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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“Goodbye, Don Glees!” Hello, innumerable possibilities.
As long as there are children who grow into adulthood via adolescence, there will always be coming-of-age stories. They may not be indicative of your experience, but they will speak to the universal ideas of growing up, shifting from an… Read More ›
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37 years after release, “Real Genius” remains just as hilarious and topical as ever.
As a child of the 1980s, I was witness to all kinds of bullying toward nerds, dorks, and geeks. If it wasn’t happening in front of me (or to me), then it was happening on-screen. You’d think a film like… Read More ›
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With Steve Wang’s sci-fi actioner hitting 4K UHD via 88 Films, all you’ve got to do is “Drive.”
There are movies that grab you because they take big swings, there are movies that grip you because they resonate with some aspect of your being, and there are some movies that simply tickle you for their absolute audacity. Director… Read More ›
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“Confess, Fletch” doesn’t miss a step after the character’s 33-year absence in film.
If you’re an adult of a certain age, when you hear the name “Fletch,” you immediately think of Chevy Chase. Across two films, Fletch (1985) and Fletch Lives (1989), audiences watched the fast-lipped investigative reporter find his way into and… Read More ›
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Documentary “Gratitude Revealed” embodies and emulates its subject matter.
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a… Read More ›
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Revisit the wild landscape of “Cool World” in a brand-new collector’s edition from Shout! Factory.
There’s a romantic notion that “there’s someone for everyone,” and it isn’t just for the lovesick or lovelorn. This very much applies to the arts where something you create may not be for a wide audience, but that doesn’t mean… Read More ›
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Grab a seat, heist dramedy “The Umbrella Men” is primed to play. [Toronto International Film Festival]
Heist films come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. There’s the family comedy (The Bad Guys (2022)), the musical drama (Baby Driver (2017)), the superhero action comedy (Ant-Man (2015)), the save-yourself drama (Widows (2018)), the zombie survival action drama (Peninsula… Read More ›
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“Clerks III” is a near-perfect button for the entire View Askewniverse.
The creator of the View Askew Universe (or View Askewniverse), writer/director Kevin Smith, is as well-known for his indie movies as he is for his comic book writing, his podcasting, and his television directing. All of it is possible because… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 73: Favorite Fourth Wall Breaks.
Inspired by a prompt found on TikTok, The Cine-Men decided to ask themselves what moments in cinema in which the characters either acknowledge the audience or generally establish they know they’re in a film (a.k.a. a Fourth Wall Break) are… Read More ›
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When on the course of life, the best way to get through is to remain “Open.”
Writer/director/actor Jack Eve’s last project was the Agatha Christie-like Bees Make Honey, a film which demonstrated the artist’s ambition as a storyteller. It’s big in terms of cast, costumes, and sets, not the mention the murder mystery script. In July… Read More ›
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Ahead of Star Trek Day 2022, engage in a new 4K UHD remaster of the original motion picture’s “Director’s Edition.”
September 7th, 2021, Paramount Pictures released a Star Trek four-film collection, debuting the first four films in the cinematic series on 4K UHD for the first time. Nearly a year later, home-viewing audiences can complete their 4K UHD set by… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 72: Movies That Feel “Made For Me.”
There’s nothing better than experiencing something that feels like it’s speaking directly to you. To feel seen from start to finish. In this episode of The Cine-Men, hosts Darryl Mansel and Douglas Davidson share what films fit that bill for… Read More ›
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“Sniper: The White Raven” Blu-ray Giveaway
Back in July, Well GO USA released director Marian Bushan’s Sniper: The White Raven, an adaptation of the true story of Ukraine’s most famous sniper. Whether you’re a fan of war films or just enjoyed this one specifically, EoM is giving… Read More ›
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“Burial” stitches historical facts to examine complex conflicts as factual today as they were in 1945.
Berlin 1945, in an underground bunker shielded from the war, the would-be world dictator took a coward’s way out and shot himself in the head rather than face his crimes. Sadly, this supposed example of masculinity and human superiority which… Read More ›
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Get the full experience of Mamoru Hosoda’s “BELLE” through the 4K UHD collector’s edition from Shout! Factory and GKids Films.
After hitting the festival circuit in 2021, writer/director Mamoru Hosoda’s musical drama BELLE landed in select U.S. theaters in January of 2022 and then shelves the following April. Both times, my reviews of the film lauded the look and sound… Read More ›
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Depending on your expectations, “Three Thousand Years of Longing” will either leave you satisfied or pining.
No matter what, all things end. What remains in their wake are the stories of their existence. With those tales, anything can live forever. Before the written word, the oral tradition kept histories alive and, now, with media channels that… Read More ›
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No amount of charity or goodwill can help comic adaptation “Samaritan.”
First released in 2014 by Mythos Comics, the Samaritan series from Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent, and Renzo Podesta sought to explore what life would be like in a city post-superhero. It’s a series that seems interested in exploring the complex… Read More ›
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Arrow Video presents director Johnnie To’s “Running Out of Time” collection in a lovely 2K restoration.
There was a time when the transition away from physical media to digital seemed like a gift as largely hard-to-find media became accessible. Without getting into the larger economic issues within their respective areas, the shift toward digital acquisition with… Read More ›
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Keep the beat whenever and however you like with “Vivo” on home video.
The recent go-to writer for making a family film, especially one with music, is Lin-Manuel Miranda. He’s not just the mind behind global phenomenon Hamilton, he’s the lyricist behind Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021). It makes sense, then, that if… Read More ›
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Join the “Flatliners” as they die and return on a new 4K UHD release from Arrow Video.
While popular culture tends to focus on releases like Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) when director Joel Schumacher’s name arises in conversation, his work extended to strong thrillers like Falling Down (1993), A Time to Kill (1996),… Read More ›