Author Archives
Lindsey Dunn is a Senior Readers' Advisory Librarian and Content Editor for NoveList. She has been watching and writing about movies for 13 years through several iterations of her blog and now on Elements of Madness. She loves all kinds of movies but has a weakness for anything that features characters who feel like outsiders or relationships that are complicated. You can more of more work at 1ofmystories.com or on twitter: @1ofmystories.
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Sick of Hallmark holiday love stories? Try Joe Duca’s authentic “Evergreen.”
Romantic relationships as depicted in film often receive derision for being too picture perfect, creating unrealistic expectations for what love is really like between two broken people hoping to find a fulfilling partnership. In traditional romances, those which have an… Read More ›
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Jeon Gye-soo’s “Vertigo” offers sensory exploration of romance from the heights. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In a corporate world made of glass, steel, and concrete, Jeon Gye-soo’s atmospheric Korean language film Vertigo captures the agony of one woman’s emotional and physical isolation and the slow-budding connection she makes with a high rise window washer contracted… Read More ›
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Psychological thriller “Sleep” explores German cultural identity with a fairy-tale feel. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Dreams help us process unspoken emotions and desires in contained, temporary environments. Those who dream can escape reality, explore a path unchosen, and tuck the experience away in a safe box. In Michael Venus’s feature-length debut, however, the borders between… Read More ›
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Darkly humorous “The Columnist” takes on social media trolls. [Fantasia Film Festival]
Internet trolls have long been the bane of social media journalists and content creators, but rarely do the victims of such attacks get a chance to face their opponents eye-to-eye. In Ivo Van Art’s Dutch language film The Columnist, this… Read More ›
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Dark comedy “Marygoround (Maryjki)” takes viewers on the wild ride of menopause. [Fantasia Film Fest]
Among the types of people underrepresented in film, surely women over 50 would rate in the top 10. When they do emerge, such characters tend to serve as guides, champions, or foes to the main character. Whether spouting sage wisdom,… Read More ›
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A Conversation with director Tyler Smith.
Elements of Madness contributor Lindsey Dunn recently had the opportunity to interview Tyler Smith, creator of the video essay Reel Redemption: The Rise of Christian Cinema. Hollywood and the Church make for odd bedfellows. But the success of many faith-based movies… Read More ›
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“Reel Redemption: The Rise of Christian Cinema” reflects on the shaky relationship of Hollywood and the Church.
Adjunct professor and lifelong lover of film Tyler Smith takes a historical deep dive into the sometimes contentious relationship between Hollywood and the big-C Church in his 96-minute video essay, Reel Redemption: The Rise of Christian Cinema. Rather than attempt… Read More ›
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“Becky” breaks the rules of the home invasion story while still providing a bloody good time.
Still healing from the death of her mother, Becky (Lulu Wilson), an unusually sullen teenager, prepares to spend a weekend at the family lake house with her father Jeff (Joel McHale) and two dogs, Diego and Dora. Jeff has plans… Read More ›
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Justin Kurzel’s rendering of Ned Kelly and his gang in “True History of the Kelly Gang” sizzles with punk rock energy.
Every culture has their notorious outlaws, and in Australia, probably no such figure looms larger than bushranger Ned Kelly, who famously wore a suit made of bulletproof armor during his last standoff with local authorities. While at least 10 movies… Read More ›
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Brazilian director Fernando Grostein Andrade’s coming of age film, “Abe”, is a love letter to all kids who don’t know where they fit in.
Growing up is confusing for the average pre-teen boy, but Brooklyn-born Abe (Noah Schnapp, Stranger Things) has more of a task than most. Born out of a cross-cultural marriage, Abe describes his identity as Palestinian Muslim/Israeli Jewish/American Brooklyn/and Gryffindor. Family… Read More ›
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Heather Young’s “Murmur” Explores Aging, Addiction, and Animal-Human Connection. [Slamdance Film Festival]
Heather Young’s Murmur (2019) explores aging, addiction, loneliness, and the emotional pull of the animal-connection, through one woman’s experience while working in an animal shelter for court-mandated community service. This first full-length feature film directed by Young (Fish) won the… Read More ›