Author Archives
Founder: Elements of Madness | Past Bylines at CLTure, Pretty Vacant One, FilmFed, & Mountain Xpress | NC Film Critics Association, Southeastern Film Critics Association, & Critics Choice Association member | Rotten Tomatoes approved individual critic
-
Co-directors Jacob Hatley and Tom Vickers cinema verité doc “Clovers” explores the notion of self-determinism within the citizens of Asheboro, NC. [Slamdance]
In 2024, filmmaker Jacob Hatley released crime drama Rowdy Friends, a tale featuring a mixture of professional and non-actors set in rural North Carolina. This film centered J.D. Cranford playing a version of himself after he left prison and went… Read More ›
-
Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s 1983 sci-fi romance adaptation “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” receives a first-time North American release via Cult Epics.
By the time of his passing in 2020, filmmaker Nobuhiko Ôbayashi had directed nearly 80 films, features and shorts, with his most recent, Labyrinth of Cinema, released in 2019. It would be his feature debut, House (1977), that would make… Read More ›
-
32 SXSW Film Festival 2026 films to explore.
EoM is excited to cover SXSW remotely for the sixth time, this time helmed by EoM members Douglas Davidson, Justin Waldman, and AJ Friar. Having looked over the announced festival titles, we’ve compiled a short-list of 32 titles we’d like… Read More ›
-
Hey, bub, just when you think they’ve tried everything, “Zootopia 2” co-directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard pull out even more.
“Sly fox, dumb bunny.” Just when you think that storytellers have mined all they can from the odd couple trope, co-writers Jared Bush (Encanto) and Phil Johnston (Wreck-It Ralph series) found a way to invigorate the concept by not only… Read More ›
-
Documentarian Matt Finlin’s music/medical doc “Matter of Time” utilizes a three-prong narrative approach to craft of tale of shared hope.
“This too shall pass.” – Persian phrase of complex origin Though it’s hard to say exactly when epidermolysis bullosa (EB) first appeared, the genetic disease was first noted by Austrian dermatologist Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra in 1870 and it would… Read More ›
-
Animated adventure “The Pout-Pout Fish” is an engaging, fun, and adventurous rollercoaster ride of silliness the whole family can enjoy.
Photosensitivity Warning: The final act of the film includes a sequence in which characters change colors to glow with a pulsating white light that may provide triggering for sensitive viewers. After it happens the first time, it’s easy to predict… Read More ›
-
“The Old Man and the Parrot” intermingles comedy and drama in a story of love and loss that may just soothe the soul. [Slamdance]
There are many ways to process grief. Some of them are beneficial, accompanied by a sense of healing and the ability to move on from the pain and loss, while others are like an anchor, prohibiting one from moving on… Read More ›
-
Yuen Woo-Ping’s comic adaptation “Blades of the Guardians” is a rich wuxia adventure that’ll thrill you from start to finish.
There are some filmmakers for whom audiences will show up simply by their name being attached to a project. Universal Pictures has turned the latest Christopher Nolan film, The Odyssey, into an event by selling tickets a year in advance… Read More ›
-
Road trip dramedy “BRB” beautifully captures the struggle of forging one’s identity online and IRL. [Slamdance]
“In this farewell There’s no blood, there’s no alibi ‘Cause I’ve drawn regret From the truth of a thousand lies…” – “What I’ve Done” by Linkin Park from the 2007 album Minutes to Midnight There’s a joke floating around the… Read More ›
-
The bonus features for crime comedy “London Calling” are about as deep as the film itself.
Crime and comedy often go hand-in-hand due to the ridiculousness of a given situation. Watching two high-octane cars pull a massive safe through the streets of Rio? Hilarious. Betting as to whether Yen (Qin Shaobo) shorts it? Gold. Declaring that… Read More ›
-
Documentary “Sell Your House” captures the real costs, literally and figuratively, of independent film making in today’s systems. [SBIFF]
At Fantastic Fest 2023, writer/director Francis Galluppi made his feature-length directorial debut with The Last Stop in Yuma County, a tense thriller involving bad timing, worse luck, and oh so much greed. By May of 2024, it was released in… Read More ›
-
True crime thriller “All the President’s Men” gets a 4K UHD release from Warner Bros. Pictures in honor of its 50th anniversary.
While it’s safe to presume that political ideologies have often led to disagreements and hard lines between classmates, colleagues, and family members to the point that countless stories will feature “black sheep” liberal relatives in conservative families or conservative characters… Read More ›
-
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s dramatic thriller “Cloud” gets a slim-but-deep home edition as part of the sublabel of Criterion Premieres.
It feels safe to say that capitalism had a solid run, but needs to step down. At this point, there’s nothing in this world that doesn’t feel commodified to the point that ethical consumption, let alone ethical existence, is an… Read More ›
-
HIKARI’s heartfelt dramedy “Rental Family” arrives to own via home video.
“… make you feel like family is who we include, rather than we were assigned to.” – Actor Brendan Fraser discussing Rental Family. The world can feel like a cruel and unforgiving place that isolates you at every opportunity. That… Read More ›
-
13 Slamdance Film Festival 2026 films to prioritize.
After missing the 2025 edition, EoM returns to cover the Slamdance Film Festival in 2026! The festivals not long, but there are some extraordinary titles taking part. In an effort to narrow our own plans, here’s a short-list of 12… Read More ›
-
Generational trauma, cultural horror, and the persistence of healing converge within James Takata’s “California Scenario.” [SBIFF]
Trigger Warning: California Scenario includes depictions of self-harm and sexual material that may be difficult for sensitive viewers. “Art is our weapon. Culture is a form of resistance” – Shirin Neshat, Iranian photographer and visual artist Regardless of the generation… Read More ›
-
Filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg’s third “Predator” adventure, “Badlands,” lands on home video packed with in-depth bonus materials.
Writer/director Dan Trachtenberg’s feature film debut, 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), not only helped reenergize the Cloverfield franchise, it established the filmmaker as one to watch. He’s since been handed the reigns to three different Predator-related projects and each one, unique… Read More ›
-
“All of the Above” demonstrates the significance of embracing curiosity while creating space for multiple answers. [SBIFF]
“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” – Tao Te Ching The concept of religion never quite seemed like a casual topic of conversation, but it has grown to be quite the sticky wicket. It often seems that around… Read More ›
-
Filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda’s “Scarlet” riffs on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” in a time-bending animated adventure that challenges the validity of revenge.
Photosensitivity Warning: Several scenes in Scarlet may prove triggering for photosensitive viewers through the use of stylized lightning. It occurs a handful of times in the film and can often be predicted, enabling a viewer to shield oneself, but it’s… Read More ›
-
12 films of 2025 that stuck with me.
Before I fully look toward 2026, it’s time for the Tenth Annual Sticky List! If you’re unfamiliar with the Sticky List, these are the films which made me want to watch, rewatch, discuss, and share. While several films on my… Read More ›