Elements of Madness

Recent Posts - page 2

• Meet Me at the Movies: Episode 420, SXSW 2021 & More.

  By Douglas Davidson on March 25, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  It’s been a few months since the last time I could join the Meet Me at the Movies Team and, yet, it never feels like it. The MAM Team is so welcoming, you’d never know I last jointed them in… Read More ›

• Documentary “The Hunt for Planet B” begins with the amazing minds at home. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Douglas Davidson on March 25, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Are we alone in the universe? This is the question that drives some people to search the stars and others to question your sanity. “Why would there be others like us?” some may wonder, “For we are divine creatures thanks… Read More ›

• “Nobody” brings comfort like family.

  By Douglas Davidson on March 25, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Audience expectations are killer. They will ruin you every time, which is often why the marketing has to work so hard to manage them. A little tease here, a little explanation there — just enough to get folks interested without… Read More ›

• Bonkers B-Movie gore fest “Jakob’s Wife” is brimming with bloodlust. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Thomas Manning on March 24, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Immediately after I finished watching Jakob’s Wife, I sat there in a state of confusion, perplexed by the madness of what I just witnessed. A jumbled mess of incohesive thoughts and emotions floated around in my mind as I tried… Read More ›

• If you can stomach it, “Violation” from writing/directing team Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer has something worth hearing.

  By Hunter Heilman on March 24, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  **Trigger Warning: Discussion of topics surrounding sexual assault** There’s this strange sort of thought process that goes into the writing of the stereotypical rape-revenge film. Woman (always a woman, because that’s totally not something that ever happens to a man,… Read More ›

• Ahead of the modern MonsterVerse showdown, revisit Gareth Edwards’s “Godzilla” for the first time in 4K UHD.

  By Douglas Davidson on March 23, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Alright, everyone: WHO IS READY TO RUMMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBLLLLLEEEEE????!!!!! (Copyright Michael Buffer.) On March 31st, the fight kaiju fans have been waiting for is going down: Godzilla Vs. Kong. In the run-up to the glorious smackdown in which Kong will sucker punch… Read More ›

• Just In: “Breaking News in Yuba County” fails to live up to the promise of its cast.

  By Douglas Davidson on March 23, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  No one can accuse Tate Taylor of being the kind of director who’s confined to one genre or style. He’s tackled book adaptations with the Oscar-winning The Help (2011), biographical material with Get on Up (2014), suspense with The Girl… Read More ›

• Documentary “Hysterical” is a showcase of the sheer fearlessness and tenacity of female comics. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Thomas Manning on March 22, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  There is a lot to take away from the official SXSW selection, Hysterical, a documentary feature directed by Andrea Nevins, which examines the culture of women in stand-up comedy. Just to set the scene, I am a straight, white male… Read More ›

• Liberate tutemet ex inferis. “Event Horizon” Collector’s Edition coming from Shout! Factory.

  By Hunter Heilman on March 22, 2021 • ( 1 )

  

  Have you taken time to praise our lord and savior Paul W.S. Anderson today? For his truth and wisdom are great and mighty, and his camp polished and lively. For he…also made the Resident Evil movies, and that’s pretty cool,… Read More ›

• The unique benefits of “The Spine of Night” outweigh its sometimes impenetrable downsides. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Hunter Heilman on March 22, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Of the nominations for Best Animated Film at this year’s Academy Awards, Onward, Over the Moon, Shaun The Sheep: Farmageddon, Soul, and Wolfwalkers, not a single one of them was made for anything but family audiences in mind. It’s a… Read More ›

• Riveting documentary “Introducing, Selma Blair” captures the spirit of a person unbroken. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Hunter Heilman on March 21, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  There’s a point about two-thirds of the way through Introducing, Selma Blair where the titular Selma Blair is recounting her career based on her magazine appearances, including an admittedly unfortunate Seventeen Magazine cover, a stunning Italian Vogue cover, and the… Read More ›

• Funimation’s 4K UHD Limited Edition set of “Akira” is well worth the time and investment.

  By Douglas Davidson on March 21, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Director Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s 1988 adaptation of his own 1982 manga, Akira, is considered one of the greatest film ever made if only for its influence on all the post-apocalyptic cyberpunk stories to come. Both the manga and film pre-date Masamune… Read More ›

• “Best Summer Ever” is may be cheesy, but it’ll sweep you up in its charm nonetheless. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Douglas Davidson on March 21, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Originally slated for a 2020 SXSW premiere, musical comedy Best Summer Ever from first-time feature directing partners Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli instead makes its world debut at the 2021 festival. Part Grease homage, part Disney Channel wannabe, part… Read More ›

• Documentary “Alien on Stage” charms from lights down to the final curtain call. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Hunter Heilman on March 20, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  If you’re like me, you’ve been obsessed with the North Bergen High School’s production of Alien two years ago. The New Jersey high school, with the film and a dream as inspiration, crafted a unique and (by high school standards)… Read More ›

• Failing to live up to its promise, “Offseason” feels more like a pale imitation to other works. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Hunter Heilman on March 20, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  If you ever even mutter the words “silent” and “hill” within seven words of each other in a sentence within a 10-meter radius of me, buckle in because I’m going to tell you everything I know about the Silent Hill… Read More ›

• Megan Park’s “The Fallout” doesn’t sensationalize school violence, but explores the aftermath. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Hunter Heilman on March 20, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland. These are words that have been burned into our collective minds as a nation as we struggle to deal with a society that puts gun rights over children’s lives. These are atrocities we’ve been forced to… Read More ›

• South African horror film “Gaia” is 100% risk, earning the audience’s respect. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Hunter Heilman on March 20, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  There really aren’t enough African films in the international film circuit. Nollywood (Nigerian Film Industry) is certainly getting its flowers, but rarely do those films ever make their way onto American shores. Even most films we see about South Africa… Read More ›

• The Cine-Men, Episode 46 – Favorite Character Introductions.

  By Douglas Davidson on March 20, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  The Cine-Men return from an extended break so it’s only fitting that the episode is extended, as well. On this episode, we not only discuss a handful of recent watches and challenges (Thief via HBO Max and In & Of… Read More ›

• Shunning convention at every turn, Justine Bateman’s “Violet” is a raw and blistering must-see film of 2021. [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Douglas Davidson on March 19, 2021 • ( 2 )

  

  After an already extensive career, Justine Bateman proves she’s nowhere close to done with her feature-length directorial debut, Violet, a film which is as easily an exploration of gender politics as it is of mental health. In the press notes,… Read More ›

• “Language Lessons” offers an honest look into what a COVID-19 riddled world has become.” [SXSW Film Festival]

  By Gabe Lapalombella on March 19, 2021 • ( 0 )

  

  On paper, a film like Language Lessons sounds like your typical love story waiting to happen. Two people (Natalie Morales, Mark Duplass) find the thing they’ve been looking for over the confines of a weekly Zoom call. The catch is… Read More ›

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