Let Me Be Franc With You — A Wine and Lion Pairing::rating::0::rating::0::rating::0

By 1183, King Henry II had expanded England's territory deep into France. This included the Château de Chinon, a castle roughly 200 miles southwest of Paris. Situated in the Touraine region, Chinon became a favorite spot for Henry to conduct his royal affairs, in every sense of that term. The Lion in Winter depicts a fictionalized Christmas for…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 25, 20190Comments

Greatest

The Lion in Winter (1968)::rating::5

Even though the film still features a few cinematic flourishes, The Lion in Winter largely crackles with the heat and energy of a ferocious theatrical performance.

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 23, 20190Comments

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On the Basis of Sex (2018)::rating::3

"Politics is the strong and slow boring of hard boards," Max Weber once observed, although the same could be said for any challenge to the cultural or legal status quo. Change often comes at the speed of continental drift and requires a paradoxical balance of fiery passion and boundless resolve to see it through. On…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 21, 20190Comments

The Podcast

Cinemavino – Episode 7: Trailer Park Breakdown::rating::0

This week’s mini-sode provides a little analysis and backstory for a couple of upcoming trailers: Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. As someone who didn’t know a whole

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 21, 20190Comments

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Glass (2019)::rating::2.5

After 20-plus years of filmmaking, the M. Night Shyamalan template for storytelling has become quite clear: He spends around 100 minutes carefully setting a table with plates, glasses, candles, and then strips off the tablecloth in the last 60 seconds. These cinematic shenanigans have produced a filmography with decidedly mixed results. I staggered out of…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 19, 20190Comments

The Podcast

Cinemavino – Episode 6: Lord Piddlington::rating::0

For this episode, Travis and I discuss our favorite movies of the year, which coincides with my article on the same subject.

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 16, 20190Comments

Latest The Archive

The Top Ten Movies for 2018::rating::0

For the first time since high school, I've made an effort to see just about every movie out there. I didn't quite bat 1.000, but I'm comfortable with a belated review of Holmes and Watson if you are. If that movie somehow turns out to be East of Eden, well, then we'll squeeze it on here.…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 16, 20191Comment

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If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)::rating::5

"I hope that nobody has ever had to look at anybody they love through glass." These words open If Beale Street Could Talk, with every syllable coated in aching, anguished sadness. Since the dawn of theater, a thousand tragedies have struck a thousand characters with the burden of inevitability, whether that be in the form of…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 15, 20191Comment

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The Upside (2018)::rating::2.5

As a young dweeb, I found great joy in flipping to the "How to Increase Your Word Power" Section of a Reader's Digest. It's truly an invaluable tool for infusing your vernacular with big, flowery words that make people roll their eyes and walk away from you at parties. I remember being struck by how many…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 11, 20190Comments

Greatest The Archive

Roma (2018)::rating::5

In Roma, Alfonso Cuarón's camera often pans languidly across a scene, like a mind wandering into its own corners. Cuarón's vivid recollections of childhood rise like a slow swell of water, from the gentle lapping of drainwater that opens the film to the pounding ocean waves in its final act. If a river can reshape the…

ByTodd WoffordJanuary 4, 20192Comments