Survival thrillers are not an untapped genre in storytelling. They place the audience right alongside someone as they strive to live through whatever tragedy has befallen them. We’re talking about films like The Book of Eli (2010), The Hunger Games… Read More ›
Of the many things that filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven trilogy; Logan Lucky; Presence) can be described as, an actor’s director is among them. He knows what he wants regarding a shot, he knows how he wants the production design… Read More ›
What is it that gives life meaning? Is it the brevity? Is it what you do with it? Who you meet along the way? Is it the service you provide or the service provided to you? On the one hand,… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: Better Man features several sequences involving flashing lights that may be troubling to photosensitive viewers and the narrative explores depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation that may be hard for some viewers. You may not be immediately familiar… Read More ›
“But, there were other effects. The serum was not ready. But more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who… Read More ›
The hot titles seared into my memory from 2016 include 10 Cloverfield Lane, Keanu, Everybody Wants Some!!, Kubo and the Two Strings, and The Accountant. At the time, I praised director Gavin O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque’s film, saying it… Read More ›
Clint Eastwood has always been on-point with his direction and performances, so, while I say that Pale Rider (1985) wasn’t as engaging as The Outlaw Josey Wales, it is not to say that either are lacking, because they’re not. I’m… Read More ›
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) is one of Clint Eastwood’s earlier directed films and is now being released for the first time in 4K by Warner Brothers. The gorgeous transfer presented in this home release will astound audiences who are… Read More ›
Films may endure for a number of reasons. Maybe there was a stacked cast of actors in parts large and small, each making their mark. Maybe the script was highly quotable. Or maybe it was run so often on cable… Read More ›
The Wedding Banquet (2025) is one of those rare films that functions more as another swing at bat than as a remake, and returning screenwriter James Schamus (The Wedding Banquet (1993); Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) scores at least a double… Read More ›
When a studio releases a film versus when a boutique releases a film, there can be, on occasion, a little worry that the former won’t be the *best* version of the release. There are always exceptions to the rule, of… Read More ›
It is more fitting than ironic that an impressionistic biopic about the acclaimed neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat would also be written and directed by another painter. For his directorial debut (the first in a line of acclaimed releases including Before… Read More ›
In the popular children’s story Cinderella, the protagonist lives a miserable existence, mistreated by her evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters, but ultimately ends up living an enchanted life with Prince Charming, with a little help from her fairy godmother. Written… Read More ›
In January of 2025, Radiance Films released Underworld Beauty, a 1958 yakuza drama from filmmaker Seijun Suzuki, the second restoration by the boutique distributor of the filmmaker’s work. Now, with A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (1977), Radiance Films offers… Read More ›
In a landscape of recycled IPs, a never-ending torrent of superhero fever, and films that are made for adults being shoved to the wayside, original high-concept films (strong examples being Inception (2010) and The Matrix (1999)) seem to be a… Read More ›
“What If …” is not a question reserved for Marvel Comics; rather, it’s a question that’s been asked by philosophers, scientists, and more for the bulk of humanity’s existence. Within that question lives innumerable possibilities that no amount of planning… Read More ›
Discovery itself is at risk. Last week I bought the 2-disc special edition of Sam Rami’s Drag Me to Hell (2009) at Eides Entertainment in Pittsburgh because I was scanning for Spike Lee’s Clockers (1995), and scanning titles with your… Read More ›
Clocking in at a whopping 215 minutes and being filmed in VistaVision (a high-resolution format once used for classic films such as Vertigo (1958) and The Ten Commandments (1956)), it is not hard to understand why someone would be quick… Read More ›
For the second time in a row, Elements of Madness will officially be covering Atlanta Film Festival so, ahead of the festival start, here’s a few films that I’m hoping to see or recommend to keep an eye out for… Read More ›
When a boutique label announces that they’re releasing a 4K copy of a movie that has already had a restoration done, the questions are inevitably going to be asked as to which transfer is better between the two disks, what… Read More ›