By ANGELA DAWSON Front Row Features HOLLYWOOD—Back in the days of the early “Star Wars” films, there were the good guys (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia) and a really really bad guy (Darth Vader). In the new chapters of this now iconic sci-fi franchise entering its fifth decade, good a [...]

By ANGELA DAWSON Front Row Features HOLLYWOOD—Screenwriter Alex Garland (“28 Days Later,” “The Beach”) makes his feature film directorial debut with the sci-fi thriller “Ex Machina,” starring Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander. A reclusive Internet zillionai [...]

By JAMES DAWSON Front Row Features Film Critic A reclusive Internet zillionaire with a God complex creates an alluring android whose self-awareness makes her tragically soulful in this interesting if not completely convincing SF morality tale. 2013’s “Her,” about a sentient comp [...]