Spirited (2022)::rating::3::rating::3::rating::3

I f you've seen the trailers, posters, or billboards for Spirited, let's see if your first impression synchs with mine: At first glance, this movie looks like concentrated donkey doo. It's another twist on A Christmas Carol, which the world needs like a ski boot to the Nutter Butters. Even more egregious, this modern take stars Ryan…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 23, 20220Comments

Laughable The Podcast

BASEketball (1998)::rating::2.5

W hat am I gonna do, knock this movie for being stupid? BASEketball is the cinematic equivalent of a fart machine. It couldn't be prouder of how dumb it is, like a sweaty frat boy showing off his brand new trucker hat/beer bong. The key lies in your own tolerance for BASEketball's idiocy, which flows like…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 17, 20220Comments

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)::rating::3

A s an epic elegy on the passing of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever works extremely well. It's a stately, moving benediction, and the filmmakers deserve credit for hitting all the right emotional notes. Unfortunately, the film suffers from the same bloat that afflicts so many other Marvel sequels: Wakanda spends much of its overlong…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 11, 20220Comments

The Archive The Podcast

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?::rating::4

L ong ago, the Brothers Coen set a high bar for evolving eccentricity. Their films hopped from genre to genre, with defiant wackiness serving as the only true constant. Even with that foreknowledge, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? stands out as an odd duck. On paper, the notion of a Depression-era rebrand of Homer's Odyssey might come…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 7, 20220Comments

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Don’t Worry Darling (2022)::rating::2.5

I n its best moments, Don't Worry Darling is a thoroughly engrossing misfire. A talented cast and crew gives everything they have, juggling like frantic circus performers doomed to drop everything to the floor. Indeed, director Olivia Wilde attempts to bundle several movies under the sprawling tent of one big carnival: Over the span of…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 6, 20220Comments

The Archive The Podcast

Fright Night (2011)::rating::3

A s a standalone film, this Fright Night is perfectly acceptable. It's good-looking, well-cast, and delivers an adequate amount of fright for one night. Unfortunately, there's no getting around the fact this is a remake, and the original is a beloved artifact of the 80s. That makes this Fright feel both unnecessary and sacrilegious. As a rule, the more…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 1, 20220Comments

The Archive The Podcast

Halloween Double Feature: From Dusk till Dawn/Ernest Scared Stupid::rating::3

This Halloween, we're doing a special double feature of Cinemavino. Those two episodes will cover two very different movies, and you can find a capsule review of both in this space. From Dusk till Dawn (1996) Hybrid horror from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, where two very different halves add up to a very strange whole. During…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 31, 20220Comments

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Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)::rating::4

I f you can watch this movie and not be at least a little ensorcelled by it, I'll wager you're too preoccupied with stealing Christmas presents from Whoville. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris speaks to the part of us that still holds hope for fairy tales and miracles--that even the Grinchiest among us can manage…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 29, 20220Comments

The Archive The Podcast

Insidious (2010)::rating::3

I nsidious is a fascinating cinematic exercise--a modern horror flick, stripped of the CGI shenanigans and blood-bucket excess of its kin. Instead, James Wan's shoestring production relies on a lean and mean aesthetic, along with a spate of strong performances, to keep the horror churning. On that front, it mostly succeeds. Insidious may not be a masterpiece,…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 26, 20220Comments

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Bullet Train (2022)::rating::2.5

B ullet Train takes the squib-splattering mayhem of Quentin Tarantino and mashes it up with the physics of Wile E. Coyote and the soundtrack of an overserved Japanese karaoke bar. Add Brad Pitt in front of a solid cast, and the result should be a much better movie than what we have here. Instead of…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 24, 20220Comments