“Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say that we devise their misery. But they themselves- in their depravity- design grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns.” ― Homer, The Odyssey Pulling ones’ self up by bootstraps… Read More ›
In Theaters
The McManus Brothers’s “Redux Redux” explores grief as an ouroboros through a multiversal sci-fi thriller. [SXSW]
There was a time when the concept of a multiverse was left to modern philosophy and creative writing as the idea of worlds on top of worlds separated by frequency, many like our own except for the tiniest of differences,… Read More ›
In an era of hypernormalization, Geremy Jasper’s musical opera “O’Dessa” may just be the seed for revolution. [SXSW]
Trigger Warning: Photosensitive viewers should take precautions before viewing as they are several brief sequences and two longer sequences involving flashing lights. “… to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable …” There’s a long tradition of using stories to… Read More ›
Lanfia Wal’s feature-length directorial debut “New Jack Fury” is a mouthpiece with plenty to say. [SXSW]
“Sooner or later, everything old is new again.” – Author Stephen King There’s a cyclical nature to things in entertainment. For instance, the things that are popular to you as a child tend to come back around as an adult,… Read More ›
Blockbuster Bets: “Sendero” debuts an independent voice.
We were standing in the lobby of the King’s Mountain Theater in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, talking when Michael Flores (Date Night; Garrow) walked in. I was with Elements of Madness Senior Interviewer Thomas Manning III, director of the 2024… Read More ›
“Night of the Zoopocalypse” is a scary-good midnight movie gateway for families looking to start their children on their horror journey.
One of the weird things about today’s entertainment landscape is the move away from event-programming of the cable era to the always-available aspect that streaming provides. This means that one is less likely to be channel surfing late at night,… Read More ›
Sci-fi dramedy “O Horizon” seeks to examine what analog grief looks like in a digital space. [SBIFF]
There is no one way to grieve. There are certainly customs and traditions within communities and cultures, but there’s no single way in which each person is meant to process loss. With the digital age, though, the manner in which… Read More ›
“Old Guy” misses the mark on promises suggested by its premise and cast.
Old Guy, directed by Simon West (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; Con Air; Expendables 2) and written by Greg Johnson (The Last Son), at least piqued my interest as an entertaining, silly, action movie with a cast that includes Lucy Liu… Read More ›
“Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse” explores the magnitude of significance of Spiegelman and his graphic novel “Maus.”
When I was in university (all those years ago), I took a class that was essentially called “Understanding Comics” which explored comics as a medium — how it told stories, how it evolved, where it is now, and so on,… Read More ›
“Millers in Marriage” cranks family drama up to 11.
No matter what the subject matter at hand is, throwing it into a family dynamic automatically adds an additional level of intensity, uncomfortableness, and familiarity. Usually, the best versions of these dynamics focus on some terrible tragedy past or present… Read More ›
Daisy Ridley-led action thriller “Cleaner” smartly delivers highwire action on well-worn framework.
If there’s one thing that the movie industry knows how to do, it’s how to compare a new project to an old one. Often times, that means describing a new film as simply “Die Hard in a [blank].” Of course,… Read More ›
“The Monkey” is a blood-soaked laugh-riot.
Theo James, even when he’s good, such as in White Lotus season two (2022) or the ill-fated HBO adaption of The Time Traveler’s Wife (2022), has apparently been miscast his entire career until The Monkey (2025). Usually playing a George… Read More ›
“Captain America: Brave New World” isn’t brave at all.
I don’t need movies to save me. In a spiritual sense, one could say that they already have, but, in a literal sense, determined leaders do more for our quality of life than good art. Unfortunately, both are in short… Read More ›
Dark comedy “Timestalker” deconstructs tropes of love and romance.
As a child of the ‘90s, fantasy tales of romance have always felt like the coziest of blankets. Could it be that true love always won in the end? Or, having existed in a world filled with divorce, addiction, and… Read More ›
How can you plan “To Kill a Wolf” when foe and friend share the same traits? [SBIFF]
Trigger Warning: The narrative of To Kill a Wolf grapples with difficult topics involving sexual abuse. The two earliest written versions of the Little Red Riding Hood story come from author Charles Perrault (1697) and from The Brothers Grimm (1800s), each providing… Read More ›
“I’m Still Here” tells a narrative as relevant today as in 1970 Brazil.
Oscar hopeful I’m Still Here (2024) opens with where, when, who, and what’s it like. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1970. Eunice Paiva, the wife of a retired left-wing senator is on a beach as armored personnel carriers drive down the… Read More ›
Oscar-nominated documentary “No Other Land” deserves your attention and a distributor.
Content Warning for descriptions, images, and reporting on violent scenes of oppression, police brutality, and genocide. There are special movies, and then there are films that you’ll never forget. No Other Land, an on-the-ground account of a Palestinian West Bank… Read More ›
“Love Me,” a metaphysical tale of romance Or: How I Decided to Stop Worrying and Simply Love YouTube.
Trying to make a movie that is as adult while being not-so-on-the-nose as WALL-E (2008) is certainly a daunting task, and writers/directors Sam and Andrew Zuchero (10 Crosby) not only took on this challenge in their new film Love Me,… Read More ›
“Like Father Like Son” lacks tension in its attempt to challenge its audience.
Trigger Warning: Like Father Like Son utilizes frequent use of unexpected fast cuts with visual imagery accompanied by white flashes which may disturb photosensitive viewers. What makes a killer a killer? For centuries, this question has been asked by plebs… Read More ›
Documentary “Third Act” captures self-realizations and the discovery that they run generations-deep. [Sundance]
History can only be buried for so long before the truth comes out. This relates to large revelations (the purposeful attempts to control and reduce Indigenous populations through residential schools in the U.S. and Canada) and interpersonal discoveries that wield… Read More ›