Author Archives
Founder: Elements of Madness | Contributing Senior Film Critic: CLTure | Past Bylines at Pretty Vacant One and FilmFed | The Cine-Men podcast co-host | NC Film Critics Association, Southeastern Film Critics Association, & Critics Choice Association member | Rotten Tomatoes approved individual critic
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Arrow Video restores Yasuzô Masumura’s anti-war film “赤い天使 (Red Angel)” into a nice updated package for the world to enjoy.
With its opening shots of war-torn landscapes, skulls absent flesh and sinew, and other indicators of lifelessness, Yasuzô Masumura’s 赤い天使 (Red Angel) is quickly determined to be anti-war, the bleakness on display never softening from the beginning to the ending…. Read More ›
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Director/co-writer Ryoo Seung-wan’s “Escape from Mogadishu” brings hope amid horror home.
Director/co-writer Ryoo Seung-wan’s 16th film and South Korea’s submission for the 94th Academy Awards, Escape from Mogadishu, is a reconstruction of events during the Somali Civil War (currently still on-going). It’s a film which didn’t make the shortlist of nominees… Read More ›
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“An Unquiet Grave” DVD Giveaway
In the mood for a little dark terror in the woods? After a streaming release on Shudder in June of 2021, supernatural horror An Unquiet Grave is receiving a physical releases thanks to a partnership between the streamer and RLJE… Read More ›
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Before it all ends, relive the night “Halloween Kills” on home video.
Evil dies tonight! Evil dies tonight! This is the chant started by Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) as he rallies together the scared townspeople of Haddonfield to take the fight to serial killer Michael Myers (Airon Armstrong/Nick Castle/James Jude Courtney)…. Read More ›
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Saying goodbye in “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” doesn’t mean forever. Just, for now.
All things come to an end and it seems that even immortal monsters have to say goodbye so that something new can begin. This is the relative theme coursing through the fourth, and reportedly final, installment of Sony Picture Animations’s… Read More ›
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The bonus features accompanying Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part One” delight longtime fans while enriching the experience of the novice.
There are some works of science fiction that never seem to let go once they get their grasp on society. William Gibson’s Neuromancer was published in 1984, but it still felt just as vital and prescient when I read it… Read More ›
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“Escape from Mogadishu” Blu-ray Giveaway
Picked by South Korea to represent them at the 2022 Oscars, director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Escape from Mogadishu is an adaption of the real events in which rival diplomats had to work together to survive as civil war broke out around them…. Read More ›
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Writer/director Mamoru Hosoda’s “BELLE” brings together the heart and imagination, creating a transcendent cinematic experience.
In a career spanning over 20 years, writer/director Mamoru Hosoda has cultivated a filmography of works which communicate to the general masses (Digimon: The Movie (2000)) and to a specific niche audience (Summer Wars (2009); Mirai (2018)). Full disclosure: Mirai… Read More ›
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“Halloween Kills” 4K UHD Giveaway
In 1978, writer/director John Carpenter and co-writer Debra Hill unknowingly began one of the most beloved series in horror/slasher history. In 2018, director David Gordon Green continued the story Carpenter and Hill began with their same-titled follow-up Halloween. This direct sequel… Read More ›
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Cast chemistry of “The 355” elevates the by-the-numbers screenplay.
One could describe The 355 as an action thriller with an all-star cast, and that would be true. But a more simple way to describe The 355 is that it’s every spy thriller flipped so that the old tropes feel… Read More ›
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Director Ridley Scott’s debate-worthy “The Last Duel” makes plain the fallacy of male superiority.
Trigger Warning: The film The Last Duel is centered on a rape. As such, the content of the film may be difficult to discuss without bringing up specifics that may be triggering to some individuals. More and more it seems… Read More ›
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Ten Films From 2021 That Stuck With Me
2021 is over and I’ve caught up with the last few films I’ve missed, so I think it’s time for EoM to unveil its Sixth Annual Sticky List! If you’re unfamiliar with the Sticky List, these are the films which… Read More ›
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“Last Night in Soho” Digital Code Giveaway
Horror-thriller Last Night in Soho is writer/director Edgar Wright’s eighth film, which he wrote in collaboration with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917). Their story transcends time and space as Thomasin McKenzie’s timid Eloise finds her dream of life in 1960s Soho turning into… Read More ›
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No more waiting on a miracle. “Encanto” is available for home viewing.
Walt Disney Studio’s 60th animated film released in November with the same promise of any of its predecessors: 90-ish minutes of adventure, magic, and wonder. Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard (Zootopia) and co-director Charise Castro Smith (who shares co-writing… Read More ›
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Enjoy sci-fi fish-out-of-water comedy “My Stepmother Is an Alien” once more thanks to an Arrow Video 2K restoration.
There are some films that one sees in their youth and then remembers nothing about them (save for a few pieces here and there) in their adulthood. It could be a film they saw on home video or cable. It… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 61: Top Ten of 2021.
With 2021 coming to an end, The Cine-Men dig into their top ten favorite films of the year. This is a fantastic time as we get to celebrate some of our favorite films, digging into why they meant so much… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 60: Holiday Movies.
Personal perspective makes all the difference in how one interprets a prompt. When The Cine-Men co-host Darryl Mansel and I came up with this show topic, I took it to mean the films of the Holiday Season (i.e. December-ish), whereas… Read More ›
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“The Superdeep” Blu-ray Giveaway
After releasing on Shudder, Russian supernatural horror-thriller The Superdeep is dropping on home video and digital-to-own early January 2022 in partnership with RLJE Films. Whether you’re the kind who likes to own the media you consume or you’re just too curious… Read More ›
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One look at “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” on home video and you’ll be saying there’s love in the air.
At the end of every year, it seems, the theaters become flooded with awards-centric films, one after the other. It’s at this time that audiences are encouraged to set aside their popcorn fare and engage in something elevated and intellectual…. Read More ›
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Own the final issue of “The French Dispatch” on home video.
Wes Anderson’s 10th film is about as Wes Andersony as it gets. To this point in his career, I’d argue that it’s also the *most* Wes Andersony, for good or for bad. This has delighted his fans (many of whom… Read More ›