Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)::rating::3.5::rating::3.5::rating::3.5

W ith this film, J.K. Rowling's immense canon now spans twenty-plus years of wizards and witches over several eras and continents. It's a lot of mythology to digest, and the uninitiated may approach such a feast with caution. Those who have previously devoured will no doubt revel another go at the trough. Fantastic Beasts: The…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 17, 20181Comment

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Widows (2018)::rating::3.5

W idows begins with the post-mortem mayhem of a Reservoir Dogs-style heist gone horribly wrong. Desperate men scream over the sound of sirens, their bodies soaked in blood and sweat. After this scene, however, the movie goes in an interesting direction: It's the aftermath of the aftermath, where a group of shell-shocked widows sift through the smoking…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 16, 20181Comment

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The Girl in the Spider’s Web (2018)::rating::3

I n The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--the first English-language adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel series--director David Fincher and über-writer Steven Zallian built a thriller that smoldered with carefully-contained heat. The Girl in the Spider's Web, a soft reboot with a different cast and crew, burns brighter and higher but goes out much sooner. It somehow has…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 16, 20180Comments

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Cinemavino – Episode 3: Sexy Dice Plot Device::rating::0

For this week’s episode, Travis and I talk about Overlord, the new WWII/Zombie epic. Because this film is set entirely in France, we’ll be drinking a selection of French wines.

ByTodd WoffordNovember 15, 20180Comments

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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)::rating::5

Columbia Pictures An unwavering sense of duty cinches tight around the soul of James Stevens, the central character in The Remains of the Day. This singular focus makes Stevens an impeccable butler, but it also forms a tourniquet, choking off the pathways to love and happiness. Stevens takes great pride in his work until he finds, with…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 13, 20180Comments

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Overlord (2018)::rating::3.5

A strange cinematic bisque, Overlord so effectively stirs genuinely jarring horror elements into a gripping war movie until it's impossible to distinguish the ingredients in the pot. It somehow combines tropes that have survived throughout decades of movies and books and video games into something new and...can you use the word "refreshing" about a movie that features so many Nazi entrails? To hell with it--I'm using it, anyway. Overlord is ballsy, well-made, and--if you're not terribly squeamish--a damn good time.

ByTodd WoffordNovember 10, 20180Comments

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The Grinch (2018)::rating::3.5

D r. Seuss' evergreen opus about an evergreen grouch was not a story that cried out to be remade. The 60s Christmas cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and guided by Boris Karloff's grinning baritone, has long since qualified as timeless. Ron Howard and Jim Carrey went live-action, a move that only underlined how well-enough should…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 10, 20180Comments

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The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)::rating::2.5

T he first fifteen minutes of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms spark with real imagination and wonder: Long-ago London is vividly recreated, with snowflakes flitting soundlessly to the cobblestones. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite teases on the soundtrack during an elegant dance scene, replete with billowing ballgowns and Morgan Freeman handing out enchanted presents, and....damn it, Christmas is…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 7, 20181Comment

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Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)::rating::4

I t's telling that Freddie Mercury chose to pepper his mansion with cats, maybe because their personality traits mirrored his own: As a man, Mercury was proud, unapologetically high-strung, and ferociously independent. As a rock god, he burned onstage like an incandescent singularity, his shimmering voice serving as a conduit for Queen's pounding arena anthems.…

ByTodd WoffordNovember 4, 20181Comment

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Mid90s (2018)::rating::3.5

C hildren of the mid-90s lived on the edge of a vanishing frontier, when the Internet was still a novelty and before social media gave us the blessing and curse of instant connection. The opening scenes of Mid90s, Jonah Hill's assured directorial debut, draw a warm bath of nostalgia and invite us to soak in a…

ByTodd WoffordOctober 31, 20181Comment