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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Filmmaker Miko Revereza’s “Nowhere Near” is an experimental documentary capturing the scars of a life lived in waiting. [New York Film Festival]
There’s a strange hypocrisy to the American Dream. Citizens of the United States of America have called their country the greatest in the world, touting its various freedoms (perceived or law-based), all while going to other countries to spread their… Read More ›
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David Fincher’s comic adaptation, “The Killer,” struggles to balance psychological discord with physical action to deliver on expectations.
Director David Fincher isn’t afraid to take on adapting other people’s worlds to create his own. He got his start directing music videos for the likes of Paula Abdul, Rick Springfield, Aerosmith, and A Perfect Circle, before tackling films like… Read More ›
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“King of Killers” Blu-ray Giveaway
If you’ve enjoyed any part of the Underworld franchise or the thus-far single I, Frankenstein film, then you have writer/actor Kevin Grevioux to thank as the creator of those worlds. Now, Grevioux jumps into a new world of his creation,… Read More ›
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The Justice League and RWBY crossover adventure concludes with “Part Two” on home video.
In April of this year, WB Animation brought the characters of DC Comics’s Justice League to the world of Monty Oum’s RWBY in an adaptation of a RWBY/Justice League and DC/RWBY comic storyline. Applying a fish out of water approach,… Read More ›
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Get your spooky season on with Justin Simien’s “Haunted Mansion,” available on home video now.
Trigger Warning: Haunted Mansion possesses several scenes involving flashing lights or where a character either swings a flashlight or points it directly toward the audience. This may be problematic for audience members with photosensitivity. When it comes to movie-making, it’s… Read More ›
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“Ride On” Blu-ray Giveaway
This year, filmmaker Larry Yang released the charming Jackie Chan-led action dramedy Ride On, a story involving family and loyalty with an unexpectedly unique approach. Doesn’t hurt that the film works as both a Chan original and a tribute thanks… Read More ›
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Looking for some family fun? “Inspector Sun” is on the case.
When it comes to family entertainment, there are more options out there than anyone knows what to do with. Series, films, short form, episodic, really anything you might want to either distract a child or use as a means for… Read More ›
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Stepping down doesn’t mean it’s over, especially when you can “Ride On.”
“Jumping down is easy. Stepping down is hard.” The stuntperson mantra, Ride On. In the featurette “Behind the Scenes,” writer/director Larry Yang (Adoring) discusses how his first thought went to Jackie Chan when the concept for Ride On arose. The… Read More ›
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Cult Epics releases Marleen Gorris’s “The Last Island” on home video with a first-time 2K HD restoration.
It’s the hope that kills you. – Mae Green, Ted Lasso In her debut feature film, writer/director Marleen Gorris confronted gender expectations and equity with psychological crime thriller A Question of Silence (1982), only to follow it up with a… Read More ›
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“Suburra” Blu-ray Giveaway
Last month, Unearthed Films released both a Blu-ray and DVD edition of Stefano Sollima’s 2015 crime drama Suburra. Now, thanks to MVD Entertainment Group, EoM is delighted to give away one (1) Blu-ray edition of Suburra to one lucky individual. Full details… Read More ›
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Meet Me at the Movies: Episode 520
It’s always a pleasure to join Noel T. Manning for a chat about movies via his program Meet Me at the Movies and even more so when the topic is centered on films I’m excited to see in the tail end… Read More ›
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The Criterion Collection welcomes three Tod Browning films into their collection via the “Sideshow Shockers” trilogy set.
Home releases bring with them a certain weight of expectation for cinephiles and film fans. For newer ones, it’s the promise that they’ll always be available, safe from a distributor or studio’s license dissolution or server deletion. For older films,… Read More ›
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New “Mortal Kombat Legends” prequel tale “Cage Match” answers the age old question: WWJCD?
Since 2020’s Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, a new animated film within this version of the MK universe has released each year. The first follow-up, Battle of the Realms (2021), is a direct sequel, carrying over the events of Scorpion’s… Read More ›
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Congratulations! Shout! Studios and GKids Films offer three ways to enjoy the official end of “Evangelion” with “3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time.”
From October 1995 to March 1996, dystopian mech anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, the brainchild of filmmaker Hideaki Anno (Shin Godzilla), broadcast in Japan, eventually coming available elsewhere in the world. It told the story of an alt-Earth in which the… Read More ›
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Rosine Mbakam’s “Mambar Pierrette” elevates with an observation approach over tropes. [New York Film Festival]
Despite what stories tell us, our lives don’t end when we achieve the dream, overcome the adversity, or, worse yet, get taken down by the corporate monster trying to rip down the community center. Until we cease to function, the… Read More ›
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Intriguing concepts are diluted by abandoned threads in Paul Duane’s folklore horror “All You Need is Death.” [Beyond Fest]
Before the written word carried the words of the present into the future, the oral tradition was used to safeguard family and cultural histories. This method, though reliant on the memory of the custodian, still remains a valued part of… Read More ›
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Filmmaker James Benning’s experimental doc “Allensworth” is a meditation on time and space that may only resonant with those aware of the subject. [New York Film Festival]
Filmmaker James Benning has been making movies as early as 1972, starting with his short film Time and a Half. His projects shift in specificity, but each one appears to be an exploration of a precise subject, and Benning has… Read More ›
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Whether you’re a recovering performer, active performer, or normie, there’s something fun for everyone in the home release of “Theater Camp.”
Originally conceived as a short film by screenwriters Noah Galvin (The Good Doctor), Molly Gordon (Booksmart/Shiva Baby), Nick Lieberman, and Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect) and directed in its long-form by first-time feature filmmakers Gordon and Lieberman, the film Theater Camp… Read More ›
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88 Films offers a first-time high-definition release of writer/director Wong Jing’s heroic bloodshed gunplay actioner “The Last Blood.”
Though one might think that physical media desire is waning with Walt Disney no longer shipping new discs to sell in Australia, cinephiles and genre fans aren’t going to stop buying discs anytime soon with boutiques like 88 Films putting… Read More ›
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In concert with variant animation, the music of Hiromi Uehara helps Yuzuru Tachikawa’s “BLUE GIANT” adaptation transcend to a cinematic experience.
Despite what one might think when it comes to anime, the adventures aren’t just about super-powered beings fighting one another (My Hero Academia), gifted individuals trying to protect the world from curses (Jujutsu Kaisen), or maybe that time you came… Read More ›