Elements of Madness

“You probably heard we ain’t in the prisoner-takin’ business; we in the killin’ Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin’.” – Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds (2009) There are a few things in cinema that most audiences agree on: killing animals is wrong, killing children is a delicate line to be walked, killing Nazis is a good start for a great time.

What does it mean to live an honorable life? Is it honoring yourself? Honoring your community? Existing by a code? These may sound like old-fashioned queries, the sort of things that warriors or soldiers asked themselves when written by poets, but questions like these help define our perspective. Filmmaker Kenichi Kutsuna’s jidaigeki tale Sekiro: No Defeat applies such questions through an adventure tale to assist audiences in processing them, perhaps to apply them to their own experiences.

Filmmaker Jesse V. Johnson returns to EoM Presents to discuss his latest directorial effort, the ocean survival thriller Above & Below. Laura Marano as Tatiana in ABOVE & BELOW. Photo courtesy of Aura Entertainment. Johnson speaks about the technical and logistical challenges of underwater filmmaking, the performances of frequent collaborators Louis Mandylor and Jess Liaudin, and why humans are always more frightening antagonists than sharks.

After a stint on the festival circuit, director Evan Miller’s drama Due West starring Adrianne Palicki (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Henry Thomas (Doctor Sleep) is set to come available for home viewing. Courtesy of Cineverse, EoM is giving away one (1) Apple TV code for one lucky individual. Review the rules for the complete details and submit an entry before time runs out for a chance to win. Giveaway runs until Thursday, July 30th, at 11:59p EDT.

Movies are a place for escape, but also for self-discovery. They take us to unseen lands, places of pure imagination, situations in which the amazing and the horrible occur in equal measure, containing the ability to excite us in ways we couldn’t possibly conceive, enthralling us until we can’t tell the difference between reality and fiction.

Photosensitivity Warning: As much of the film deals with fashion, there are press in attendance at various points of the film which results in quite a few flashing cameras. Scenes like these are also used in the supplemental materials of the home release. Take appropriate precautions before viewing. Legacy sequels carry an extraordinary burden.

While physical media production of films seems to be waning, there still remain those who champion cinema by re-releasing titles on brand-new formats with new art and features. In June, Lionsgate Limited did exactly this with their 4K UHD edition of filmmaker David Twohy’s The Arrival as Spine #40 in their Vestron Collector’s Series. Courtesy of Lionsgate Limited, EoM is giving away one (1) 4K UHD edition of The Arrival to one lucky individual.

Cinematic Reviews, Recommendations, and More on • It’s July and that means it’s time to quickly rundown the titles that made the biggest impact in 2026. This short list of 23 films represents the titles that made the biggest impression on me between January and June 2026 that have released in theaters, on VOD, and on streamers so far this year. If you’d like to see how this list might shift and change through the rest of the year, be sure to follow this official Letterboxd list for 2026.

Born in the Sunset District neighborhood of San Francisco, Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr., known professionally as Berner, is a rapper with multiple albums under his belt, as well as a cannabis entrepreneur. Berner is the Co-founder and CEO of Cookies, an internationally known cannabis brand headquartered in San Francisco that offers more than 2,000 products with over 55 locations in five countries.

As preservation dwindles, those who continue to offer physical editions of films are going to be hailed as heroes. It’s not just that a movie in the digital era can get lost amid the various digital streamers, it’s that, sometimes, when a movie is out of print physically, it doesn’t always come back. This was once the case with filmmaker David Lynch’s (Lost Highway; Eraserhead) second film, The Elephant Man (1980), and it’s previously released Criterion Collection special edition.