Duck Soup (1933)::rating::5::rating::5::rating::5

D raw a line from anything in any movie that's ever made you laugh, and you'll eventually connect to the Marx Brothers. Within Duck Soup, their goofy, shambling masterpiece, there are glimpses of what will be funny for the Pythons, the Goons, Dr. Strangelove, and Blazing Saddles. Its frantic wackiness is a strange cuvée of ingenious and idiotic,…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 29, 20230Comments

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Babylon (2022)::rating::2.5

B abylon begins as the cinematic equivalent of a hot, steaming bath, showcasing the unhinged hedonism of Hollywood in the Roaring Twenties. Over the grueling span of 190 withering minutes, the water gradually goes cold, rendering the audience into a pruny, shivering heap. Writer-director Damien Chazelle delivers enough movie for two full movies, but only one…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 23, 20230Comments

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Chinatown (1974)::rating::5

C hinatown is a gloriously grim masterpiece. It functions both as homage to the film noir heyday of the 1940s, and as a testament to the socio-cultural malaise of Nixonian America. Screenwriter Robert Towne and director Roman Polanski deliver a gripping mystery, an atmospheric period piece, and a low-key character study, all boosted by Oscar-level…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 22, 20230Comments

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Cocaine Bear (2023)::rating::3

A t every raging party, there's always That One Guy. You know him. He's a little bit jittery. A little bit sweaty. There's a big, powdery glob coming out of his nose and Jäegermeister coming out of every pore. He just met you five minutes ago, but goddammit...he loves you, man. At the end of…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 16, 20230Comments

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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)::rating::3.5

A vatar: The Way of Water is 150 minutes of brawny, exhilarating sci-fi spectacle, splayed over 194 minutes of movie. For every badass action scene and 8K CGI of undulating squid-beasts, we get too many crises, too many characters, and too much dippy narration. As per usual, director James Cameron doesn’t know when his audience…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 11, 20230Comments

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EO (2022)::rating::4.5

O ne of the most remarkable things about EO is how such a passive main character can swell our hearts with empathy. Take the scene where EO the donkey stares out from an opening in a semi’s livestock trailer. At highway speed, he spots a herd of wild horses running wild in a field. That…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 9, 20230Comments

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After Ever Happy (2022)::rating::0.5

Go on. Hurt me.” — Me, as the opening credits rolled. W e’re four movies into this godforsaken franchise, and I know what’s coming. I steel my nerves, like those burly, bearded dudes who take turns slapping each other in tournaments. This one’s gonna smack the fillings out of my teeth, and I’m ready for it.…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 3, 20230Comments

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The Whale (2022)::rating::3.5

M any times during The Whale, the same question popped into my head: What exactly would this movie be without Brendan Fraser? Judged strictly on its own merit, this is an exhausting, dour experience that builds to a muddled and unforgivably mawkish conclusion. My opinion of The Whale is much lower than this star rating suggests.…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 3, 20230Comments

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Women Talking (2022)::rating::3

O f all the films nominated for a Best Picture Oscar this year, Women Talking confounded me the most. On one hand, writer-director Sarah Polley tells a powerful story, pulled from real events. A top-notch cast works with unflinching passion. Still, I admired the pieces of Women Talking more than I actually liked the final product. This…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 27, 20230Comments

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The King’s Speech (2010)::rating::5

According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. This means…if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” — Jerry Seinfeld W hen we meet Prince Albert (Colin Firth), he is terrified, trembling mess. It's 1925, and the Duke of York…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 24, 20230Comments