Creative team Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson have an obsession with time: how it moves, how it operates, how it functions in relation to the space we occupy. This curiosity has given rise to three films — Resolution (2012), Spring… Read More ›
Well Go USA
RZA continues to up his directorial game with crime drama “Cut Throat City.”
There’s a brief line said by T.I.’s Lorenzo “Cousin” Bass that contains more than just a slight meaning to the context of the moment in which it’s said. Cousin is speaking to the four leads — Blink (Shameik Moore), Miracle… Read More ›
Supernatural thriller “Broil” is more of a low simmer.
Werewolves. Vampires. Zombies. Each of these monsters of the dark owe their origins to legends and myths, to a time before science when fear ran roughshod over reason. That part of ourselves remains present even now and yet we find… Read More ›
Crime drama “Invincible Dragon” proves to be vulnerable after all.
With turns in Ip Man 3 (2015), Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), and Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018), Max Zhang is slowly becoming recognizable in the stateside martial arts community. His movements are fast, his skill precise, and his presence… Read More ›
“Possessor” is a gruesome, ugly, and morally repugnant film and you’ll love every minute of it.
Hollywood nepotism can be frustrating at times. With so many burgeoning actors and filmmakers bursting onto the scene in their family member’s footsteps, it can sometimes feel unfair to the whole selective process that weeds so many quality filmmakers out… Read More ›
“Invincible Dragon” Blu-ray Giveaway
Elements of Madness is excited to announce we’ve partnered with Well Go USA on the upcoming home release of Invincible Dragon. In anticipation of the Blu-ray, DVD, and digital release on October 6th, we are giving away two (2) Blu-rays… Read More ›
Lech Majewski’s “Valley of the Gods” possesses high concepts which never coalesce.
There is, perhaps, nothing more frustrating for a cinephile than to finish a film wherein the pieces are stronger than the whole. Where you can understand the intent of a project, yet, whether by style, structure, or some other technical… Read More ›
“House of Hummingbird” is an exercise in patience with a profound emotional payoff.
There’s something ubiquitous about adolescence that makes coming-of-age stories. It doesn’t matter what era or culture they derive or take place within, because there’s something universal, even in their specificity: the social awkwardness, the longing for connection, the need to… Read More ›
Adaptation of Indonesian comic superhero “Gundala” kicks off the beginning of a grand adventure.
Take the brilliant stunt choreography of Indonesian action film The Night Comes for Us (2018), the intrigue of Indonesian thriller The Raid: Berandal (2014), and mix with superhero elements you know from various Marvel and DC storylines and you’ll get… Read More ›
Take a step back to the days of Brucesploitation with modern remake “Enter the Fat Dragon.”
Before digging into the ridiculousness that is Enter the Fat Dragon, a remake of a 1978 martial arts comedy, let us take a moment to marvel at the majesty that is Donnie Yen. This actor and highly trained marital artist… Read More ›
Genre mash-up “Samurai Marathon” gets off to a messy start but comes together mid-stride.
Described as “a lively action flick with a samurai twist,” latest Well Go USA release Samurai Marathon meets that description with a unique vigor. Directed by Bernard Rose (Candyman) and adapted from the novel “The Marathon Samurai: Five Tales of… Read More ›
Chinese YA adaptation “Better Days” is a genre-bending coming of age story.
Trigger Warning for discussion of bullying, suicide, sexual assault, and violence. In a conversation between an older and younger cop early into the 135-minute Better Days, one says to the other something to the effect that either you were the… Read More ›
Animated adaptation of Chinese tale “Ne Zha” asks children what we owe each other.
Myths and legends, stories like those of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round, Robin Hood, and Paul Bunyan and those of gods, goddesses, demons, and immortals, are often given the adaptation treatment in cinema. These stories are often… Read More ›
“The Witch: Subversion” balances multiple genres within a singular narrative to keep audiences on the edge of their seat.
There’s an elegance and simplicity to writer/director Hoon-jung Park’s The Witch: Subversion that all begins with the opening. Via photo montage with intense tonal scoring, The Witch sets up a mysterious cabal performing medical experiments on children: iron lungs, tubes… Read More ›
With the home release of “Ip Man 4: The Finale,” the curtain closes on the 11-year-old series.
Inspired by real life martial artist Yip Man, the Ip Man series of films conveys not just the man, but his impact on his community. Beginning in 2008 with the first film, Ip Man starred Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A… Read More ›
Nothing marks “First Love” like drugs, gangs, and absolute mayhem.
There’s something about first love that can be hard to quantify, even when looking back on it. The simultaneous excitement of being attracted to someone else, the endless internal questions trying to figure out what it means, the unyielding terror… Read More ›
Be careful when you peel back the layers in “Freaks,” what looks back may frighten.
After spending some time on the festival circuit in 2018, and providing a fan screening during 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con, genre-bending Freaks finally gets the theatrical treatment. Freaks relies far more on character work than action and writing/directing team Zack… Read More ›
Even on home video “Furie” packs a punch.
2019’s been a great year for action films. It’s not just John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum or Avengers: Endgame which blew peoples’ minds, but smaller films like Shadow, Avengement, Master Z: Ip Man Legacy, Big Brother, and Furie. If… Read More ›
Martial arts nostalgia only goes so far in “The Unity of Heroes”.
When it comes to crafting compelling stories, anything can inspire ideas: love won or lost, a desire to return to childhood innocence, moments of great historical significance. All of these and more provide the baseline for audiences to engage emotionally… Read More ›
Coming To Theaters: June 2019
Summer may not officially kick off until June 21st, but the movies hitting theaters don’t know that. June brings with it films small (actor Seth Green’s directorial feature debut Changeland) and large (Men in Black: International), each competing for your… Read More ›