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
-
“Training Day” 4K UHD Giveaway
Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 crime thriller Training Day blew audiences out of the water thanks in large part to leads Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Smartly, their performances earned them each an Oscar nomination and Washington an Oscar win for Actor… Read More ›
-
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Digital Code Giveaway
On February 1st, Marvel Studios released Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on digital-to-own and Disney+, following a week later with a physical release. Thanks to a digital code provided by Walt Disney Studios, I was able to explore the… Read More ›
-
Michelle Yeoh’s 1986 historical actioner “Magnificent Warriors” gets a 2K restoration from 88 Films.
Before Oscar-nominee Michelle Yeoh (about damn time) traveled everywhere all at once, before she was a rich Asian, before she played a Chinese agent alongside 007, Yeoh was part of a heroic trio, a royal warrior, and, for the Hot… Read More ›
-
The Cine-Men, Episode 80: Lesser Known Films of 2022
Hello, 2023! The Cine-Men return from their annual January hiatus with a brand-new episode! Before we turn our attention to what we’re excited to see in 2023, to our thoughts on the Oscars, to the load road to episode 100,… Read More ›
-
A particle-sized adventure leads to infinite possibilities in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
Content Warning: Photosensitive viewers may have trouble enjoying Quantumania as there are many sequences involving flashing lights. There are far more than I expected and, though I did leave the theater without a migraine, I did wake to one the… Read More ›
-
David Mesfin’s documentary “Wade in the Water” inspires audiences to dive deep into the lesser known history of African aquatic culture. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
When it comes to surfing and aquatic culture, where does your first thought go? Whom do you see? If you’re like this reviewer, you may think of Gidget (1959), Blue Hawaii (1961), Bikini Beach (1964), Point Break (1991), Blue Crush… Read More ›
-
“The Baby Daddy (ארי והזרע הקדוש)” avoids agenda in presenting a situation with many variations of consideration. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
Parenting is not for the weak. – Douglas Davidson, father of two. There’s a growing trend right now with birth rates in the U.S. dropping compared to previous generations. According to a March 2021 CDC report, as of 2019, birth… Read More ›
-
Dr. Jenny Mackenzie’s “The Right to Read” offers striking evidence that all caregivers should consider and heed. [Santa Barbara International Film Festival]
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. – Frederick Douglass Even before COVID-19 revealed to the public the struggles of education in a populace unwilling to put in the work to help their children learn, there existed… Read More ›
-
Lost for 40 years, Jean-Denis Bonan’s thriller “La Femme Bourreau (A Woman Kills)” receives both a restoration and wide release, courtesy of Radiance Films.
Art imitates life when it comes to timing. One can never predict how something will be received and, even things prognosticators think is a shoe-in, could fall flat. Sometimes the politics of the day get in the way, other times… Read More ›
-
Celebrating 100 years of Disney Magic, Walt Disney Animation Studios releases a first volume of select Mickey and Minnie Mouse short films on home video.
In Fall 2022, Jeff Malmberg’s documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse released on Disney+. The film had screened at SXSW prior to the wide release, telling its story about the journey from concept to the now-iconic character that is… Read More ›
-
“Disquiet” Digital Code Giveaway
Writer/director Michael Winnick (Malicious) returns with a brand-new project starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Yakuza Princess) as a man whose situation goes from bad to worse when he’s first involved in a car crash and then discovers, upon regaining consciousness, that… Read More ›
-
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the final film of the MCU’s Phase Four, comes home.
Marvel Studio’s 2016 release Captain America: Civil War did more than close out the Captain America trilogy and severely weaken the cinematic version of Avengers ahead of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), it introduced audiences to T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), the prince… Read More ›
-
“Project Wolf Hunting” Blu-ray Giveaway
Director Kim Hong-Sun’s Project Wolf Hunting had a simultaneous North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2022 and in select theaters October 2022. EoM senior interviewer Thomas Manning covered the film, calling it “…undeniably gutsy…”. Months later, Hong-Sun’s horror action-slugfest is… Read More ›
-
The cinéma vérité approach of documentary “Sweetheart Deal” results in profound surprise, investment, and disgust. [Slamdance Film Festival]
Content Warning: The documentary explores drug use and addiction and the narrative involves sexual assault. For at least 10 years, Laughn Elliott Doescher presided over Seattle, Washington, living in an RV and providing support of various kinds of the sex… Read More ›
-
“The Grandmaster of Kung Fu” imagines Chinese historical figure Huo Yuanjin in a personal conflict during the first Sino-Japanese War.
Each country has their history and storytellers often find those histories ripe for the picking when trying to devise ways to entertain. In the U.S., for instance, audiences marveled at cinematic release The Patriot (2000) for its depiction of sacrifice… Read More ›
-
True crime adaptation “American Murderer” raises the kinds of questions even justice may not answer.
No matter how close we are to someone, they’ll never truly know us. We can get close, sharing secrets others don’t know or confiding intrusive thoughts we might otherwise not, but without an actual mindmeld, it’s impossible for someone to… Read More ›
-
Family rom-com “Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out” is a tale for the lost and not-yet-found. [Sundance Film Festival]
Whether young adult or full grown, rom-coms tend to follow a similar track. The characters are on different trajectories, there’s a meet-cute, they find themselves drawn to each other, and then there’s conflict. Perhaps it was a conflict the audience… Read More ›
-
Ho-ho-HOLY S#@T! Christmas actioner “Violent Night” is out on home video.
Saint Nicholas. Kris Kringle. Père Noël. Weihnachtsmann. Babbo Natale. Дед Мороз. Noel Baba. Święty Mikołaj. Sinnterklaas. These are just a few of the names Santa Claus goes by in communities and cultures around the world. He’s a figure known for… Read More ›
-
Shout! Factory’s “Jackie Chan Collection: Volume 1 (1976-1982)” showcases some of Chan’s early works.
When it comes to martial arts films, there are many great current actors who can pull off the action, but uncommon is the actor who can do so without the aid of a stunt double. Conversely, there are great martial… Read More ›
-
Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck’s doc “And the king said, what a Fantastic Machine” will get you thinking about the relationship you possess with your camera. [Sundance Film Festival]
Part historical revue, part sociological examination, co-directors Axel Danielson (Kneg) and Maximilien Van Aertryck’s (Kneg) documentary And the king said, what a Fantastic Machine (also referred to simply as Fantastic Machine), premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2023, takes the audience… Read More ›