Battle Royale (2000)::rating::3::rating::3::rating::3

I t's no surprise Quentin Tarantino named Battle Royale as his favorite movie released since 2000. Brazen, brilliant, and unabashedly frenetic, this film feels like a cinematic cousin to his own oeuvre. And much like QT, the makers behind Royale pull from countless influences to create something new and weirdly beautiful: The savagery of Lord of the…

ByTodd WoffordSeptember 20, 20230Comments

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The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)::rating::2.5

T he Last Voyage of the Demeter offers a mild dose of entertainment, provided you can accept two conditions: It is only one leg of a larger voyage, and both the origin and destination are far more compelling. As such, this tidbit will offer you little to care about. If you’re down…

ByTodd WoffordSeptember 18, 20230Comments

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Legend (1986)::rating::2.5

T wo battles rage throughout Ridley Scott's Legend: On one front, the forces of purity duke it out with the belching, gurgling minions of evil. Meanwhile, on a macro level, the entire film is an epic showdown between the brilliant and the blah. Visually, Scott's bizarre, audacious fantasy is a wondrous achievement. Jaw-dropping makeup and prosthetics…

ByTodd WoffordSeptember 13, 20230Comments

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No Hard Feelings (2023)::rating::3

N o Hard Feelings carefully follows the template of modern cinematic comedy: Raunchy and skeezy on the outside, but with a gooey, sweet filling in the middle. Its protagonist is a lost soul, adrift and flailing in the Sea of Adulthood. This is the filmic build Judd Apatow wishes he could patent. In that case,…

ByTodd WoffordSeptember 9, 20230Comments

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Bloodsport (1988)::rating::2.5

B loodsport stands as one of the most deliriously goofy action movies ever made, and yet every scene is soaked with a deadly seriousness. Such a combination is generally fatal, and yet this overwrought martial arts bonanza finds a way to endure. More than any movie I've yet reviewed, this one defies all description: It's…

ByTodd WoffordSeptember 6, 20230Comments

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Trollhunter (2010)::rating::3.5

T rollhunter is an agreeably daffy little film that lives at the junction of dark comedy, light horror, and high fantasy. It combines the jerky, found-footage feel of The Blair Witch Project with Tolkienesque troll mythology to create an energetic and engaging mockumentary. The resulting film may not be for all tastes, and some viewers…

ByTodd WoffordAugust 30, 20230Comments

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)::rating::4.5

A fter I watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, I went back to my review of the first film. Apparently, I gave Into the Spider-Verse 3.5 out of 5 stars. On one hand, that rating seems pretty low. On another, it seems...well, dumb. After all, that film was just the burst of energy and invention that comic book movies needed.…

ByTodd WoffordAugust 17, 20230Comments

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Black Sheep (1996)::rating::1

I f you could program AI to deliver a half-assed sequel to Tommy Boy , it would look a lot like Black Sheep . As with a machine, the filmmakers can’t fashion actual comedy, so they settle for a clattering, mechanized imitation of it. Words get strung…

ByTodd WoffordAugust 15, 20230Comments

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Jaws (1975)::rating::5

I have an informal list of around twenty five perfect movies, and Jaws maintains a permanent residence. Everything about it is a master class in cinema, from the cinematography, editing, directing, to the note-perfect acting. And that's to say nothing of John Williams' score, which economically builds the most terrifying motif this side of…

ByTodd WoffordAugust 11, 20230Comments

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Barbie (2023)::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