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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Paramount commemorates 15 years for Antoine Fuqua’s “Shooter” with a first-time 4K UHD limited-edition steelbook.
It’s fair to say that by 2007 Mark Wahlberg had established himself beyond the musician that captivated audiences with his good vibrations. He’d terrified us as obsessive boyfriend David McCall (Fear), dazzled us as a big bright shining star as… Read More ›
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Unravel a wild unknown mystery with Allison Otto’s documentary “The Thief Collector.” [SXSW Film Festival]
When I was a kid, I remember my paternal grandparents traveling constantly. They would bring back foreign currency, bobbles, and even stuffed animals from their adventures to give to me, my siblings, and cousins — mementos of their trips which… Read More ›
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Documentary “Still Working 9 to 5” captures all the humor, real issues, and hard work surrounding the classic comedy. [SXSW Film Festival]
December 19th, 1980, is memorable for two reasons: it’s the day I was born and Colin Higgins’s 9 to 5 hit theaters. It, a workplace comedy featuring three female leads, went up against the likes of Robert Altman’s Popeye and… Read More ›
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Documentary “Mama Bears” offers love and light for all who are lost: parents and children alike. [SXSW Film Festival]
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, [a] and… Read More ›
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Even newbies will get into dark fantasy manga adaptation “Jujutsu Kaisen 0.”
Started by creator Gege Akutami in March 2018, Weekly Shōnen Jump series Jujutsu Kaisen is a supernatural horror/comedy action series involving sorcerers who protect the world’s population by destroying or controlling curses (primarily sentient monster-like creatures) that come to being… Read More ›
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Explore the mysteries of Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” via three home release special features.
Few directors can have a small body of work and yet feel so pervasive, so integral, so inspiring as writer/director Guillermo del Toro. When he’s not writing or directing one of his own projects, he’s producing or raving about someone… Read More ›
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Documentary “Crows are White” is a surprising exploration of the intersection of faith and truth. [SXSW Film Festival]
On Mt. Hiei in Japan lives a secretive sect of Buddhists who push their bodies to their limits in order to achieve enlightenment. Seeking guidance, documentarian Ashen Nadeem travels to the monastery in hopes of chatting with Kamahori, a monk… Read More ›
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Teemu Nikki’s dramatic thriller “The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic” is storytelling on an elevated level. [SXSW Film Festival]
Art being subjective, the likelihood that each film released is going to be the latest masterpiece is small. Individuals may certainly feel that way, but, objectively, it’s far less likely. Odds are always on the side of familiar stories being… Read More ›
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Sports drama “National Champions” offers precious few special features in its home release amid a highly rewatchable film.
In an equitable world, there’s balance and fair play. There’s a general sense that a deal made between parties will be advantageous to both, making their lives enriched in some fashion. But when it comes to collegiate sports, the deals… Read More ›
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Go on a wibbly wobbly timey wimey action adventure in new Shawn Levy film “The Adam Project.”
It all starts with the rhythmic strumming of a guitar plucking the notes off a string before cymbals, drums, and piano join in. As then-18-year-old Steve Winwood’s voice kicks in with “Well, my temperature’s rising, and my feet on the… Read More ›
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Meet Me at the Movies: Episode 453
Been awhile since I joined Noel T. Manning and Thomas Manning for an episode of Meet Me at the Movies, so the release of Matt Reeves’s The Batman seemed like a great reason to return. They offered me space to discuss… Read More ›
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Return to the Matrix one last time via the home release of “The Matrix Resurrections.”
Throughout the special features, one thing that keeps repeating from original franchise actor Keanu Reeves is the comment that people have been telling him since the release of 1999’s The Matrix that the films changed their lives. It may seem,… Read More ›
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Exploring emotions and interpersonal relationships, Domee Shi’s “Turning Red” adds another top release to Pixar’s catalogue.
In front of Pixar’s Incredibles 2 (2018) was writer/director Domee Shi’s directorial debut Bao, a bittersweet story of parenthood and letting go. It’s not too surprising that Shi’s feature-length debut, Turning Red, follows a similar trajectory, just from a different… Read More ›
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Explore Zamunda a bit more with the home release of “Coming 2 America.”
When it came to film releases in 2020, the modus operandi was “make it work.” Sometimes that meant stalling until a theatrical release was possible and sometimes that meant selling to a streamer. In the case of Eddie Murphy’s Coming… Read More ›
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The answers offered within the bonus features for Camille Griffin’s “Silent Night” home release create more questions.
According to the 2021 TIFF Q&A with Silent Night writer/director Camille Griffin and cast members Keira Knightly (Atonement), Matthew Goode (The King’s Man), and Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit), their film was one of the last to wrap production in… Read More ›
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The Cine-Men, Episode 62: Most Anticipated Films of 2022.
After a January hiatus to recover from the usual FYC hullabaloo, The Cine-Men co-hosts Darryl Mansel and I return to talk what’s coming to theaters in 2022. More specifically, we talk about the films we’re most excited to see. With… Read More ›
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“Scream” Digital Code Giveaway
Since 1996, if you wanted to make someone’s blood run cold, all you had to do is grab a voice changer and ask “Do you like scary movies?.” Horror master director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson’s long-running series welcomed… Read More ›
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Iuli Gerbase’s “The Pink Cloud” utilizes a fictional global crisis as a means of exploring gender roles in a microcosm.
“Written in 2017, shot in 2019, Official Selection Sundance 2021” — these words find themselves repeated often when promoting writer/director Iuli Gerbase’s feature-length directorial debut, the science fiction drama A Nuvem Rose, now more widely known as The Pink Cloud…. Read More ›
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“John and the Hole” Blu-ray Giveaway
After having its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Pascual Sisto’s directorial debut was released in select theaters and on VOD in August 2021. Whether you missed this tense thriller or want to revisit it any time you… Read More ›
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Matt Reeves’s “The Batman” may just be the greatest live-action Dark Knight detective story yet.
In my lifetime, the following actors have physically donned the cowl of Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s legendary detective Batman: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck. With each actor came a distinct version… Read More ›