Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)::rating::4::rating::4::rating::4

G ood Luck to You, Leo Grande presents an interesting flip on Mike Nichols' The Graduate. In that enduring classic, Dustin Hoffman's wallflower college grad falls for the self-assured charm and sexual awareness of Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), a much-older woman. Here, Emma Thompson's Nancy Stokes is a middle-aged widow whose life has been devoid of…

ByTodd WoffordJune 23, 20220Comments

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The Princess Bride (1987)::rating::5

L ong ago, The Princess Bride was borne as a loving spoof of beloved fantasy tales, but somewhere along its three-plus decades, a wonderful thing happened. Viewers latched onto its gentle humor, quotable dialogue, sharp performances, and cheerfully retro aesthetic. It became beloved in its own right. Now, parents pass The Princess Bride down to their kids, who…

ByTodd WoffordJune 22, 20220Comments

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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)::rating::3

G iven that it's based on a video game I never played, loaded with SEGA references I'll never get, and populated with characters I only mildly care about, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 works surprisingly well. That's because it stocks just enough 90s nostalgia and pop culture riffs to keep adults busy, while the CGI sound and…

ByTodd WoffordJune 14, 20220Comments

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The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)::rating::4

A movie like The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent runs the considerable risk of sinking under the unbearable weight of its own pretensions. After all, the film's very premise feels insufferably hip and ironic: Nic Cage plays "Nick Cage," an outsized version of himself. As he struggles with a fragile ego and a faltering…

ByTodd WoffordJune 12, 20220Comments

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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)::rating::3.5

T he first two Fantastic Beasts films captured some of the leftover charm from the Harry Potter series, but none of the dramatic heft. Simply put, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) isn't as compelling a protagonist as Harry Potter, nor is there a Ron or Hermione to add any texture or humanity to him. Also, Newt doesn't have a…

ByTodd WoffordJune 7, 20220Comments

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Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)::rating::3.5

S o much of dating feels like trying on a new wardrobe: You have to sense the awkwardness of someone who doesn't fit correctly to appreciate the magic of someone who does. The characters in Four Weddings and a Funeral spend their time in fidgety frustration, waiting for the person who will add a fairy tale…

ByTodd WoffordJune 6, 20220Comments

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My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)::rating::2

O n a superficial level, I can respect the ambition of My Best Friend's Wedding. After all, it was a daring move to take Julia Roberts, one of cinema's most likable rom-com heroines, and turn her into a backstabbing villain. Date movies had settled and become stale by the late 90s, and this was a clear…

ByTodd WoffordJune 1, 20220Comments

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Top Gun: Maverick (2022)::rating::3.5

T op Gun: Maverick shouldn't work as well as it does. After all, the original film has long become an 80s nostalgia piece--a cinematic keepsake of a different era: Top Gun was an overblown anthem to hyper-patriotism, with flared nostrils and jittery cocaine sweats. That film couldn't salute the flag hard enough, as spangly,…

ByTodd WoffordMay 28, 20220Comments

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Kill Bill, Volumes 1 & 2 (2003, 2004)::rating::5

K ill Bill forever cements Quentin Tarantino's reputation as a cinematic mad scientist, pouring disparate chemicals into a beaker and cackling manically as they pop and fizz. The resulting concoction becomes moviedom's strangest masterpiece: It's goofy, gory, and gleefully indulgent. But Tarantino also achieves something that's both quietly miraculous and deceptively difficult: Over the course of Bill's…

ByTodd WoffordMay 25, 20220Comments

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The Lost City (2022)::rating::3

T he trailers for The Lost City filled me with dread. I feared an expensive, gauche knock-off of Romancing the Stone, Indiana Jones, and a half-dozen other, better movies. And don't get it twisted--this movie still ain't gonna make anybody throw down their crutches and walk. Still, a talented, high-dollar cast buys right into this film's refined sense of…

ByTodd WoffordMay 23, 20220Comments