Elements of Madness

Recent Posts - page 18

• Set sail with the seaman of PT-73 in full technicolor as the 1964 comedy film “McHale’s Navy” re-released on DVD.

  By Douglas Davidson on August 6, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  With recent releases like The Naked Gun (2025) and The Fall Guy (2024), one might possess a false presumption that the adaptation or transition from broadcast programming to theatrical is a recent feature of modern entertainment. Even if the ‘90s… Read More ›

• Low-stakes sports dramedy “Good Game” is worth booting up and logging in. [Fantasia]

  By Douglas Davidson on August 5, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  In the realm of capitalism, if you can do it, chances are you can make money off of it. That’s why you can make money from doing everything from playing board games, tossing a pig skin, or PvP Counter-Strike competitions…. Read More ›

• “Sketch” draws us in with bold narrative strokes, sharpened wit, and unique framing.

  By Douglas Davidson on August 4, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  Photosensitivity Warning: One of the creatures in Sketch glows with rapidly changing colors when active and there is a quick burst of light during the climax; both of which may be triggering for photosensitive individuals. There’s a meme going around… Read More ›

• Julie Pacino’s psychological thriller “I Live Here Now” draws you in and never lets you escape. [Fantasia]

  By justin waldman on August 3, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  Thinking you cannot get have a child conventionally due to something out of your control leads to making different choices, but when you’re proven wrong, everything turns your world upside down. However, in Julie Pacino’s feature debut, I Live Here… Read More ›

• Dramatic thriller “Lurker” dives into the enticement of fame and its poison. [Fantasia]

  By AJ Friar on August 2, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  Lurker is one of those rare films that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll. Much like The Surfer starring Nicolas Cage, which also dropped earlier this year, it’s a film that demands repeat viewings not just for… Read More ›

• When death is on your side, “All You Need Is Kill.” [Fantasia]

  By Douglas Davidson on August 2, 2025 • ( 2 )

  

  Live. Die. Repeat. Live. Die. Repeat. Live. Die. Repeat. Live. Die. Repeat. Before these words were linked to the Doug Liman-directed Edge of Tomorrow (2014), they belonged to Hiroshi Sakurazaka and his light novel All You Need Is Kill. Initially… Read More ›

• Bubblegum horror “Foreigner” is a pitch-perfect genre mashup where every emotional note sticks the landing. [Fantasia]

  By AJ Friar on August 1, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  Foreigner is one of the standout films from this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, offering a stylish and subversive take on teenage horror through the lens of the immigrant experience. Set during the early 2000s, a time of low-rise jeans,… Read More ›

• “Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy” is an ambitious fantasy adventure exploring the limitations of humanity. [Fantasia]

  By Douglas Davidson on August 1, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  A world invaded by monsters. Celestial observers meddling with humanity. Humans given the ability to upgrade their physical form by completing scenarios and defeating monsters, including acquiring specialty weapons. If this sounds like the 2016 web novel series Solo Leveling… Read More ›

• “Small Soldiers” is back and in 4K to remind everyone that everything else is just a toy.

  By Douglas Davidson on July 31, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  There are dueling sentiments in the cinephile community: not everything needs a new edition and film preservation on physical media matters. Given the shift toward digital consumption which removes ownership from the viewer and keeps it steadily in the hands… Read More ›

• “You Can Count on Me” is a downhome Criterion Collection release.

  By Andrew J. Eisenman on July 31, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  The best small-town dramas welcome the viewer back to a place they remember but never visited. The town itself has nothing and everything to do with this film, serving as a setting, a cage, and a refuge depending on who… Read More ›

• Horror comedy “Hell of a Summer” receives a decent home release edition for a subpar cinematic experience.

  By Douglas Davidson on July 31, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  If there’s anything that cinema has taught us, don’t be a camp counselor. Either they have to build morale for a rag-tag group of kids coming from disparate backgrounds in order to help defeat an opposing camp, have to play… Read More ›

• No matter how silly the idea of having another “The Naked Gun” movie might be to us, as movie-goers, we must be gracious and entertained consumers.

  By Douglas Davidson on July 30, 2025 • ( 4 )

  

  For audiences of a certain age, no one merges situational and absurdist comedy with pop culture references quite like ZAZ (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker), the brains behind cinematic comedies Airplane! (1980), Top Secret! (1984), and The Naked… Read More ›

• “The Bad Guys 2” missteps with the second verse being the same as the first.

  By Gabe Lapalombella on July 30, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  Upon its release in 2022, The Bad Guys proved to be a surprising smash hit. The reviews were quite positive, with praise on all accounts. This included the screenplay, voice performances, and very entertaining action. Add in a gross of… Read More ›

• “Final Destination: Bloodlines” breathes new Death into the franchise in a 4K Blu-ray home release.

  By Hunter Heilman on July 30, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  I could spend hours ruminating on all of the ways the Final Destination franchise shaped me as a lover of film from childhood, but eventually I would bore you with my stories of being afraid of the Final Destination 3… Read More ›

• Comedic short “Shrimp Fried Rice” may not contain shrimp (it totally does). [Fantasia]

  By justin waldman on July 29, 2025 • ( 1 )

  

  Sometimes filmed content needs 90+ minutes to tell its story effectively. Other times, it needs less. It all depends on the story that is being told, the ability of the actors in the project to convey the story in the… Read More ›

• A24’s home release of “Warfare” maintains the intensity of the theatrical experience.

  By AJ Friar on July 29, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  Warfare is now available on physical media thanks to A24, and it’s a release that absolutely deserves a place in any serious film collector’s library. As a film, Warfare is one of the most heart-stopping, emotionally jarring war movies in… Read More ›

• Amid clunky execution, fantasy rom-com “ChaO” reminds that we are forever our own storytellers. [Fantasia]

  By Douglas Davidson on July 28, 2025 • ( 2 )

  

  We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams;— World-losers and world-forsakers, On whom the pale moon gleams: Yet we are the movers and shakers Of the world… Read More ›

• Nothing can stop you from enjoying “Thunderbolts*” at home.

  By Douglas Davidson on July 27, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  Trigger Warning: Thunderbolts* includes depictions of suicidal ideation and an exploration of depression. Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is official over and Six is set to kick off with The Fantastic Four: First Steps; but, before we… Read More ›

• Get ready to throw down in “The Forbidden City.” [Fantasia]

  By Douglas Davidson on July 26, 2025 • ( 2 )

  

  Since Cain slew Abel, it’s believed that humanity has continued to find ways to betray itself, regardless of the cost. As such, stories have found ways to exploit this element of the human condition as a means for narrative catalyst,… Read More ›

• Memorializing a rock icon: documentary “Kurt Cobain: All Apologies” is being re-released on DVD 20 years after his death.

  By Michelle Swope on July 26, 2025 • ( 0 )

  

  On April 5, 1994, the lead singer of the alternative rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, died by suicide at the age of 27. His body was discovered three days later in a greenhouse above the garage in his home in… Read More ›

• ‹ Older Entries
• Newer Entries ›