Barbie (2023)::rating::3.5::rating::3.5::rating::3.5

T hroughout Barbie, two completely different movies jockey for prominence. In one, director Greta Gerwig (who co-writes with her partner, Noah Baumbach) fashions the iconic doll into a walking, talking instrument of satirical destruction. The other is a broad, obvious Message Movie, in which characters carve out time for impassioned speeches, replete with tears and clenched…

ByTodd WoffordAugust 6, 20230Comments

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Oppenheimer (2023)::rating::4

A t first glance, J. Robert Oppenheimer would not seem like an obvious choice for a sprawling, ambitious biopic. As the father of the atomic bomb, his contributions to mankind were as monumental as they were controversial, but Dr. Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) was also enigmatic, eccentric, and prone to bouts of maddening passivity. But in…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 27, 20230Comments

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Clue (1985)::rating::2.5

B y any metric, Clue is the Citizen Kane of movies derived from board games. Of course, to my knowledge, it’s also the only movie derived from a board game, at least until they green-light Hungry Hungry Hippos. Still, this campy, cartoonish romp is probably the best thing you’ll ever get from a macabre whodunit where candyass…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 25, 20230Comments

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The Iron Giant (1999)::rating::4

A s an obvious riff on E.T., The Iron Giant owes an enormous emotional and spiritual debt to Steven Spielberg. You also don't have to look hard for nods to steampunk, pulp novels, and Saturday morning serials. But for all his mixing and matching, writer-director Brad Bird actually works a small miracle with this film: Over…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 19, 20230Comments

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The Negotiator (1998)::rating::3.5

T he Negotiator is a well-acted, well-staged action flick, but its greatest accomplishment is disguising just how preposterous it is. Ninety-nine times of a hundred, nothing about this plot works, and Samuel L. Jackson’s protagonist ends up either locked in the pokey or deader than sweet disco. If you can accept that this is that one-percent…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 13, 20230Comments

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Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023)::rating::3

G uardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 makes it hard to believe this franchise once kicked off with a funky, funny, freewheeling romp. That first film, with its cute pop culture riffs and geeky 70s mixtapes, was the sorbet comic book cinema desperately needed. Now, hither comes movie no. 3, which has the look and…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 12, 20230Comments

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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)::rating::4.5

S ome coming-of-age dramedies draw humor from the cringiness of pre-teendom, when our bodies change faster than our brains can process. Others focus on the frustration of living in that emotional and spiritual thicket between being a child and an adult. Finally, a few aim to satisfy our appetite for gooey nostalgia, with a loving…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 7, 20230Comments

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Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)::rating::3

L et me kick off this review with a mild dose of good news: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a full notch better than The Crystal Skull, the bland, indulgent misfire that preceded it. That means a more compelling MacGuffin, snappier dialogue, and a more satisfying sendoff to one of cinema’s coolest action…

ByTodd WoffordJuly 1, 20230Comments

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21 Grams (2003)::rating::3.5

F or all the acting, writing, and directing superpower behind it, 21 Grams will be forever distinguished by its nonlinear design. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu (who shares story credit with Guillermo Arriaga) takes the scenes of his searing psychological drama and shuffles them like a deck of cards. Alas, this gamble only yields a partial payoff:…

ByTodd WoffordJune 26, 20230Comments

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The Flash (2023)::rating::3

B y now, we’ve established that the standalone DCEU films are middling at best, and all-out sucky at worst. Their world-building also can’t be trusted, as Zack Snyder raced through the Justice League setup like George Costanza with a Glamour magazine. So, The Flash eschews all that, in favor of a chambong filled with fizzy, headache-inducing nostalgia.…

ByTodd WoffordJune 25, 20230Comments