Often in film criticism, the words “cult classic” are overused — unless you’re talking about a filmmaker with a filmography as iconic as David Lynch. Most people probably also associate Lynch with Twin Peaks, cherry pie, and a damn fine… Read More ›
Recommendation
Shout! Studios and GKIDS Films release a HD home edition of Takehiko Inoue’s “The First Slam Dunk” that’ll have you out of your seat until the shot clock stops.
Sports films are often used as a metaphor for something else. The grit, the determination required to succeed either as a team or an individual being a symbol for some other kind of battle. In the feature film directorial debut… Read More ›
Early Val Kilmer mystery thriller “Thunderheart” is well worth the HD upgrade in a brand-new home release transfer.
The beginning of the 1990s was uncharted territory for a young, newly established Val Kilmer. He broke out as the villainous, cock-sure “Ice” in Top Gun (1986) years prior and Willow (1988) was a success, but its visual effects and… Read More ›
Schedule your own journey on Jérémie Périn’s “Mars Express” anytime via the Shout! Studios/GKIDS Films home release.
A vicious murder, a private detective, a thread-pull revealing a larger conspiracy, and a question of robotic sentience — all the makings of a cyberpunk neo-noir. We’ve seen it before with the Blade Runner and The Matrix series, as well… Read More ›
Arrow’s 4K release of “American Gigolo” delivers high quality bangs for your buck.
When thinking of ‘80s filmmaking, most fans often point to the usual suspects: John Hughes teenage dramedies, over-to-top action spectacles, along with a few (now iconic) slasher flicks. But one early example of the decade deserves its flowers just as… Read More ›
Paramount Pictures releases “Chinatown” in 4K UHD for its 50th anniversary.
Even though I’d had every plot point of Chinatown (1974) spoiled for me by film school staples like Robert McKee’s STORY, by the end of my first watch through of the new 4K edition from Paramount Presents, I still wanted… Read More ›
Buy a ticket and take the ride as The Criterion Collection brings the polarizing cult classic “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” home in stunning 4K.
Two guys, a trunk full of drugs, and the open road leading to the place of sin itself. Not Hell … but close enough. Las Vegas. Add in some counterculture themes such as the Vietnam War and its relation to… Read More ›
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” arrives on home video with a single message: Hail to the Kings, Baby.
Photosensitivity Warning: There are several sequences within the film (traveling to Hollow Earth; uses of breath abilities) that may prove triggering for photosensitive views. Take proper precautions before pressing play. What a time to be alive. Despite the claims that… Read More ›
“One from the Heart: Reprise” is a booby, bloated, bad masterpiece.
At the peak of the DVD/VHS era, studios would often release worse, extended, “unrated*” cuts of films with more boobs and cursing to trick a few customers into purchasing the film a second time. That’s what Francis Ford Coppola (The… Read More ›
“The Damned” fully delivers on its genre promises of mystery, drama, and horror. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Genuinely speaking, I don’t want to condone a movie, but the trance, anxiety, and dread that Thordur Palsson creates with his directorial debut, The Damned, needs to be studied as A Clockwork Orange-style of torture. This movie is the one… Read More ›
A stunning Blu-ray, “La Chimera” lives up to its name leaving the audience chasing absent special features
If you have been following my writing and my thoughts on things when it comes to media, it should be apparent that my stance is, and always will be, physical media is king. It is really hard to make the… Read More ›
Sex comedy “Frivolous Lola” is the second Tinto Brass 4K UHD restoration home release by Cult Epics.
In April 2024, physical media boutique Cult Epics released a first-time world premiere 4K UHD of filmmaker Tinto Brass’s erotic dramedy All Ladies Do It (1992). This would be the first of several restorations the boutique would release in the… Read More ›
28 films we’d like to see during Tribeca Film Festival 2024.
Elements of Madness returns to cover the Tribeca Film Festival for the third year in a row! In the run-up to the festival, we thought we’d offer up our recommendations of what we hope to check out during the fest…. Read More ›
The special features on the home release of “Kingdom of Storms” will hold you over until the second part of the “Creation of the Gods” trilogy releases into theaters
16th century Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi (Investiture of the Gods) is the inspiration for a number of adaptions in Chinese entertainment. Adaptations in written forms, television programs, and, of course, cinema. Sometimes it’s in individual portions, such as with studio… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection welcomes the iconic horror of 1960’s “Peeping Tom” with a brand-new 4K UHD edition.
Obsessively pursuing art is the focus of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960). The parallels to artistic pursuit as it pertains to a filmmaker are hard to miss, as are the Freudian psychoanalytics. Both of which are apt as Powell (The… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection puts the shine on the 1-2 punch of Karyn Kusama and Michelle Rodriguez in 2000’s “Girlfight.”
In the year 2000, no one knew of the name Karyn Kusama, and no one knew of her star Michelle Rodriguez either. However, after they both debuted with 2000’s Girlfight, they’d go on to make some incredibly intriguing pieces of… Read More ›
“Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d’une chute)” releases a beautiful Criterion Blu-ray with special features.
Awards season has come and gone once again, like another overblown, overwrought, overlong thief in the night, spanning an impressive seven months from the beginning of the Venice Film Festival to that of the Academy Awards. Though, unlike other years,… Read More ›
“In a Violent Nature” delivers on its name.
When you see a movie is a sponsorship of IFC Midnight and Shudder, there is a certain expectation for the film, an expectation that it is going to be something uneasy, disturbing, f-ked up, and downright gross. Now, with all… Read More ›
“Crimson Peak” revels in its full Gothic glory in 4K UHD and an abundance of bonus features.
Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim; The Shape of Water) calls Crimson Peak (2015) his most beautiful film, comparing this gothic romance to the works of Charles Dickens (Great Expectations; David Copperfield), Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice; Emma), Emily Bronte (Wuthering… Read More ›
Macabre fantasy “Pandemonium” makes its streaming debut on Arrow Player, offering a mixed bag of dark delights and dreadful disappointments.
The cult cinema streaming service Arrow Player is no stranger to the grotesque, the bizarre, and the gloriously macabre, making it the perfect home for the French dark fantasy film, Pandemonium. This visceral and nightmarish flick, which made the rounds… Read More ›