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

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Smile (2022)::rating::3.5

M uch like Taken, the 90s horror flick with Denzel Washington, Smile presents the most terrifying killer imaginable: A virulent, incorporeal monster, traveling invisibly on the breeze. It randomly lights on a victim, cursing them until they either end their life or murder someone else. In their final moments, the afflicted wears the wide, unconvincing smile of…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 21, 20230Comments

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)::rating::2.5

S o many Marvel movies have been made that if you ran a mile for every one, you'd be well into your second marathon by now. That's a long haul, and we haven't even factored in the plethora of tangential shows on Disney+ yet. Now, Quantumania kicks off the next big phase of MCU flicks, complete…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 17, 20230Comments

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Aftersun (2022)::rating::4

A s with the best coming-of-age dramas, Aftersun makes the correct decision to simply step back and let life wash over its characters. There’s very little screenwriting artifice on display here, almost every scene feels carved from reality. Yes, we see flash-forwards, but those only appear in micro-doses. In truth, this is a character study that examines…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 10, 20230Comments

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M3GAN (2022)::rating::3.5

M 3GAN might not set the world on fire as a horror flick, but it burns bright and kinda brilliant as a whacked-out social satire. Look long enough into its shenanigans and you'll find riffs on the increasing encroachment of artificial intelligence, and how parents use gadgetry to distract unruly children. (Count me guilty of the…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 8, 20230Comments

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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)::rating::4.5

A ll Quiet on the Western Front takes place during the final agonal gasps of World War I. As the armistice threatens to answer an ugly war with an ugly peace, young German recruits mass on the shell-pocked moonscape of Northern France. We focus on a small group of schoolboys as they pile into smoldering,…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 4, 20230Comments

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A View to a Kill (1985)::rating::2

B ond aficionados have long bagged on A View to a Kill as the nadir of the franchise, and their complaints aren’t without merit. The villain is more boring than a sleeve of rice cakes. 007’s main squeeze is supremely annoying. Many of the film’s lame jokes make Hee Haw sound like…

ByTodd WoffordFebruary 1, 20230Comments