Stand by Me (1986)::rating::3.5::rating::3.5::rating::3.5

M ore than any coming-of-age movie, Stand by Me is filled with a slow, billowing sense of dread. Characters frequently find themselves on the run from some approaching doom, where it comes in the form of chugging trains, howling coyotes, or an attack dog who lives to sic balls. Of course, these kids are really running from something…

ByTodd WoffordJune 26, 20240Comments

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The Way Way Back (2013)::rating::3.5

T he Way Way Back takes an exhausted subgenre, the Coming of Age dramedy, and supercharges it with a high-powered cast and a well-crafted screenplay. This film may not say anything new, but at least it's well-spoken. As a result, The Way Way Back offers moments of sly humor and moving drama, with bits of sparkling greatness…

ByTodd WoffordJune 20, 20240Comments

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Dazed and Confused (1993)::rating::5

D azed and Confused contains one of my favorite moments in all of movie history. It's late in the film, and if you blink, it could slip by: Randall "Pink" Floyd (Jason London), a small-town quarterback stud, is splitting a midnight blunt with his buds at the 50-yard line. Pink spends the movie in a malaise,…

ByTodd WoffordJune 13, 20240Comments

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American Fiction (2023)::rating::4

A merican Fiction is pulled in so many different directions by conflicting emotions and competing genres, it's a wonder that satisfying story emerges at all. Most prominently, we have a film of frustration, a satirical rant about Black representation in modern fiction. Beneath that lies a gooey center, in which a growly curmudgeon finds his…

ByTodd WoffordMay 23, 20240Comments

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Dr. Strangelove (1964)::rating::5

D r. Strangelove is one of the greatest examples of telling truth to power in all of cinema. For 94 glorious minutes, Stanley Kubrick and his co-conspirators use comedy to permanently prove that the entrenched dogmas of the Cold War were, you know, stupid. Characters in this film speak of "missile superiority" and "mutually assured destruction" with…

ByTodd WoffordMay 22, 20240Comments

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Blazing Saddles (1974)::rating::5

W hen I was ten years old, my mother forbade me to watch Blazing Saddles. Naturally, when my parents ventured from the house, that VHS tape went straight into the VCR. Within minutes, I felt a tinge of shame, as I could see exactly what she was talking about. Blazing Saddles was filthy, unhinged, and…

ByTodd WoffordMay 14, 20240Comments

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Ghostbusters (1984)::rating::5

M ore than anything, Ghostbusters taught me that joy can live within the finest details. In the forty years since its release, I have savored every nuance of this movie--every quotable bit of dialogue, every sarcastic Bill Murray smirk, every note of its maddeningly catchy theme song. Put all of it together, and you have one of…

ByTodd WoffordMay 8, 20240Comments

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Dune: Part Two (2024)::rating::4

H oly hell, it's finally happened: I've warmed up to the Dune franchise. It hasn't been an easy road, dear readers. After all, David Lynch's '84 version was the cinematic equivalent of a monkey humping a doorknob. Frank Herbert's behemoth novels had always been written off as unfilmable, and after that 80s dreck, I couldn't have…

ByTodd WoffordMay 4, 20240Comments

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Pulp Fiction (1994)::rating::5

Q uentin Tarantino’s masterpiece bears the off-kilter zeal of a crazed saucier–the kind of Creole chef who uses two teaspoons of Sherry for the recipe, then drinks the rest straight from the bottle. From Akira Kurosawa to Arthur Penn, from Buddy Holly’s rock nerdery to James Dean’s leather-jacket cool—just about any pertinent pop culture reference…

ByTodd WoffordApril 30, 20240Comments

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Napoleon Dynamite (2004)::rating::2.5

I n some ways, Napoleon Dynamite has all the attitude and quotability of any edgy teen comedy. On the surface, it should be an instant classic, and some viewers will still swear that it is. But dig a little deeper, and you'll find an audacious, eccentric little movie that stands in total opposition to its entire genre.…

ByTodd WoffordApril 24, 20240Comments