Author Archives
Founder: Elements of Madness | Contributing Senior Film Critic: CLTure | Freelance Film Critic: Mountain XPress | 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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Return to Busan in the highly anticipated “Peninsula,” available on home video.
2016’s Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) is a marvel of a film. Directed by Yeon Sang-Ho and co-written with Park Joo-Suk, the story of a zombie outbreak in South Korea beautifully balances the emotional stakes (father-daughter) with the larger scope implications… Read More ›
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Shudder’s “Porno” makes real that feeling where getting laid is a life-or-death proposition.
Look, if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that trying to find something to do as a family during the holidays is hard. You’ve got competing interests to manage, a variety of talents, and maybe even ages… Read More ›
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“The New Mutants” drops on home video and so ends the Fox Era of “X-Men” stories.
If you’ve been tapped into the entertainment industry at all over the last few years, you’ve likely heard about the tumultuous release of the final 20th Century Fox X-Men-related film, Josh Boone’s The New Mutants. Set for an original release… Read More ›
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Arrow Video’s new 4K restoration of “The Last Starfighter” will have you feeling ready to take on the Kodan Armada.
You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada. These seemingly innocuous words displayed across an arcade cabinet as an unseen voice declares them are, in fact, a glorious call to… Read More ›
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“Ashens and the Polybius Heist” is going to steal your heart and little else.
Stuart Ashen joined YouTube in Feb 2006 and has developed a long history of comedy videos that are a mixture of gadget reviews, food reviews, and other assorted nonsense. This hustling multi-hyphenate has developed short form and long form narratives… Read More ›
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Jackie Chan’s “Vanguard” offers the comedic martial arts spectacle you expect.
The simplest way to describe writer/director Stanley Tong’s (Rumble in the Bronx) latest film Vanguard is a mixture of the Fast & Furious, Mission: Impossible, and The Expendables series of films. You don’t even have to squint to see it… Read More ›
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Dystopian drama “2067” is strongest when focused on character, not the intrigue of time travel.
Time travel movies are a tricky wicket. Use consistent rules and a clear narrative, you end up with Looper (2012). Explain things in in too wide manner which allows for numerous interpretations, you get Avengers: Endgame (2019). Create a rule… Read More ›
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“All Joking Aside” is a comedy-based coming-of-age story that needs a longer set.
Doing is inevitably harder than dreaming. You can want something, crave something, use positive affirmations to will something into existence, but still not get where you want to be. You may have all the right pieces and still remain far… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 40: Favorite Stephen King Adaptations.
We’ve had this episode brewing for some time, but life got in the way of letting us put the ideas on tape. Returning for your aural enjoyment are your Cine-Men hosts, Darryl Mansel and Douglas Davidson, discussing their favorite Stephen… Read More ›
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Bring home Jim Jarmusch’s philosophical warrior tale “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai,” now available from Criterion.
Originally released in 1999, writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is the latest film to receive the Criterion treatment. The film is a rare oddity in that is very much of its period, yet is absolutely… Read More ›
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“Face The Music” with Bill & Ted from the comfort of your own couch.
When writers Chris Matheson (A Goofy Movie) and Ed Solomon (Men in Black) first created the characters of Bill S. Preston, Esquire, and Ted Theodore Logan, they likely didn’t expect their creations to grab hold of the world for more… Read More ›
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Paramount Pictures releases a special steelbook edition of “It’s a Wonderful Life” just in time for the holidays.
By this point in cinema and television history, everyone knows the fictional story of George Bailey, or someone like him. An individual so aggrieved by their circumstances that they wish with all their might for a change. But as Oscar… Read More ›
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“Bill and Ted Face The Music” Blu-ray Combo Pack Giveaway
Elements of Madness is excited to announce we’ve partnered with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on the upcoming home release of Bill & Ted Face The Music. In anticipation of the Blu-ray and DVD on November 10th, we are giving away… Read More ›
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Propelled by grief, haunted by loss, Johannes Nyholm’s repetitious “Koko-di Koko-da” is an unexpected ear worm of horror.
There is, in nature, an expectation of form and function. The seasons bring about growth and change as Earth undergoes a period of refreshment and blossoming before wilting and decaying, only to start it over again with the return of… Read More ›
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“Train to Busan presents: Peninsula” Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Giveaway
Elements of Madness is excited to announce we’ve partnered with Well Go USA on the upcoming home release of Train to Busan presents: Peninsula. In anticipation of the Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release on November 24th, we are giving away two… Read More ›
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15 years later director James McTeigue’s “V for Vendetta” remains a prescient exploration of the cost of fear.
It’s been 15 years since James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta hit theaters. Adapted from the Alan Moore/David Lloyd comic book miniseries, V for Vendetta took the Margaret Thatcher-era conservative versus anarchism themes and made them more contemporary for American audiences… Read More ›
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Indie drama “Take Out Girl” delivers a thoughtful meal, not a dissatisfying snack. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
There are many paths to success. Even one generation ago, that meant going to school, getting a job, and working there until retirement. On that path at that time, a single income was typically enough to provide for an average… Read More ›
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“Beetlejuice” Digital Code Giveaway
Halloween is coming and Elements of Madness is kicking things off by joining the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment #BeetlejuiceWatchalong hosted by Fuller House‘s Jodie Sweetin. The tweetalong starts at 5p PST/8p EST Friday, October 30th. Want to join in the fun?… Read More ›
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Director Tali Yankelevich’s “My Darling Supermarket (Meu Querido Supermercado)” explores the macro and micro elements of a fractal existence. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
Much of our lives are mundane. We wake, we eat, we work, we eat, we sleep, we wake. In a way, life is a recursive action, predictable and endless. Where many would see a paralyzing dread, director Tali Yankelevich sees… Read More ›
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Director Ja’Tovia Gary’s “The Giverny Document (Single Channel)” challenges its audience to consider the emotional weight of ignorance. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
Artist Ja’Tovia Gary is a provocateur, a demonstrator, and a rebel. She uses her art as a means of proclaiming her space, her ideas, and her life as something of incredible value. None of this should be necessary, which appears… Read More ›