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Douglas Davidson
Tomatometer-approved critic
Douglas is a Matthews, NC-based writer who enjoys using his geekdom in the pursuit of understanding and analyzing film. He is the founder of film review site Elements of Madness, member of three critics groups, and co-host of podcast The Cine-Men.
Movies reviews only
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Wonka (2023) |
... while "Wonka" may not win over diehards and the songs more often tend to play better in the moment than out of it, there’s enough to savor within the experience that a revisit seems assured for those who relish witnessing a myth being born. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Dec 04, 2023
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The Three Musketeers: Part I - D'Artagnan (2023) |
If all you want from a "Three Musketeers" tale is action and adventure, you’re going to get all you can handle and more in Bourboulon’s "D’Artagnan." - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Dec 04, 2023
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The Gamblers (1969) |
Light and airy, "The Gamblers" is a simple and straight-forward entertainment that delivers on what it promises. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Dec 01, 2023
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Token Taverns (2023) |
Rose captures the excitement, comradery, and joy that the arcade used to bring and what these stewards of entertainment offer to old school cabinet gamers, the crossovers like me, or the generations to come that only know the online/mobile experience. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 29, 2023
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Silent Night (2023) |
... Woo brings his specific voice of action to the mostly dialogue-absent revenge thriller SILENT NIGHT, energizing theaters with the kind of Hong Kong themes and stylizing that actionheads love ... . - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 27, 2023
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Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman (2022) |
If watching someone be a badass is your thing while they cut down fools who dare underestimate them, then EYE FOR AN EYE is going to scratch that itch, plain and simple. It delivers no more or less than it promises ... . - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 27, 2023
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Deep Sea (2023) |
Through animation, Tian is able to mix visual styles to dizzying degrees, creating a swirling and whirling dervish of color that is as visually complex and overpowering as it is guileless, often to the detriment of audience investment. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 20, 2023
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Wish (2023) |
Wrapped in one meta reference to the last 100 years of animated adventures, "Wish" attempts to challenge the trust we put in others to make our wishes come true and ask us to ponder if our wishes are not better kept up to us to make true. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 17, 2023
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Rudy (1993) |
... watching a film like RUDY reminds us that sometimes the power of belief, or as Lasso puts it, “to believe in believe,” is magic enough to set aside cynicism long enough to remind ourselves that dreams that uplift are laudable and should be supported. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 13, 2023
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The Marvels (2023) |
... the overall frequency of "The Marvels," which is to keep it loose, get weird, and make some magic. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 09, 2023
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Lion-Girl (2023) |
Frankly, between the look and approach of the film, from the exploitive appeal and special effects work, I don’t doubt that "Lion-Girl," sequel notwithstanding, will develop the exact fanbase it’s made for. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 07, 2023
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It's a Wonderful Knife (2023) |
... gleefully stating the mechanism of the film that propels the protagonist so that the real surprise can be how it’s all executed. Time to put on “Carol of the Bells” as it’s time for a new-fashioned holiday slay-ride! - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 06, 2023
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Scrooged (1988) |
Even if one doesn’t have enough interest in the 4K UHD aspect to snag this new edition, the film itself holds up so well in any format as to make the time spent with Frank always feel worth it. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 05, 2023
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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part One (2023) |
"Dead Reckoning Part One" is honestly only as great as it is thanks to each film that came before it. So wherever this film may fall on a series ranking list, it owes all of its successes to the work done previously. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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Fancy Dance (2023) |
... there’s a persistent heaviness to Tremblay’s film so that, even as the credits fall, the joy is bittersweet and devoid of relief. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Nov 03, 2023
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Blue Beetle (2023) |
It’s ok for superhero stories to be fun, creative, and inviting, all things "Blue Beetle" is, suggesting that a future outing, should this film not be a oner in the new DCU, would not only be absolutely welcomed, it would shoot up to hotly-anticipated. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 31, 2023
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King of Killers (2023) |
... what should be a clear-and-cut action extravaganza finds itself weighed down by the insertion of several emotional stakes whose compounded efforts make the journey more of a slog than a driving force. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 31, 2023
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A Prince (2023) |
Due to the observatory aspect of Creton’s "A Prince," it’s nearly impossible to invest anything more than time in Pierre-Joseph, his sexual journey, or the ones with whom his path crosses. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 30, 2023
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The Killer (2023) |
The cast is great, the concept is interesting, but there’s something in the execution that leaves the wallop the narrative seems to strive for to fall flat. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 28, 2023
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Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen Part Two (2023) |
... PART TWO is delivers a solid landing for all that it setup in PART ONE, making the two-parter feel like worth the time investment. This really is a film that fans of RWBY will appreciate far more than your average DC fans ... - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 27, 2023
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Haunted Mansion (2023) |
... "Haunted Mansion" succeeds by being a thrill ride from start to finish, utilizing aspects of the ride naturally while telling a story of rejection, grief, and acceptance, even if it’s a little long and predictable. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 26, 2023
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Inspector Sun (2022) |
... a way to entertain via goopy and gross antics with a little daring action and loads of bad jokes. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 23, 2023
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Ride On (2023) |
There’s not a whole lot of surprises in this heartwarming story, but it’s got enough going on that longtime Chan fans won’t feel let down or bait-switched. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 21, 2023
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Freaks (1932) |
Each one, by nature of the period in which they were released and how audiences responded to them, have a legacy that must be explored, mulled over, and come to terms with if cinema is going to tell honest stories without exploitation. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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The Unknown (1927) |
Each one, by nature of the period in which they were released and how audiences responded to them, have a legacy that must be explored, mulled over, and come to terms with if cinema is going to tell honest stories without exploitation. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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The Mystic (1925) |
Each one, by nature of the period in which they were released and how audiences responded to them, have a legacy that must be explored, mulled over, and come to terms with if cinema is going to tell honest stories without exploitation. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 17, 2023
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Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023) |
... delivering a delightful mystery that starts soft and ends with a series of blood-soaked fatalities. As long as that’s all you’re looking for, you’re going to have a good time. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 16, 2023
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EVANGELION:3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time (2021) |
... whether you’re coming to "Evangelion" fresh or as a veteran, there’s little doubt in my mind that audiences will agree that Anno stuck the landing, finding a way to end not just on a positive note, but a life-affirming one. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 15, 2023
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Mambar Pierrette (2023) |
This is a delicate, slow-moving drama driven by [actor] Pierrette’s quiet yet no less powerful performance which will have you reconsider the ways in which you engage with the people who are most significant to you. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 13, 2023
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Theater Camp (2023) |
... "Theater Camp" is a love letter to that specific experience, in all its bewildering narcissism, evoking one’s love of performance whether as someone on the stage or ensuring it all doesn’t fall apart from behind the scenes. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 10, 2023
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The Last Blood (1991) |
... "The Last Blood" is a lean and mean machine; running at 90 minutes, it establishes the characters, the stakes, and gets everything in motion so that blood spills by knife, by gun, or by explosion. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 08, 2023
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Blue Giant (2023) |
... between the slowly-developed relationship of the central trio, the shifting visual language utilized throughout, and the music from ... Hiromi Uehara, one finds themselves swept away, carried off by the exquisite intensity of music-inspired emotion. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 07, 2023
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Postman Fights Back (1981) |
If you’re looking to expand what you know of HK cinema, "The Postman Fights Back" is a solid entry point. If this is a first-time watch, don’t let the art fool you, it’s not wall-to-wall action, but you’re going to feel it. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 06, 2023
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Mercy Road (2023) |
... Curran’s "Mercy Road" is almost entirely set within one location and very nearly fully executed in real-time, resulting in a compelling ride, even if not altogether fulfilling. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Oct 04, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) |
It may have squiffy CG, a perhaps too extended opening, and repetitious set pieces of evasion and capture, but Mangold sticks the emotional and thematic landing ... - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 29, 2023
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Cobweb (2023) |
Using a film-within-a film motif, Kim explores the depressive act of creation, the unity required to bring a vision to life, and the optimism that emerges from having created. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 28, 2023
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Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023) |
Overall, "Ruby Gillman" is not only an entertaining film, it’s a thoughtful one. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 27, 2023
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The School of Rock (2003) |
"School of Rock" may not be the greatest rock film ever made, but it’s a strong tribute to the artform, still capable of entertaining old fans and maybe helping to turn new ones to the roadways of rock. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 27, 2023
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The Creator (2023) |
... perhaps his most challenging yet, incorporating religion, philosophy, and ethics into a sci-fi drama that effectively recreates the horrors of wars past via gorgeously-rendered futuristic trappings. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 27, 2023
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Lonely Castle in the Mirror (2022) |
"Lonely Castle" is a bit of a coming-of-age tale, but it’s a twist on it as an undercurrent theme implies that the “rite of passage” that is surviving junior high and high school is a bunch of bullshit that should be nipped quickly ... - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 26, 2023
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The Last Stop in Yuma County (2023) |
Placing his characters in a volatile situation, a powder keg that few realize has its fuse lit, Galluppi presents a neo-western in which no one can be trusted, all have something to lose, and surviving the day comes with a heavy cost. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 24, 2023
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One-Percenter (2023) |
... a must-see for modern martial arts fans ready to have their minds blown in more ways than one. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 23, 2023
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What You Wish For (2023) |
... utilizing the lies we tell ourselves about others in darkly comedic fashion, wherein one’s desires always come at a cost and they’re often held right out of frame. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 23, 2023
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The Last Dragon (1985) |
... among many other things, implies an awareness of the history of martial arts cinema, working in aspects so that knowledgeable fans can feel seen. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 22, 2023
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Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023) |
For those with some appreciation for or knowledge of the source material, you will be enamored with this incredible, sprawling adaptation that captivates from start to finish. However, if you don’t ... you face an exceedingly steep learning curve ... - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 20, 2023
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Joy Ride (2023) |
Powered by a smart script and perfect casting, "Joy Ride" is exactly that, a joy ride, from flirt to finish. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 20, 2023
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The Princess Bride (1987) |
... there is no bad version of "The Princess Bride." There is only what you take away from it. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 19, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) |
Everything audiences have seen thus far from the first frame of "Into" to the last of "Across" means something to the larger story, and it’s been in front of us the whole time. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 18, 2023
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A Million Miles Away (2023) |
However, with the exception of a few moments in which the film dares to be authentic and feature stirring performances from its two leads, it ends up falling in line with most every other biopic in terms of style and presentation. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 15, 2023
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The Inventor (2023) |
With a pinch of art and a dash of song, "The Inventor" is a silly, yet serious, artful exploration of a complicated mind. - Elements of Madness
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| Posted Sep 14, 2023
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