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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Self-identification, reexamination, and reclamation are at the heart of Sav Rodgers’s doc “Chasing Chasing Amy.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
Holden: Oh no, here’s the big test. Quick Stop. Alyssa: My best friend fucked a dead guy in the bathroom. Holden: You know that girl? Alyssa: I did, before she was committed. – Chasing Amy (1997) Anyone who’s taken the… Read More ›
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It is difficult to mind your “Dress Code” when dealing with complicated shadows.
Of the stories made in America, none are as prolific worldwide as mafia stories. They’re used to tell immigrant stories, crime stories, family dramas, and even comedies. You’d be hard pressed to find any genre today that doesn’t include some… Read More ›
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Dramatic thriller “Decibel” is strongest when it leans into the thoughtful drama and relies less on the acoustics.
Marketing can be the best tool and the worst for selling movies. We’re not talking about deliberate misleads (like the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War (2018) that contained differently edited scenes compared to the final film) or the accidental kind… Read More ›
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Sammo Hung’s action dramedy “Warriors Two” is the latest Hong Kong martial arts release from Arrow Video.
In the world of martial arts cinema, one of the greats is Hung Kam-bo, known more commonly as Sammo Hung. His resume includes acting, stunt choreography, writing, producing, and directing in films released by Cathay Asia, Bo Bo Films, Shaw… Read More ›
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“Renfield” Digital Code Giveaway
You think your job sucks? Imagine being Dracula’s bootheel. Thanks to Chris McKay’s Renfield, we no longer have to! If you happened to miss this horror comedy in theaters, it’s coming home on June 6th and Universal Pictures has kindly given… Read More ›
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“Fist of the Condor” Blu-ray Giveaway
He’s gone head-to-head with Mr. Wick, played motorball with Alita, the Battle Angel, and taken on the one and only Machete. Martial artist, stuntman, and actor Marko Zaror has a solid catalog and only added to it with his latest… Read More ›
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16 films to check out during the Tribeca Film Festival 2023.
For the second time, Elements of Madness will officially be covering the Tribeca Film Festival and we thought we’d offer up our recommendations of what to check out during the fest or what to keep an eye out for in… Read More ›
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“Noon Wine” DVD Giveaway
Today, director Sam Peckinpah’s Noon Wine released on DVD via MVD Entertainment Group. This film was broadcast on television and has not been seen since its original air date, but now you can own it for yourself! Thanks to MVD,… Read More ›
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“Fast Saga” clone “Redline” gets a Blu-ray release thanks to the MVD Marquee Collection.
In 2001, no one could’ve imagined that in 2023 the 11th sequel of The Fast and the Furious would be hitting theaters. The original told the story of street racers who also moonlight as truckjackers, stealing VCRs for profit. Now,… Read More ›
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When there’s “No Way Out,” you want Det. Ma by your side.
Crime stories are a staple in cinematic storytelling. These stories take the form of films like Internal Affairs (1990), Crime Story (1991), Heat (1995), and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019). Sometimes, the individual films are standalones (Point Break… Read More ›
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Coming to home video, you can now materialize “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” into your bag of holding.
It says a lot about a film when it’s not even close to over and you’re already excited about the *idea* of a sequel, about what new story the characters could go on in this strange and exciting-yet-familiar world. As… Read More ›
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Though the approach threatens to push away general audiences, there are many lessons within documentarian Melody C. Miller’s “California’s Forgotten Children” that should be heeded.
The stories we tell ourselves shape how we view the world. Sometimes the narrating voice is our own, unable to pull us up out of a self-defeating dive; other times, the voice is someone else’s, taking advantage of our vulnerability… Read More ›
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“The Siege” Blu-ray Giveaway
From director Brad Watson (Hallows Eve) and actor Daniel Stisen (Last Man Down) comes The Siege, an action/adventure film in which alliances are forged and broken when a group of highly-skilled killers attacks a facility filled with assassins. The Siege lands on… Read More ›
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Welcome the whole Shazamily home with “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” available on home video.
Photosensitivity warning: The climatic fight involves a great deal of lightning which may trigger issues within viewers who suffer from migraines or other ocular issues. One of the bigger surprises of 2019 was director David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!. After so… Read More ›
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Welcome home the undisputed Heavyweight Boxing Champion as “Creed III” releases on home video.
Michael B. Jordan has been working as an actor since he was very young with his first credited project being a 1999 episode of The Sopranos. It makes a certain amount of sense that he might make the leap from… Read More ›
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Sun’s out and the beer is cold: must be time for “Buddy Games 2: Spring Awakening.”
We should all be so lucky as to work with our friends. It makes the hard days easier and the light days more fun. Doesn’t matter what the gig is, doing it with people that you trust just improves the… Read More ›
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Cult Epics restores writer/director Martin Koolhoven’s psychological thriller/dark comedy “AmnesiA” beautifully with a limited edition package to match.
First there was the reduction of available discs to rent via services like Netflix, then streaming rights for entertainment jumped from one streamer to another. To make matters even harder for consumers, some services straight up started deleting their films… Read More ›
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“Creed III” 4K UHD Giveaway
“One step at a time, one punch at a time, one round at a time …” – these are the words Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky tells Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed as he prepares for his major bout in Creed (2015)…. Read More ›
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It may be wise to find another group of “Righteous Thieves” for your next heist.
There’s something about a good confidence film. They’re not always A-List-led romps like Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or explorations of morality like Rififi (1955). Sometimes, they’re a mixture of both, keeping the audience on their toes the entire time like Confidence… Read More ›
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“L.A. Wars” Blu-ray Giveaway
On May 16th, the Tony Kandah/Martin Morris-directed 1993 actioner L.A. Wars joins the MVD Rewind Collection with a collector’s edition Blu-ray. Thanks to the generosity of MVD Entertainment Group, EoM is giving away one (1) Blu-ray of L.A. Wars to one lucky… Read More ›