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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With “Confessions of a Good Samaritan,” documentarian Penny Lane’s uninhibited examination of self via altruistic donation may change perceptions and save lives. [SXSW]
Documentaries often reveal as much about their subject as they do the documentarian capturing it. We get a sense of who they are and what they value based on the editing, the structure, and the overall energy of a film… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men Awards Chat 2023, Part 1
It’s time for the Fifth Annual Awards Chat! As we head into the 95th Academy Awards, The Cine-Men go through the Top Six categories, offering our thoughts on each of the nominees in Actor/Actress Supporting, Actor/Actress Lead, Director, and Picture…. Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 81: Most Anticipated Films of 2023
In Episode 80, The Cine-Men closed out our discussion of 2022 releases and are now turning our sights toward 2023. To make things far more interesting, co-host Darryl Mansel suggested that we leave franchise films off our lists (folks know… Read More ›
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Meet Me at the Movies: Episode 493
It’s been a minute since I joined the Meet Me at the Movies crew and the release of Creed III is an excellent reason to return. On episode 493, I join host Noel T. Manning for a one-on-one chat about the Rocky Universe… Read More ›
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Writer/director Caroline Fioratti’s “Meu Casulo de Drywall (My Drywall Cocoon)” explores the conflicting ideas between security and safety. [SXSW]
What does security look like? Is it the absence of threat or the protection from them? Does security form from an abundance of safety or a dearth of individuality? Can one be secure and therefore free to share their concerns,… Read More ›
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“Legend of Gatotkaca” Blu-ray Giveaway
Well Go USA champions Asian cinema, bringing some form of action, adventure, drama, horror, and intrigue with each release. The latest feature is director Hanung Bramantyo’s Legend of Gatotkaca, an Indonesian martial arts superhero story that’s streaming on Hi-YAH! beginning February… Read More ›
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Children’s book adaptation “The Magician’s Elephant” reminds the audience to never grow too old to ask ‘What if?’.
Award-winning children’s author Kate DiCamillo is the creator of such works as Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, Flora & Ulysses, and The Tiger Rising. While she’s also written several others, these four are particularly notable as they’ve each… Read More ›
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The bonus features included with “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” expound upon everything you might’ve noticed or secrets you missed entirely.
Between Puss in Boots films there was an 11-year gap. 11 years where original voice actor Antonio Banderas (Desperado; Official Competition) played several supporting roles in other Shrek-related projects big and small, but not where the fearsome fighting feline took… Read More ›
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If you must blink, do it now as you’ll want to take in all the details in the first-time 4K UHD edition of “Kubo and the Two Strings,” available from Shout! Factory and LAIKA Studios.
In February of 2021, it was announced that LAIKA Studios and boutique home media distributor Shout! Factory made a deal to bring LAIKA’s incredible stop-motion films to U.S. audiences’ homes. Toward the end of 2021, Shout! Factory released Blu-ray/DVD combo… Read More ›
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Shout! Factory and LAIKA Studios invite you to revisit the world of Cheesebridge in the first-time 4K UHD edition of “The Boxtrolls”
In February of 2021, it was announced that LAIKA Studios and boutique home media distributor Shout! Factory made a deal to bring LAIKA’s incredible stop-motion films to U.S. audiences’ homes. Toward the end of 2021, Shout! Factory released Blu-ray/DVD combo… Read More ›
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Documentarian Christine Yoo’s “26.2 to Life” has you running a marathon in a few inmates’ shoes. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
“Running is good punishment.” – 1000 Mile Club volunteer Well into writer/director Christine Yoo’s documentary 26.2 to Life, one of the interviewees comments that running is the thing that all other sports use as punishment. Miss a basket? Screw up… Read More ›
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“Everybody Wants to be Loved (Alle wollen geliebt warden)” explores different types of love, the good and the bad/toxic. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
“Love is a many splendid thing. Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love.” – Christian, Moulin Rouge! Generally speaking, there are four types of love: Eros (erotic), Philia (friends/family), Storge (parents for children), and Agape… Read More ›
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Have your choice of four cuts in the Arrow Video restoration of the Sammo Hung-starred/directed action comedy “Millionaires’ Express.”
In the last few years, physical media boutique Arrow Video has restored many martial arts-centric films. These range from two Shaw Brothers collections totaling 22 films, Come Drink with Me (1966), and One-Armed Boxer (1972), to name a few, while… Read More ›
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Sinéad O’Loughlin’s short film “Lamb” is a calling card of homegrown terror in a single chamber. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
The only right length to tell a story is the length required to tell it completely. This is why a story can be constructed with as few as three words or as much as a 90-minute or more screenplay. It… Read More ›
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If you vibe with drama “The Young Arsonists,” you’re in for a powerful exploration of feminine adolescent independence. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
Memories are a strange thing. They are flickers of the past, like embers of a long burnt out flame riding the strands of neuropathways until they can be inflamed once more, waiting to come billowing into the present. The problem… Read More ›
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“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” Blu-ray Giveaway
After an 11 year hiatus between solo outings, the tailored tabby Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) returned to theaters in DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish with a brand-new look and an unexpected adventure. Enjoyed by general… Read More ›
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Director Kei Ishikawa’s dramatic thriller “A Man (ある男)” explores the value of self and identity. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
Who are you? Stop for a moment. Read not a line further, and think on that. Are you one thing or are you many? Are you your thoughts and fears? Your anxieties or successes? Your actions? Are you your present… Read More ›
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One step at a time, one punch at a time: the “Creed” series just gets better and better with each outing.
Nostalgia can only take audiences so far when it comes to films. It’s not that sequels or reboots and the like are bad, it’s just that they so often rely on meta material rather than moving things forward or making… Read More ›
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Social thriller “The Sixth Child (Le sixième enfant)” will challenge you to reconsider the complex notion of conception. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
In modern society there are a number of presumptions that enable and empower those who have to look down upon those who have not. Aspects of health, wealth, occupation, and hobbies are all treated as aspects of one’s morality. Don’t… Read More ›
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Robert Townsend’s satirical comedy and directorial debut “Hollywood Shuffle” is the first of his films to join the Criterion Collection.
Writer/director/actor Robert Townsend has played a solider, a superhero, an every man, and even himself. He’s made a point to create and tell stories that are not just specific to him and his worldview, but to the Black community, as… Read More ›