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
-
Kinji Fukasaku’s fantasy actioner “Legend of the Eight Samurai” gets added to Eureka Entertainment’s “Masters of Cinema” series in a 4K HD restoration.
Trigger Warning: There are several sequences involving protracted strobing or flashing lights, so photosensitive viewers should take precautions before queuing up the film. According to Kenta Fukasaku, son of Kinji Fukasaku, the filmmaker’s 1983 action fantasy Legend of the Eight… Read More ›
-
Is Shane Black’s comedic thriller “The Nice Guys” standard 4K UHD edition worth the upgrade?
For audiences of a certain age, writer Shane Black is an instrumental figure in their cinematic development. In the same year (1987) that taught us that “Wolfman’s got nards” (Monster Squad), he let us know that it’s ok to say… Read More ›
-
“Sniper: The Last Stand” Digital Code Giveaway
Since the 1993 Tom Berenger and Billy Zane-starring actioner Sniper, there have been an additional 10 stories in the series with the latest, The Last Stand, releasing on digital in January. Directed by Danishka Esterhazy (Killer Body Count) and featuring Chad… Read More ›
-
How can you plan “To Kill a Wolf” when foe and friend share the same traits? [SBIFF]
Trigger Warning: The narrative of To Kill a Wolf grapples with difficult topics involving sexual abuse. The two earliest written versions of the Little Red Riding Hood story come from author Charles Perrault (1697) and from The Brothers Grimm (1800s), each providing… Read More ›
-
Eleven Films of 2024 That Stuck With Me
With 2024 over, it’s time to unveil the Ninth 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 favorites list… Read More ›
-
Jesse Eisenberg’s sophomore directorial feature, “A Real Pain,” is available on digital ahead of its physical release.
There’s this strange compulsion by many to respond to someone’s discomfort with “everyone has problems.” Whatever the intention, all it ever does is minimize what a person is feeling with the implication that “why should someone be feeling badly about… Read More ›
-
That’s that: The Criterion Collection re-releases Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love” with a 4K UHD edition.
“Tell someone you love them today, because life is short. But shout it at them in German, because life is also terrifying.” – anonymous meme With a career filled with critical highs and lows, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has wowed… Read More ›
-
“Like Father Like Son” lacks tension in its attempt to challenge its audience.
Trigger Warning: Like Father Like Son utilizes frequent use of unexpected fast cuts with visual imagery accompanied by white flashes which may disturb photosensitive viewers. What makes a killer a killer? For centuries, this question has been asked by plebs… Read More ›
-
Documentary “Third Act” captures self-realizations and the discovery that they run generations-deep. [Sundance]
History can only be buried for so long before the truth comes out. This relates to large revelations (the purposeful attempts to control and reduce Indigenous populations through residential schools in the U.S. and Canada) and interpersonal discoveries that wield… Read More ›
-
Beware the creature of the night who promises peace in “Touch Me.” [Sundance]
Trigger Warning: The narrative of Touch Me grapples with difficult topics involving sexual abuse and addiction. Additionally, there are a few brief sequences of light-strobing that might be difficult for photosensitive viewers. “And crawling on the planet’s face, some insects,… Read More ›
-
Radiance Films welcomes their second Seijun Suzuki HD 4K restoration to their collection with crime thriller “Underworld Beauty.”
“There is no honor among thieves.” This idea is often at the center of confidence or crime tales within any genre or medium. The people who you trust to pull a job just might be the same people who will… Read More ›
-
When the debt comes due, you’ll be singing the hymn of “The Devil and the Daylong Brothers.”
What is a soul worth? If one believes that it’s not a thing that can be manifested on its own, that comes to us naturally, or that it is a gift instilled in us by our creator, well, that’s three… Read More ›
-
Genre-hybrid “Running on Karma” gets a 2K restoration as it’s added to Eureka Entertainment’s “Masters of Cinema” series.
“You can’t take anything with you when you die, except your deeds.” – Lee Fun Yee (Cecilla Cheung) in Running on Karma Established in 1996 by director Johnnie To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai, production house Milkyway Image Ltd. would… Read More ›
-
“Eternal You” explores the promise of extending one’s lifespan through digital transitions.
Once something to be imagined in your favorite sci-fi tale, artificial intelligence (A.I.) is now being forced into everything from your smartphone to your toaster. Instead of being used to expand human consciousness through exploratory play like Star Trek: The… Read More ›
-
Kelsey Egan’s sophomore effort “The Fix” offers challenging ideas within an accessible action body horror package.
In 2021, director/co-writer Kelsey Egan brought audiences within the perimeter of a private utopia tucked away within a greater ecological threat that destroyed memories in her sci-fi thriller Glasshouse. Exploring the connection between memory and trauma, Egan challenged audiences to… Read More ›
-
Both halves of Quentin Tarantino’s fourth film, “Kill Bill,” receive a first-time 4K UHD edition and special edition steelbook via Lionsgate Limited.
“The Bride: You and I have unfinished business. Bill: Baby, you ain’t kidding.” – Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004) It’s 2025 and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is actively developing his 10th, and rumored final, film. Though incredibly divisive for the dialogue… Read More ›
-
The rollercoaster of consistency in the Sony Pictures “Venom” series comes to a flat end with “The Last Dance.”
When the trailers first dropped for director Ruben Fleischer’s Venom (2018), audiences got a taste of something truly exciting as it looked like Sony Pictures might take the Marvel Comics villain-turned-anti-hero and introduce him through a body horror-like science fiction… Read More ›
-
“The Colors Within” fill out the latest musical high school drama by filmmaker Naoko Yamada.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. – The Serenity Prayer There’s a frequently quoted adage “youth is wasted on the young.”… Read More ›
-
Enter the mind of a killer in 4K UHD with Arrow Video’s limited edition restoration of “The Cell.”
2025 is feeling like *the year* for director Tarsem Singh and his fans. First, the announcement for his upcoming 4K UHD restoration of The Fall (2006) by Umbrella Entertainment (possible theatrical and home release vs. one or the other) and,… Read More ›
-
“Back in Action” is a comfortingly dependable family action comedy that will warm your January doldrums.
January is often viewed by those who track film releases as a doldrums period. Either theaters are filled with awards-hopefuls or the titles that studios/distributors dump in hopes of recouping some of their investment. Yes, this even applies to digital… Read More ›