After watching the bittersweet and darkly humorous short musical Stuffed at SXSW Film Festival 2021, I just had to interview the creative team. It was truly the biggest surprise of the festival and won the special jury prize for Bold… Read More ›
romance
Two features and five shorts to keep an eye out for. [SXSW Film Festival]
SXSW 2021 has come and gone, offering accredited press a dizzying array of opportunities in which to indulge. While the Elements of Madness coverage team wrote a hearty portion of reviews, there were far more films worth seeing than we… Read More ›
Explore somewhere unexpected in time anomaly dramedy “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things.”
Books are a frequent source of mining in cinema. Sometimes their adaptations becomes something larger than possibly imagined (The Shawshank Redemption), while others support the notion that the imagination of the reader trumps anything celluloid can conjure (Artemis Fowl). Audiences… Read More ›
Charming, well-crafted, and funny, Adam Stovall’s romance/horror mashup “A Ghost Waits” is a delightfully spooky good time.
Adam Stovall’s micro-budget flick, A Ghost Waits, makes a pretty convincing argument that romance and horror can work really well together. Stovall doesn’t simply juxtapose the genres or jump back and forth between sweet and horrific moments. Instead, he takes… Read More ›
Beautiful, painful, hilarious, & uncomfortable, Sam Levinson’s “Malcolm & Marie” is a declarative statement of artistic talent.
It’s 1 a.m. and Malcolm (John David Washington) and Marie (Zendaya) return home from the premiere of Malcom’s film, a film which left the audience in tears and the critics raving. This should be a time of celebration for the… Read More ›
With strong performances, a compelling story, and a satisfying blend of romance and mystery, all “32 Weeks” needs is a better ending.
Sometimes, writers get a tad bit lazy with their narratives and throw in a character with amnesia as a cheap and easy way to wiggle themselves out of plot holes and avoid the extra work of coming up with a… Read More ›
For a period romance, “Ammonite” is too cold to generate heat.
Queer period romance films have had a bit of a kick as of late, and I have been very grateful for them thus far. Colette, The Handmaiden, Carol, The Favourite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire, among others, have… Read More ›
Chloé Hung’s sci-fi short film “Signal” possesses eerie parallels to now. [Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival]
The symbiotic relationship between art and reality continues to prove itself as an essential component of our society and culture. The concept of post-apocalyptic storytelling has been delivered in various forms with creativity ebbing and flowing. With the turbulent events… Read More ›
Unexpectedly, “Spontaneous” offers much needed catharsis during a time of pandemic.
It’s in the strangest of places that we often find that which affirms life. It could be a sunrise, a child’s laugh, a taste of pumpkin spice pick-a-thing, a song you’ve heard a million times, or a film you’re experiencing… Read More ›
Jeon Gye-soo’s “Vertigo” offers sensory exploration of romance from the heights. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In a corporate world made of glass, steel, and concrete, Jeon Gye-soo’s atmospheric Korean language film Vertigo captures the agony of one woman’s emotional and physical isolation and the slow-budding connection she makes with a high rise window washer contracted… Read More ›
Enjoy the delightful “Roman Holiday” for the first time on blu-ray thanks to the Paramount Presents label.
Three-time Oscar winning film Roman Holiday is the latest Paramount catalogue title to join the Paramount Presents label and fans of the 1953 comedic romance have a lot to be excited about. It’s not just that Paramount has gathered previous… Read More ›
Following the fish-out-of-water rom-com formula, “A Mermaid in Paris (Une sirène à Paris)” is a dazzling visual treat. [Fantasia Film Fest]
Multi-talented writer and director Mathias Malzieu, who is known for his success as a novelist and musician as well as filmmaker, returns to this year’s virtual Fantasia Film Festival with a delightful grown-up fairytale. Malzieu’s previous animated film, Jack and… Read More ›
Alexandra Shipp shines in supernatural romance “Endless.”
Let me describe to you a movie in brief: two young lovers are ripped apart as one dies tragically while the other tries to cope with life without their partner, except — and here’s the twist — the one who… Read More ›
Aaron Fisher’s “Inside the Rain” uses his personal experience to craft a compelling meta-drama.
As writer, director, and lead actor of the Act 13 distribution Inside the Rain, Aaron Fisher constructs a therapeutic reflection of the struggles he has faced over the course of his life, dealing with bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, and borderline… Read More ›
Keep on rollin’ with your homies in this stylish 25th Anniversary Steelbook release of ‘90s classic “Clueless.”
There are a few films which define a generation. The Wizard of Oz speaks to those born 1922 -1945, a group which survived not just the Great Depression, but also World War II. For the Boomers, those born post-World War… Read More ›
Wake up in “Palm Springs,” you may not leave.
There comes a time in just about everyone’s life where suddenly every day feels the same. Wake up, get dressed, eat, work, eat, work, eat, rest, and start it all over again. Maybe you’re lucky and you get to mix… Read More ›
Watch “The Photograph” develop anytime you like on home video.
There’s an authenticity that radiates outward from every frame of writer/director Stella Meghie’s The Photograph. One thing that keeps being repeated in each of the three brief featurettes included with the home release of The Photograph is the simplicity of… Read More ›
Now may be the best time to curl up at home with a modern adaptation of the classic “Little Women.”
The art we engage with critically shapes who we become as adults. It molds how we view and engage with the world. It shapes our perspective, often subconsciously guiding us through the choices we make. For this review, it was… Read More ›
Civil War story “Union” is a missed opportunity.
The Civil War is a time period that doesn’t get explored in most movies. Sure, we love to see our World War II movies, whether it’s Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk, or Hacksaw Ridge, but the Civil War is full of… Read More ›
Indie drama “Enthusiastic Sinners” strips its characters bare physically and emotionally.
In all aspects of films, the trickiest part is categorizing it. What genre does it fall into? Who does it target? To whom does the film speak? It’s easy to do with most superhero films, while prestige pictures more often… Read More ›