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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“Aporia” Blu-ray Giveaway
In July 2023, writer/director Jared Moshé’s science fiction drama Aporia premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival 2023 and I have been captivated by it ever since. It’s not the performances by the central cast but the way in which the… Read More ›
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Huang Jianming’s animated fantasy adventure “Goodbye Monster” brings home an opportunity for families to have hard conversations.
In August 2022, director Huang Jianming (Bobby the Hedgehog) took audiences on an adventure on the island of Kunlun wherein a banished doctor tried to make things right. It’s a colorful tale featuring a collection of characters that seem inspired… Read More ›
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88 Films offers a first-time Blu-ray edition of director Herman Yau’s crime drama “Taxi Hunter.”
For two days in January 1984, Hong Kong experienced its first riot in 17 years. The violence stemmed from outrage over a tax increase which impacted the taxi drivers of the region. According to The New York Times, over 150… Read More ›
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Sony Pictures Animation releases the full four-film “Hotel Transylvania” series in one DVD collection.
Well before I ever saw a single one of the Todd Durham-created, Genndy Tartakovsky-directed Hotel Transylvania films, I knew that Drac doesn’t say “blah blah blah blah.” Which is to say that the influence in pop culture had grown widely… Read More ›
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“Cisco Kid: Western Movie Collection” DVD Giveaway
There are plenty of ways to rekindle the magic of Old Hollywood. Sometimes it’s catching something on Turner Classic Movies, sometimes it’s digging through the bargain bin and hoping to get lucky, and sometimes it’s a distributor bringing back a… Read More ›
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Filmmaker Marcellus Cox’s drama “Mickey Hardaway” speaks to the systemic failure of community that enables the vulnerable among us to get lost.
“We don’t heal in isolation, but in community. Often it isn’t the initiating trauma that creates seemingly insurmountable pain, but the lack of support after.” – S. Kelley Harrell. If there’s one thing any of us know for certain, none… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 90: Mystery Movies
We’re officially on the Road to 100, everyone! That’s right, with this episode, Episode 90, Darryl and I are staring down the final 10 episodes before we hit triple digits. What happens next is anyone’s guess and, in that vein,… Read More ›
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Radiance Films packages three individual Damiano Damiani-directed mafia films into one fantastic thematic trilogy.
For every general genre in storytelling, there’s a subgenre within it that enables a storyteller to narrow their focus, thereby utilizing specific tools to explore their themes. It’s the difference between a chiller or thriller in horror, slapstick or screwball… Read More ›
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“Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” Digital Code Giveaway
Earlier this year, DreamWorks Animation invited audiences to change their perception of the legendary kraken via director Kirk DeMicco’s coming-of-age tale Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Now, you can go on this adventure at home via the digital release (available now)… Read More ›
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Friends Ernest and Celestine return to theaters in “A Trip to Gibberitia,” an adventure against tyranny for all ages.
Created by Belgian author Gabrielle Vincent, the characters of Ernest the bear and Celestine the mouse have been the center of several books, adapted into an award-winning 2012 film, Ernest & Celestine, and a 52-episode television series called Ernest &… Read More ›
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Documentary “Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat” shares the aspirational tales of several firefighting volunteers.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’… Read More ›
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“Kill Shot” Blu-ray Giveaway
Earlier this month, director Ari Novak’s actioner Kill Shot released on home video. Thanks to Well Go USA, EoM is giving away one (1) Blu-ray edition to one lucky winner. If you’ve yet to snag this from your local retailer or… Read More ›
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We may not know why “The Flash” breaks its own rules, but the home release includes enough bonus features to know how they pulled it all off.
Despite being in development for years, the Warner Bros. Pictures release The Flash landed with more of a thud than most would have guessed. It centers a beloved DC Comics character in their first solo live action outing, utilizes a… Read More ›
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Arrow Video welcomes a 2K HD restoration of Lo Wei’s “New Fist of Fury” into their collection.
With the tragic death of Bruce Lee, there was a massive hole left in the martial arts cinema community that led to a genre of exploitation films centered on capturing the essence of Lee through imitation via actors Bruce Li… Read More ›
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Todd Max Carey’s documentary “tOuch Kink” makes a strong case that kink isn’t another dirty four-letter word. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
What do you think of when you hear “BDSM”? Do you think of pain and torture? Leather and dark dungeons? Confinement and control? Or do you think of pleasure and release? Do you think of freedom? There’s a good chance… Read More ›
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Joining the Radiance Films collection is director Benny Chan’s first solo directorial debut “A Moment of Romance,” in a 4K HD restoration.
August 23rd, 2020, writer/actor/producer/director Benny Chan passed away from nasopharyngeal cancer, first diagnosed in 2019 while shooting the film Raging Fire with Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. Raging Fire did eventually get released in 2021, both in China and internationally,… Read More ›
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Allow yourself to be swept up in director Junta Yamaguchi’s time loop comedy “River.” [Fantasia International Film Festival]
One of the best films I discovered during Fantasia 2021 was director Junta Yamaguchi’s feature-length directorial debut Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (ドロステのはてで僕ら), a time travel comedy presented entirely in one take. Now, two years later, Junta returns to Fantasia… Read More ›
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Fresh off its theatrical road show, satirical thriller “Wrong Reasons” is coming available via MVD Visual.
After making multiple documentaries centered on Kevin Smith’s creative process making films like Jay & Silent Bob Reboot (2019) and Clerks III (2022), writer/director Josh Roush unleashes his own intellectual progeny, Wrong Reasons. Conceived prior to the initial COVID-19 lockdown… Read More ›
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Bring “The Machine” home and experience comedian Burt Kreischer’s famous mob store in all its fictional glory.
Dole Office Clerk: Occupation? Comicus: Stand-up philosopher. Dole Office Clerk: What? Comicus: Stand-up philosopher. I coalesce the vapors of human experience into a viable and meaningful comprehension. Dole Office Clerk: Oh, a *bullshit* artist! – History of the World: Part… Read More ›
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Powerful sex-positive dramatic thriller “Broken Mirrors” gets the 4K HD restoration enhancement via Cult Epics.
Writer/director Marleen Gorris won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995 for her project Antonia’s Line. Prior to earning the accolade for her LGBTQA+ feminist fairy tale, the Dutch filmmaker opened her feature film career with feminist thriller… Read More ›