Author Archives
My escape has been a movie theatre for as long as I can quite frankly remember. My dad swears by the fact that I saw Aladdin in theatres (despite it being in theatres 13 months before I was born, but hey movie magic I guess?). Growing up I was incredibly fortunate to have a projector room in my childhood home with surround sound where I would spend my formative years, watching absolutely anything I could get my eyes on. There was never a movie that I didn't at least try to watch, as being young only certain things captured my attention. I would get lost in that room for hours, sometimes even days. As well I lived down the street from my local multiplex so anytime a new movie would come out whether it be the newest superhero movie, James Bond movie, Scary Movie or anything that captured my interest I was there Friday at 5pm seeing the newest thing and if it was good, most likely revisiting with friends that weekend. I grew up in front of the silver screen, graduated University from the film studies program, and have been writing for numerous publications for the past decade. I look forward to continuing to write, explore new films, and indulge in all the offerings the movies have to bring to us. As Vin Diesel said in the welcome back advertisement, "For more than a hundred years there's one place where we all came together to be entertained, to escape, to escape, to go somewhere new -- the movies"
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Warner Brothers delivers “The Outlaw Josey Wales” in 4K with two new special features.
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is one of Clint Eastwood’s earlier directed films and is now being released for the first time in 4K by Warner Brothers. The gorgeous transfer presented in this home release will astound audiences who are… Read More ›
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“Fréwaka” leaves a chill in your spine long after its end. [BUFF]
Compared to horror films with other themes, those focused on lore, especially folklore, evoke a different emotional knee-jerk reaction from their audiences with their eerie tales keeping the uneasy viewers interested and engaged. This is where Aislinn Clarke strives in… Read More ›
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Emilie Blichfeldt’s “The Ugly Stepsister” puts traditional Grimm-level horrors on the big screen in a familiar and twisted tale. [BUFF]
Trigger Warning: Be advised that The Ugly Stepsister includes significant elements of body torture and body-related horror. I am not going to sit back and pretend I am an expert on all things fairy tale related, as that is a… Read More ›
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“Escape from the 21st Century” is a fun hyper-stylized time travel film. [BUFF]
Content advisory: strobing/strobing effects Time travel movies are so incredibly hit or miss simply because everyone tries to either recreate Back to the Future (1985) or make their own mark on the ever-loaded when at the core the film, at… Read More ›
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Capsule Review: Karan Kandhari’s horror dramedy “Sister Midnight.” [BUFF]
Overall, Sister Midnight swings for the absolute fences which is bold and refreshing to see when it has a cast that supports it, but if the effort ends at the cast’s execution, it can become tiresome and messy. Kandhari throws… Read More ›
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Documentary “Thank You Very Much” revisits the enigma that was Andy Kaufman.
If you don’t know who Andy Kaufman is, then you’ve probably been living under a rock, or never were a fan of comedies. While Kaufman may have been a polarizing figure, for better or worse, he is arguably on the… Read More ›
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Capsule Review: Emilie Blichfeldt’s horror adaptation “The Ugly Stepsister.” [BUFF]
Trigger Warning: Be advised that The Ugly Stepsister includes significant elements of body torture and body-related horror. Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister, having its east coast premiere during the Boston Underground Film Festival 2025, is the most graphically disturbing version… Read More ›
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DIY horror film “Head Like a Hole” astounds in every facet. [BUFF]
Writing and directing your first feature is not an easy task, no matter how many shorts have come before it. It gets especially harder when financial constraints come to play and you have to keep things from getting messy and… Read More ›
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Capsule Review: Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentary “Chain Reactions.” [BUFF]
Alexandre O. Philippe has directed such projects as The People vs. George Lucas (2010), Doc of the Dead (2014), Lynch/Oz (2022), William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill (2023), and now Chain Reactions, a documentary about the cultural and personal… Read More ›
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A24 rewards “Babygirl” with very worthy features on its home release on Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
If you’re a fan of physical media (I mean who isn’t, and if you’re not, you’re not reading this) and you care about more than just *owning* a copy of the movie (you like the packaging, you like the extras,… Read More ›
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The Criterion restoration of “Godzilla vs. Biollante” in 4K Blu-ray is well worth a revisit.
Whether you’ve been a fan of the kaiju-destroying Godzilla from its initial creation in 1954 from Toho, or your first introduction to the gigantic destructive beast was Legendary’s Godzilla from 2014 or 2023’s spectacular Godzilla Minus One, there is one… Read More ›
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Eight Boston Underground Film Festival 2025 films to investigate.
For the first time, Elements of Madness is officially covering the Boston Underground Film Festival and I thought I’d offer up a short-list of films I hope to check out during the fest or what to keep an eye out… Read More ›
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Nothing dulls the pain of “Novocaine” and you’ll thank them for it.
Trigger Warning: The film features excessively violent action sequences that may be troubling for sensitive viewers. This review will touch on a few of such moments. Sometimes you see a trailer for a movie and your immediate reaction is not… Read More ›
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Arrow Video delivers a worthy 4K release of the 1980 dark thriller “Cruising.”
Trigger Warning: The narrative centers violence upon the LGBTQIA+ community and this may be distressing for sensitive viewers. If you’re reading this and, like me, you’ve heard of William Friedkin’s Cruising with Al Pacino (Heat), but have never seen it… Read More ›
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Criterion’s 4K edition of “Cronos” offers nothing new past the restoration.
If anyone knows me, then you know I champion Criterion and their releases. They’re usually some of the best of the best, bar none to any other release in terms of quality of release (and quality control) and features. While… Read More ›
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“Old Guy” misses the mark on promises suggested by its premise and cast.
Old Guy, directed by Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; Con Air; Expendables 2) and written by Greg Johnson (The Last Son), at least piqued my interest as an entertaining, silly, action movie with a cast that includes Lucy Liu… Read More ›
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“Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse” explores the magnitude of significance of Spiegelman and his graphic novel “Maus.”
When I was in university (all those years ago), I took a class that was essentially called “Understanding Comics” which explored comics as a medium — how it told stories, how it evolved, where it is now, and so on,… Read More ›


