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
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Only melancholic memories remain when “All Summers End”.
There’s a strange sense of freedom that comes over us in our youth every summer. Maybe it’s the longer stretches of daylight, the rising heat, or lack of parental supervision as they toil away at their jobs. Whatever it is,… Read More ›
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Coming to Theaters: June 2018
And like that, May’s coming to a close. But with one month ending, a new month arrives and June is bringing the thunder. The following short-list of twenty-two films doesn’t even break the surface of what’s coming available for audiences –… Read More ›
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Listen: Picture Lock Radio, Ep. 78
Last week EoM founder Douglas Davidson sat down with fellow NCFCA member Kevin Sampson on his show Picture Lock to just chat and geek out a bit. It’s a brief conversation, one of several great ones during the show, and… Read More ›
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Lost treasures provide for a joyful exploration of history in ‘Saving Brinton’.
For many, going to the movie theater is all about escapism. Whether by some space odyssey, gut-busting comedy, biopic, family drama, or adventure historical, the movie theater is a place to depart the seriousness of life and embark on a… Read More ›
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Graphic novel adaptation ‘I Kill Giants’ is beautifully constructed, but misses its emotionally landing.
When the term “graphic novel” is tossed around, most immediately turn toward stories that capture grand adventures of heroes, like Superman, Batman, the Avengers, who display their superhuman strength or intellect while defeating similarly striking villains bent on world, or… Read More ›
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Curiouser and Curiouser, Vaughn Stein’s feature debut ‘Terminal’ is a candy-coated neon nightmare into the bowels of Wonderland.
Appearances can be deceiving. Always be the smartest person in the room. There’s no such thing as coincidence. These may be rote clichés, yet the failure to adhere to them will get you killed in Vaughn Stein’s feature debut, Terminal…. Read More ›
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Netflix’s Martin Freeman-led zombie apocalypse feature ‘Cargo’ meanders narratively, reducing tension and emotion along the way.
For years now, zombie-related stories have been the rage on screens big and small. Whether telling the on-going story of a group of survivors (AMC’s The Walking Dead) or a one-shot of a father protecting his daughter (Train to Busan),… Read More ›
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‘Deadpool 2’ packs as many laughs as bullets in this surprising sequel.
The less audiences know about Deadpool 2 going in, the better, so everything that follows will refrain from the kind of details that would spoil the experience. So what should you expect? Violence, profanity, a surprising amount of genuine heart,… Read More ›
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Despite appearances, ‘Ghost Stories’ is no by-the-numbers affair.
Writing partners Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson are likely not names you’d know though you’re likely familiar with their work. Nyman’s an actor who’s worked on The League of Gentlemen, The Brothers Bloom, and Despicable Me 3, whereas Dyson’s spent… Read More ›
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“Avengers: Infinity War” is the MCU Crossover Event We’ve Waited For.
In May 2008, a small, newly-formed, independent studio laid everything they had on a director whose greatest success was 2003’s Elf and an actor who was considered a washed-up has-been and was looking to make a comeback to tell the… Read More ›
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Coming to Theaters: May 2018
Welcome to Blockbuster Season, everyone! Officially kicked off by Avengers: Infinity War dropping on April 27th, it’s time to buckle in for the start of the summer cinema season. Gratefully, not everything coming out in the month of May is a… Read More ›
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Youthful rebellion shakes ‘The House of Tomorrow’.
Black Flag. Sex Pistols. The Clash. The Ramones. The Stooges. The Vandals. R. Buckminster Fuller? Something doesn’t quite fit here, right? At first glance, the inclusion of Fuller in a row of punk rock elite seems utterly ridiculous until you… Read More ›
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Save your quarters, folks. You’re not going to want next on ‘Rampage’.
Adapting video games for film tends to underwhelm at the box office. It either takes a straight-forward premise and mucks it up (poor besmirched Super Mario Bros) or largely misunderstands what made the game fun (this includes you Street Fighter)…. Read More ›
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‘The Endless’ is a nubilous and existential supernatural ride.
It really is a glorious time to be a horror fan. Once relegated to midnight broadcasts on cable channels and the whole of October at your local Cineplex, now it’s a whole new ballgame. In 2017 alone audiences had Get… Read More ›
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‘Kodachrome’ exalts the tangible in an era of digital dust.
There’s a common misconception that if a movie premieres on Netflix it’s somehow not worthy of a theater run; as though only films shown in a cinema house are somehow the only ones worthy of an audience. If films like… Read More ›
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‘Blur’ is a meditation on the corruptive power of digital technology.
After a world premiere screening in 2015, director George D’Amato took Blur, the indie film he co-wrote with Todd McGinnis, on a worldwide festival tour. Now back home, D’Amato is looking for distribution so that a larger audience can get… Read More ›
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Powerful documentary “The Judge” sheds light on the first female Shari’a court judge.
A well-executed documentary works on multiple levels. There’s the central story the director explores, but then there’s some other aspect that finds its way on in, often by surprise. Sometimes these elements overshadow the central story, others they enhance –… Read More ›
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Coming to Theaters: April 2018
Spring has sprung so it’s time to get outdoors! Except that’s where the pollen is, so stay inside and enjoy a variety of entertainments that will take your mind off the fact that Mother Nature’s trying to kill us all… Read More ›
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‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ looks the part, but lacks heart.
There’s something about watching a monster fight that really packs people into the theater. Whether it’s classic creatures like King Kong and Godzilla or newer fare like those seen in 2006’s The Host or any glimpsed in the Cloverfield series,… Read More ›
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‘Love, Simon’ is a modern John Hughes film with a twist.
There’s been a wonderful resurgence in the teen dramedy subgenre in the last few years that’s given audiences films like The Edge of Seventeen and Saturday Church. Films that take an honest look at teens in a period of crisis… Read More ›