a more comedic angle than the novel that inspired it. The mix of drama and comedy works okay, but a romantic… Continue reading Review: ADMISSION
Review: The Croods
By Laurie Coker Rating: C+ There is great delight in finding a film that pleases the family – all ages. With so few animated features coming out each year – comparably – it’s nice to get one that holds the interest of both my grand kids. With one age eight and the other only two,… Continue reading Review: The Croods
2013 SXSW Review: SPRING BREAKERS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Given Harmony Korine’s reputation for making dark and often bizarre films, I really didn’t know what to expect from his latest entry. Considering that former Disney actresses were cast in lead roles made any kind of real expectations nearly impossible. Now as for audiences unfamiliar with… Continue reading 2013 SXSW Review: SPRING BREAKERS
Review: OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2 (Out of 4 Stars) This movie really does not feel like an Antoine Fuqua picture. I would expect something of this caliber from directors like Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay. Although not all of his films are winners, Fuqua has made some solid, gritty crime films such as Training Day… Continue reading Review: OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN
Review: STOKER
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Known for dark, intense and stylized psychological thrillers, Korean director Park Chan-Wook makes his first English-language film with a script by Wentworth Miller and Erin Cressida-Wilson. The result is a slow burning, tense and suspenseful piece that suffers from a questionable head-scratcher of an ending. For… Continue reading Review: STOKER
2013 SXSW Review: DON JON
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) The uber-talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt writes, directs and stars in this superb portrait of a young man struggling to find happiness in his love life, but seeking it in the wrong places and people. Jon Martello, known to his admiring buddies as “Don Jon”, has a smooth… Continue reading 2013 SXSW Review: DON JON
2013 SXSW Review: I AM DIVINE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 4 (Out of 4 Stars) Divine was born as Haris Glen Milstead in Baltimore, Maryland in 1945. As a young man, he struggled with coming to terms with his sexual orientation, but during the 60s and 70s, he came out in a huge way and found his calling as a wildly… Continue reading 2013 SXSW Review: I AM DIVINE
2013 SXSW Review: DON JON
By Renee’ Collins Rating: 5 (Out of 5 Reels) I have enjoyed previous work by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his writing and directorial debut Don Jon will be high on my list of favorites. Jon Martello (Gordon-Levitt) objectifies everything in his life: his apartment, his car, his family, his church and, of course, women. His buddies… Continue reading 2013 SXSW Review: DON JON
2013 SXSW Review: THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) The biggest fear that circulated online has to be that this film, judging from trailers and TV spots, that this had the makings of a really bad Will Ferrell comedy. Well, thankfully this film did not play out quite as poorly. This riff on Vegas… Continue reading 2013 SXSW Review: THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE