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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Don’t miss out on Rasheed Stephens’s best day of his life in the mixed-format dramedy “All I’ve Got & Then Some.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
“Best Day of My Life!” When asked how he’s doing by friends, colleagues in the comedy realm, passengers in his latest pick-up, and everyone in between, Rasheed Stephens (himself) replies with the same answer: “Best day of my life.” It’s… Read More ›
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It’s the beginning of the end of the TomorrowVerse with “Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One,” available on home video now.
In 2020, DC Entertainment kicked off what’s become known as the TomorrowVerse via Superman: The Man of Tomorrow, introducing a new animated universe centered on the introduction of the biggest hero of DC Comics, Superman. After, six more films would… Read More ›
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Dig your claws into the Third Window Films release of Reiki Tsuno’s “Mad Cats.”
After its world premiere during Slamdance 2023, the feature-length debut from writer/director Reiki Tsuno (Crying Bitch), Mad Cats, traveled the globe jumping from one film festival to another. At each stop, audiences were invited to enter a world in which… Read More ›
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Filmmaker Rafael Toledo is set to make an explosive impression with his short film “Blockbuster.” [Slamdance Film Festival]
In an era where it seems like most major studio releases are one giant computer-generated sequence after another, there’s something desirable about watching a film with practical effects. Realism is overrated when there’s something tangible before us, even if it… Read More ›
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Bathe in ‘90s pop nostalgia via the special feature-loaded home release edition of “Trolls Band Together.”
Nostalgia is all the rage these days. Perhaps it was less noticeable when I was younger as the only things being sold to me where the “hip” and “popular” things as I was in the range of folks with disposable… Read More ›
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“The Goldfinger” adapts real events into a compelling cinematic crime drama.
When it comes to movie-making, which is superior: truth or manipulated fiction? To some, the facts don’t matter as long as the essence of a thing is captured (Bohemian Rhapsody); whereas, to others, if the presentation of facts is constructed… Read More ›
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Filmmaker Pete Ohs’s satirical comedy “Love and Work” utilizes laughter as a gateway for much-needed introspection. [Slamdance Film Festival]
Exacerbated by a variety of global conditions due to COVID-19, the United States is now a society in which working is the prime directive. Not creating art, not engaging with cultures or communities beyond ourselves, just working in order to… Read More ›
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On home video now, Daniel Brown’s crime thriller “Your Lucky Day” delivers a gut-punch in its accurate commentary of the American Dream.
“Based on the American Dream.” These are the words that greet audiences before anything else when pressing “play” on Daniel Brown’s feature-length version of his story Your Lucky Day. The words shouldn’t be ominous, yet things in the country have,… Read More ›
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Filmmaker Choi Dong-hoon’s hotly anticipated “Alienoid” sequel “Return to the Future” arrives with bigger action and bigger laughs to navigate world-ending stakes.
August 2022, U.S. audiences were introduced to co-writer/director Choi Dong-hoon’s brand-new sci-fi action comedy Alienoid (외계+인 1부), a world in which an order of intergalactic peacekeepers house alien prisoners within the bodies of humans in order to keep them docile…. Read More ›
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Filmmaker Daniel Robbins’s new doc “Citizen Weiner” encourages audiences to make the change they want to see in their local government. [Slamdance Film Festival]
In the ‘80s, there was a trend of films that built up their own cliché — the rag tag group of kids going up against the big city conglomerate, usually to save a community center. Do keep in mind that,… Read More ›
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Gareth Evans’s crime actioner “The Raid: Redemption” receives a 4K UHD remaster inside a limited edition steelbook.
Before Expend4bles (2023) set him up to take on aged action stars, before Warrior (2019-2023) made him a villain, before audiences worldwide connected with the violent thrill of Indonesian martial arts in cinema, actors Iko Uwasis and Joe Taslim starred… Read More ›
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Enter the world of Park Hoon-jung’s “The Childe” on home video and prepare yourself to make a friend for life…however long or short that may be.
Writer/director Park Hoon-jung is not one to shy away from the darkness that exists within humanity (I Saw the Devil) or a hidden world within it (the Witch series). Whether in the bright of day or the shadows of night,… Read More ›
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“Apple Seed” Blu-ray Giveaway
After an initial release in 2019, writer/director Michael Worth’s dramedy Apple Seed received a physical release from VCI Entertainment in December 2023. Now, thanks to MVD Entertainment Group, EoM is giving away one (1) Blu-ray edition of the film. No law-breaking… Read More ›
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“Stella Maris” Blu-ray Giveaway
December 2023, VCI Entertainment released a brand-new restoration of the Mary Pickford-led drama Stella Maris. Now, thanks to MVD Entertainment Group, EoM is giving away one (1) Blu-ray edition of the restoration. For a chance to win, submit an entry before… Read More ›
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The first two entries in “The Long Arm of the Law Saga” join the Asia Collection of 88 Films via a collector’s edition.
Restorations are a great way to not only preserve cinema history, they are also a way for films that may have been lost, forgotten, or otherwise kept to a region or country to find new audiences. For 88 Films, specifically… Read More ›
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“Wolf Pack” Blu-ray Giveaway
In 2023, action star Zhang Jin, known in the U.S. as Max Zhang, led the Michael Chiang-directed action/adventure Wolf Pack. In January 2024, Well Go USA is set to release Wolf Pack on Blu-ray and, thanks to their generosity, EoM is… Read More ›
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“Destroy All Neighbors” is a most excellent adventure into bogus territory.
“Perfection is the enemy of progress.” – Winston Churchill “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” – Confucius Toward the end/beginning of each release year, various publications and writers release their “Worst” lists, proclaiming which films they… Read More ›
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You may not want this life, but you’re going to want this 4K UHD 25th anniversary edition of sports dramedy “Varsity Blues.”
January 15th, 1999 — Joey (Katie Holmes) and Dawson (James Van Der Beek) were still an item, Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) was not yet fast nor furious, and, though we knew not to trust Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the world… Read More ›
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Meet Me at the Movies: Episode 531 – The NCFCA 2023 Winners
On Episode 530 of Meet Me at the Movies, I joined host Noel T. Manning (and then-Vice-President) to discuss the nominees for the NC Film Critics Association (NCFCA) 12th Annual Best in Film Awards. Now, with all the voting done,… Read More ›
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Director Xavier Gens’s revenge actioner “Mayhem!” brings all of that and plenty of carnage with it.
After premiering in France in June 2023 and screening at a variety of genre film festivals like Fantasia International Film Festival, Slash Film Festival, and FrightFest under the name Farang (a Thai term meaning “foreigner”), IFC Films snagged director Xavier… Read More ›