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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Listen: Poprika Podcast’s 2017 Year End Show
The end of the years means everyone is going to put out their Best of 2017 lists in music, television, film, books, games, etc. While EoM will be posting their non-traditional End of list soon, for now, here’s something a little special…. Read More ›
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Make room for ‘The Disaster Artist’, a glorious celebration of failure.
If 2016’s La La Land is an homage to the glory days of Hollywood, a tale of dreamers whose fantasies merge with reality to take audiences on a journey of sight and sound that’s almost completely fantastical in execution, then… Read More ›
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Coming To Theaters: December 2017
As December arrives and the cold pushes in, the desire to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a hot beverage, indulging in the stories of our youth rises. Whether it’s a traditional film that helps you celebrate… Read More ›
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Breaking conventions and expectations only begin to explain the delight of ‘Wonder’.
Right now, it feels like the world is falling apart and any reminder of the little joys, the little victories are a boon. That is the gift of Wonder, the Stephen Chbosky-directed adaptation of the R.J. Palacio novel. Performing a… Read More ›
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‘Justice League’ is a bittersweet experience for DC Comics fans.
It’s been a long road for comic book fans of all stripes to get to Justice League. We’ve endured false starts, writer strikes, and contractual arguments. With each one, our hopes rose for that one moment when the Gods of… Read More ›
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Chilling and hopeful, director Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy ‘Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri’ is one of the year’s best.
Writer/director Marin McDonagh is no stranger to tackling difficult or challenging material. His first feature, In Bruges, centered on a hitman having an existential crisis, while his second, Seven Psychopaths, focused on a screenwriter sucked into a world of gangsters… Read More ›
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Director Taika Waititi’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ completely reinvigorates the superhero film.
Marvel Studio’s run of 17 films impressively introduces new characters, new worlds, and new adventures, all while building toward every Marvel nerd’s greatest dream: the Infinity War Saga. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a central character in this film run, never seems… Read More ›
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Coming to Theaters: November 2017
Two more months left in 2017 and there are plenty of films left to see. Some, like Lady Bird and Call Me By Your Name, are finally leaving the festival circuit for nationwide releases, while more mainstream fair like Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League… Read More ›
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Love is where you find it in ‘So B. It’.
After spending time on the festival circuit, Stephen Gyllenhaal’s (Losing Isiah) adaptation of the 2004 Sarah Weeks novel So B. It is finally coming to cinemas near you. Though the rollout seems to be focused on a limited number of… Read More ›
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‘Blade Runner 2049’ is a deserving sequel to a divisive series.
Written by Michael Green and, one of the original Blade Runner screenwriters, Hampton Fancher, and directed by Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049 wonderfully captures the essence of the original, then builds upon it with something utterly new. For those unaware,… Read More ›
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Coming Soon To Theaters: October 2017
The temperatures are starting to cool and the leaves are falling from the trees, setting the stage for October’s arrival and all the hauntingly delicious treats that are to come. Before digging into the devilish films that take center-stage in… Read More ›
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Though audacious and bold, ‘Woodshock’ fails to be more than art house ephemera.
Studio A24 has built a reputation on bold approaches to cinematic storytelling. Rarely intended for wide audiences, their films are frequently quirky, insightful, and psychologically challenging, offering a risky experience for filmgoers used to the straight-and-narrow approach of larger studio… Read More ›
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‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ brings the crazy action we love and little else.
2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service took audiences by surprise when the spry spy satire proved to have more going on under the hood. As much as it made fun of the outlandish nature recent spy films – even acknowledging the… Read More ›
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‘It’ terrifies by making the old new again.
For many, the 1990 television mini-series event It, even with all of its pitfalls, remains a cinematic classic. In what’s become a remake/reboot-centric Hollywood, audiences are primed and ready to be (re)introduced to the terror that is the interdimensional creature… Read More ›
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Kogonada’s directorial debut ‘Columbus’ explores the value of what we take for granted.
Columbus, writer/director Kogonada’s directorial debut, is a masterwork of spatial and auditory control, suggesting a talent of much greater experience behind the camera. Kogoanda fills every frame with visual wonder in a serene film that serves as a meditative tale… Read More ›
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‘Menashe’ delivers one of the most unique films of the year.
Some stories take time to be told properly. They require cultivation and care. They require patience. In the case of Menashe, it took director Joshua Z Weinstein seven years to develop this a quiet, family-focused story centered on a widowed… Read More ›
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There’s no redemption when you have a ‘Good Time’.
There’s something about watching a film where the main character is scrambling, always on the move, trying to survive in a world that feels like it’s crashing down on them; a world that is out to get them. Sometimes it’s… Read More ›
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Coming Soon To Theaters: September 2017
Though Summer may be winding down to a close, there is still a relentless supply of films coming in the next month. Here is a short list of thirteen films that may provide the cinematic experience you desire. Action? Drama?… Read More ›
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Joyful, heartbreaking, and utterly quixotic, ‘Brigsby Bear’ is not to be missed.
Long-time collaborators Kyle Mooney and Dave McCary have developed short films, videos for Epic Rap Battles of History, and sketches for Saturday Night Live during their partnership, but it’s Brigsby Bear that should rightfully make them both household names. A… Read More ›
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‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ is rated MF for Much Fun.
Looney tunes. That’s right, looney tunes. It’s the first thing you’ll think of with this live-action Wile E. Coyote homage. It’s mostly guns and explosions but possesses just the right amount of heart to assist the quiet moments and move… Read More ›