Don’t Look Up (2021)::rating::3::rating::3::rating::3

S ome satires are so precise in their humor, they feel like a ninja catching a gnat with chopsticks. On the other hand, the jokes in Don't Look Up are about as subtle as a slobbering ogre chasing frightened peasants with an unhinged barn door. Every gag in this film essentially pounds on the same theme:…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 5, 20221Comment

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The Matrix Resurrections (2021)::rating::2.5

I ronically, The Matrix Resurrections trades heavily on nostalgia for that pioneering first film, while also embodying many of the same flaws that doomed its sequels: For all the explosions and throat-punches, much of this movie's runtime is an uphill tromp through low-grade philosophical claptrap, hokey dialogue, and obnoxiously cute riffs on its own self-awareness. That's…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 30, 20211Comment

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Sleepless in Seattle (1993)::rating::2.5

In fact, this film suffers as much as any “classic” that I’ve ever seen. Somewhere between ’93 and now, Seattle probably lost a full star on this rating.

ByTodd WoffordDecember 28, 20210Comments

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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)::rating::4.5

It captures everything great about the Spider-Man franchise thus far, while also deftly smoothing over a few glaring flaws.

ByTodd WoffordDecember 22, 20210Comments

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Die Hard 2 (1990)::rating::3

If the first film was great, then this one rates as pretty good. As inevitable movies go, Die Hard 2 could’ve been a lot worse.

ByTodd WoffordDecember 22, 20210Comments

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Die Hard 2 (Cinemavino)::rating::3

The debate about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie should be deader than disco. It is, and it always has been. If anything, this Bruce Willis classic is a delightful piece of counter-programming to the sticky fluff we have to deal with this time of year. 34th Street can keep its miracles, and Jimmy…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 22, 20210Comments

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The Power of the Dog (2021)::rating::4.5

L ike many of the greatest Westerns, Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog is a film built on paradoxes. Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) is an eccentric cowboy who somehow projects charisma and insecurity, intelligence and ignorance, all at once. He is strong and aloof, but also brittle and easily broken. Every character in this story finds…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 21, 20210Comments

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The Holiday (2006)::rating::3

I agonized over how to rate this movie--probably a lot more than I should have. Yes, The Holiday is absolute piffle, but schmaltzy comfort films definitely occupy an important place in the world. Not everything needs to be A Passage to India or Hiroshima, Mon Amour, you know? At the same time, I have a dorky, analytical side that…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 16, 20210Comments

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The Last Duel (2021)::rating::3.5

When The Last Duel tanked at the box office, director Ridley Scott threw a raving hissy fit. He blamed the film's financial failure on millennials with their iPhones and the Facebook and whatnot. As soon as anybody figures out what the hell he's talking about, be sure and let me know. Whatever the case, Scott joins…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 10, 20210Comments

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Guilty Pleasure Movies (The Brian Dennehy Special)::rating::0

With that in mind, this week Trav and I go over our guilty pleasure movies. To pair with it, I came up with a decadent concoction called Chocolate Sangria. To make it, start with two parts Chocovine–a cordial-type blend of red wine and milk chocolate–and dump in a shot of Pinnacle Whipped Vodka. Top it…

ByTodd WoffordDecember 10, 20210Comments