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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“Resident Evil” 4K UHD Collection Giveaway
Director Paul W.S. Anderson is responsible for one of the best video game adaptations (Mortal Kombat (1995)) and one of the most disturbing horror films (Event Horizon (1997)) in cinema. Come 2002, he would combine both into the Milla Jovovich-led… Read More ›
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Filmmaker Jules Arita Koostachin offers optimistic resistance while exploring generational trauma caused by religious violence in her documentary “WaaPaKe (Tomorrow).” [imagineNATIVE]
In May of 2021, news broke worldwide of a discovery in Canada of a mass grave containing the bodies of 215 Indigenous children. This would be shocking to many, the idea that schools created by the Canadian government would so… Read More ›
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“The Equalizer 3” 4K UHD Giveaway
Starting today, fans of the Antoine Fuqua-directed, Denzel Washington-led action series The Equalizer can snag either the newly-released third entry, The Equalizer 3, or all three films in a single collection. Thanks to the generosity of Sony Pictures, EoM is giving away… Read More ›
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Celebrate the 30th anniversary of director David Anspaugh’s “Rudy” with a first-time 4K UHD limited edition steelbook.
In a recent episode of The Cine-Men, hosts Darryl Mansel and I discussed a few of our favorite sports films. This is a topic not in my wheelhouse as, growing up, I preferred to play them than watch them, a… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 95: Sports Cinema
It doesn’t matter what the weather’s like, what the mood on the pitch is, or what any other factors are when it comes to sports cinema – you just grab your film, your favorite snacks, and press play to get… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 94: Horror Films
We’ve talked about cult films, we’ve talked about midnight movies, but we’ve never explored the genre as a whole. In that vein, Darryl Mansel and I explore a few of our favorite films in horror. Considering that I am 80%… Read More ›
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Nia DaCosta’s “The Marvels” reminds us that superhero movies can be fun while pushing things higher, further, and faster.
“What You Seek Is Seeking You.” The words inscribed on the bangle worn by Kamala Khan (superhero name: Ms. Marvel) is a lovely phrase, with interpretations literal and metaphorical. The script from director Nia DaCosta (Candyman; Little Woods) and first-time feature… Read More ›
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The third Hercule Poirot adventure, “A Haunting in Venice,” can now unsettle within your personal library.
After a brief theatrical release, the Kenneth Branagh-directed/led A Haunting in Venice is set to come home. First, home viewers can find it on digital and streaming on Hulu beginning Halloween 2023 and then on physical formats November 28th. This… Read More ›
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“A Bullet for Sandoval” Blu-ray Giveaway
In 1969, writers Julio Buchs, Federico De Urrutia, and José Luis Martínez Mollá released the western thriller, directed by Buchs, A Bullet for Sandoval (Los desesperados), starring Ernest Borgnine, George Hilston, Alberto de Mendoza, Leo Anchóriz, and Annabella Incontrera. Now,… Read More ›
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Filmmaker Kurando Mitsutake first studio project, “Lion-Girl,” roars onto home video with robust bonus features fans can dive into.
Trigger Warning: The fighting in Lion-Girl is often accompanied by stylized lighting that strobes. As such, photosensitive viewers should take caution before watching. It’s not frequent enough to be problematic, but present enough that it could disturb sensitive viewers. These… Read More ›
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“It’s a Wonderful Knife” is a new-fashioned holiday horror-comedy slay-ride.
Trigger Warning: There are two scenes in the film which feature either strobing or flashing lights which may prove problematic for photosensitive viewers. Neither are particularly long, both involve the killer’s activities, and nothing is generally lost by listening versus… Read More ›
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Celebrate 35 years of Richard Donner’s classic holiday classic “Scrooged” with a first-time 4K UHD release.
The Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol has been adapted and transformed, told and retold, in a variety of ways for decades. It’s been adapted for a Doctor Who story, one of the better Muppet adventures, and simply as a… Read More ›
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“Warhorse One” Blu-ray Giveaway
Earlier this year, Well Go USA released the war drama Warhorse One, the directorial debut of actor Johnny Strong, co-directed alongside William Kaufman (The Hit List). Now, Warhorse One is set to come home on physical media this month and, courtesy of… Read More ›
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“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” arrives on home video in various formats. Know your options and then accept the mission.
Thanks to re-runs, someone of my age was able to be familiar enough with the Bruce Geller-created Mission: Impossible television series so that the announcement of the 1996 Brian De Palma Mission: Impossible film starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt… Read More ›
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Erica Tremblay’s family drama “Fancy Dance” is a fictional tale baring the scars of real trauma. [imagineNATIVE]
There are the stories we tell and then there are the stories beneath them. These are sometimes stated outright, bubbling to the surface, unable to be contained, while others are told via pieces of dialogue or in the negative spaces… Read More ›
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“3 Days in Malay” Blu-ray Giveaway
Character actor Louis Mandylor has appeared in the Big Fat Greek Wedding series, the Debt Collector series, as well as several others. Now, with 3 Days in Maylay, the actor jumps to the director’s chair in a recounting of a true story… Read More ›
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Documentarian Alex Perry’s “ANGLE” presents an engaging tale of Olympic gold medalist and WWF star Kurt Angle’s life and legacy.
Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence. The above phrase can mean a lot of different things to different people. However, if you’re the sort that remembers when the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), then these three Is… Read More ›
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Dive deep into the making of director Ángel Manuel Soto’s surprisingly thematically complex “Blue Beetle” via thorough features on the home release.
If you’ve been keeping track of the goings-on at Warner Bros. Pictures over the last few years, their handling of the DC Comics live-action properties has been wildly mismanaged. In their race to build their own interconnected universe akin to… Read More ›
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Actor/writer Kevin Grevioux moves to the director’s seat as he adds his own graphic novel, “King of Killers,” out on home video now.
These days, a comic book adaptation is as ubiquitous in entertainment as westerns were in the silent film era and later. There’re the big releases like the upcoming MCU film The Marvels (2023) or DCEU film Aquaman and the Lost… Read More ›
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Writer/director Pierre Creton’s “A Prince (Un prince)” utilizes an observatory documentary-like approach that disconnects the audience from his coming-of-age tale. [New York Film Festival]
When we think of coming-of-age tales, there are certain staples that come to mind: youth, love, introspection, heartbreak, and maybe a little absolution. Writer/director Pierre Creton (A Beautiful Summer (Le bel été)) disregards almost all of these in his recent… Read More ›