Scrooged (1988)::rating::2.5::rating::2.5::rating::2.5

S crooged ranks amongst the bleakest and most sarcastic Christmas films ever made. It transmutes A Christmas Carol into the soulless, frenetic commercialism of 1980s America. On paper, this change in setting and the lead casting of Bill Murray should combine for a slam dunk. In reality, this modernized Scrooge only works in fits and…

ByTodd Wofford17 hours ago0Comments

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)::rating::3

E yes Wide Shut is a confounding experience: The story is overlong, but it's never exactly boring. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman deliver some of their most impassioned work, even if their characters feel aloof and unrelatable. Stanley Kubrick bedecks his quasi-erotic odyssey with eye-popping colors, although the New York of his fantasy rings completely…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 13, 20240Comments

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The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)::rating::3

T he Long Kiss Goodnight is an ungainly hybrid, wherein a lean, mean Cold War thriller mingles with a big, dumb 90s action epic. Every scene practically dares you take it seriously, and that's a game of chicken I can promise you'll lose. How well you can tolerate this film's shameless silliness will determine your…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 6, 20240Comments

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Galaxy Quest (1999)::rating::4

A s a pop culture behemoth, the Star Trek franchise has long been a ripe target for satire. In fact, just about every sketch comedy show has fired off a Trek spoof, whether it's Jim Carrey's clipped, histrionic Captain Kirk on In Living Color, or Bill Shatner himself mocking Trekkie superfans on SNL. All this pointing and snickering crystallized…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 27, 20240Comments

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The Big Lebowski (1998)::rating::4.5

W hat can you say about a movie where the dramatic through-line is a pee-stained rug? The Big Lewbowski is a freewheeling masterpiece that ambles along like a sun-drenched tumbleweed in the Hollywood Hills. Never before or since has such an insubstantial movie been so highly regarded or endlessly quoted. Remarkably, like its hero, Lebowski…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 21, 20240Comments

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Grindhouse (2007)::rating::3

Death Proof (2007) O n paper, the Grindhouse double feature looks dangerously like a vanity project from two cocky film directors. And make no mistake, Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino spend a fair amount of both these movies just dicking around. Your tolerance for these gory joy rides will depend on how well…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 7, 20240Comments

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The Exorcist (1973)::rating::5

E ven after fifty years, The Exorcist stands as the pinnacle of the horror genre. Everything about it has attained iconic status, from the acting and makeup effects to the directing and music. Mention this movie to anyone and they'll immediately conjure images of Linda Blair, writhing and wailing like a banshee as her head rotates…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 2, 20240Comments

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An American Werewolf in London (1981)::rating::3

A n American Werewolf in London lands in a weird no man's land. As a comedy, it's fitfully amusing, but never particularly funny. As a horror flick, it's ambitious and interesting, but not that scary. Still, it's good-looking, well-paced, and those werewolf effects remain stunning to this day. All this adds up to a film…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 26, 20240Comments

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The Faculty (1998)::rating::2.5

T he Faculty is a passable teen comedy trapped in the body of dumb, disposable horror epic. It delivers a steady stream of pop culture riffs from a cast of angsty John Hughes knockoffs. These winky references duke it out with wearying jump scares and gratuitous gore for dominance of the movie's overall aesthetic. Nobody wins,…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 3, 20240Comments

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The American President (1995)::rating::3.5

T he American President doesn't belong to another era. It belongs to another universe. Aaron Sorkin's sparkling screenplay depicts a quaint fantasyland wherein practical idealists can still rise high and change the world. In this other-verse, when the widower president dates a single woman, it's a pearl-clutching scandal. Meanwhile, our painful reality is that headlines…

ByTodd WoffordSeptember 25, 20240Comments