The Sandlot::rating::3.5::rating::3.5::rating::3.5

I t’s a fascinating irony that The Sandlot began as an exercise in deep nostalgia. From its twinkly narration to the hoppin’ oldies on the soundtrack, the entire film is meant to evoke what was–for some–a simpler time, along with the guileless joys of being a child. Now, almost three decades after its release, children of the…

ByTodd WoffordApril 18, 20220Comments

Podcast The Archive

A League of Their Own (1992)::rating::4

A s with all the best baseball movies, A League of Their Own captures all the joys, monotonies, and superstitions of a long season. But unlike other classics of the genre, League also captures a significant-but-neglected piece of WWII history: With the MLB shut down for the war, a landmark professional league sprang up for women. In addition to…

ByTodd WoffordApril 13, 20220Comments

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Bull Durham (1988)::rating::4

"This is a simple game. You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball!" -- Skip Riggins, Manager of the Durham Bulls. T he irony of the above statement is that Bull Durham centers on two characters who embody the exact opposite of its sentiment. For Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) and Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon),…

ByTodd WoffordApril 6, 20220Comments

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Morbius (2022)::rating::1

M orbius achieves a rare double feat: Over the course of its punishing 104 minutes, Daniel Espinosa's middling, piddling vampire epic manages to be glum, but without any dramatic heft. At the same time, it's also groin-punchingly preposterous, but without a single ounce of kitschy fun. If good movies offer something for everyone, then Morbius serves up…

ByTodd WoffordApril 1, 20220Comments

Greatest The Archive

Cannonball Run II (1984)::rating::5

W hen Cannonball Run II smashed into theaters, the world simply wasn't ready for it. "Sheer arrogance made this picture," Roger Ebert noted, with extreme prejudice. And he's not wrong: Hal Needham's car-crash spectacular has all the elements of a vanity project gone haywire. Many scenes feel like Smokey and the Bandit crossed with Hollywood Squares, with a…

ByTodd WoffordApril 1, 20220Comments

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The Adam Project (2022)::rating::3

M odern filmmakers borrow so much from Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Robert Zemeckis, I'm beginning to wonder if they've worked out some kinda payment plan for the royalties. Either that, or the studios figure our collective itch for the nostalgia of E.T., Goonies, and Back to the Future is so strong, they might scratch it with another big-budget homage.…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 30, 20220Comments

Greatest

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)::rating::5

T here's a moment early on in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly when Clint Eastwood's panchoed badass strolls into frame, lights a thin cigar, and scowls for the camera. In that instant of savage cool, the Monument Valley Western was forever demolished. John Wayne's false-modest bravado and Jimmy Stewart's hem-haw heroics couldn't have felt…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 29, 20220Comments

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Deep Water (2022)::rating::2

T wo completely different movies live within the soul of Deep Water, and both of them are bad: On the one level, director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal) delivers a humid, trashy dime store thriller, where a good-looking cast throws pouty tantrums and engages in thoroughly mechanical lovemaking. Dive further into the film's allegedly deep water,…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 28, 20220Comments

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Turning Red (2022)::rating::4

T urning Red immediately took my mind to Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the classic young adult novel by Judy Blume. That book was a frank, poignant tale of the emotional and hormonal difficulties of a girl becoming a woman. Because it key plot points involved Margaret getting her first period and trying to…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 25, 20220Comments

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Zodiac (2007)::rating::4

D avid Fincher's Zodiac effectively encapsulates the massive manhunt for the serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area from the 60s through the late 70s. His theatrical villainy would seem borne out of a dime store comic if it weren't so hideously real: Aside from his random acts of butchery, the Zodiac drew a…

ByTodd WoffordMarch 22, 20220Comments