Episodes

Our Trilogy Series continues with The Empire Strikes Back! Many hold this up as the greatest sequel ever made, but that sells it short. This is one of the greatest movies ever made, sequel or not. I have a list of 25 perfect movies, and this is one of them. To pair with this perfect movie, we drink a delicious California Cabernet. It's a bold, darker wine to go with a bold and darker sequel. Plus, Empire is all about cool colors and cold climates, so a nice heavy red will help warm you up. Enj...

For our next trilogy of films, Cinemavino heads to sacred cinematic ground: The original Star Wars trilogy. Simply put, these are movies that made me love movies. With this film's opening crawl and subsequent space battle, my young mind was blown. I became an instant movie fan, sci-fi fan, and fantasy fan, all at once. We cover what this installment means to us, how it holds up, and also some juicy backstage trivia. Enjoy! Also, Travis develops a raunchy new way of rating movies.

Hello! We hope you've enjoyed our Trilogy Series so far! This week, we're taking a scheduled break, as all my kids are home for Spring Break. We'll be back next week with Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. It's one of my all-time favorites, so this trilogy should be a lot of fun. In the meantime, we'll take a look back at an episode from our Best Picture series, Unforgiven. This is a timely way to honor the passing of one of my favorite actors, Gene Hackman. He won an Oscar for this movie, and...

Our LOTR series finishes with Peter Jackson's thundering conclusion--The Return of the King! It's a great ending to a great and influential series of films. We've loved talking about all three. Find out all sorts of behind the scenes trivia and full analysis of this awesome movie. Be sure and subscribe, and check out my full reviews of every movie we cover: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cinemavino/id1443636422 https://open.spotify.com/show/3F2TZMa7gawXwY86syEZa6?si=74a4650f88cb48c7 ...

Welcome! Our Trilogy Series continues with the second LOTR installment, The Two Towers! With this film, Peter Jackson's series kicks into high gear. It's a high point in the trilogy, and one of the greatest films ever made. How do the special effects hold up? How does it compare to The Empire Strikes Back and Godfather II in the discussion of great sequels? Find out all this and more on this episode of Cinemavino! #LOTR #LordOfTheRings #TheTwoTowers #PeterJackson #JRRTolkien https://www.cinem...

Welcome! This week, we kick off our Trilogy Series with what might the greatest trilogy ever made: Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings series! Based on the mammoth books by J.R.R. Tolkien, these films became instant classics and part of cinematic legend. How do they hold up? How on Earth did anyone commit to making all three films at once? How does this film compare to its sequels? Find out the answers to these questions on and more on this episode! #LOTR #LordOfTheRings #TheFellowshipOfTheRing...

Welcome back! Our Sci-Fi Series has been a lot of fun, and we're concluding with an all-time classic: Arnold Schwarzenegger's action epic, Total Recall! It was a huge hit on release, and opinions of it have only grown since then. Find out our thoughts on the film now, almost 35 years later! Also, the film was based on a novel by Phillip K. Dick, and there were plans for a sequel. Find out why that film was scrapped, and all sorts of a behind the scenes trivia on this week's Cinemavino! For win...

Hey, and welcome back to Cinemavino! This week, our Sci-Fi Series continues with a host favorite, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. We're Trek nerds, so this episode has a special place. This sequel had an interesting production, with lots of backstage trivia. Learn the little details right here! Also, try our special recipe for Romulan Ale. Just tell anybody, because it's...you know, illegal in the Federation. Take: 1 Part Vodka 2 Parts Blue Curacao Top off with White Claw Seltzer--Lime wi...

Hello everybody! We’re back! After a two week hiatus due to illness, Cinemavino is back to full strength. That means our Sci-Fi Series is back on track. This week, we can one the greatest and most influential flicks of the genre—Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner! This movie had tons of backstage drama, and has gone through many different versions since its release. Find out all about those juicy tidbits and more on this week’s episode! #SciFi #80s #BladeRunner #HarrisonFord #RidleyScott Plus, read ...

Hey! Unfortunately, due to my own illness, we'll have to hold off for one more week on our sci-fi series. Thank you all for being patient and sticking with us! In the meantime, enjoy another episode from 2021, in which we take a look at a 90s sci-fi classic, Dark City! #90s #SciFi #DarkCity #Dystopian

Hello! Our Sci-Fi series will be a little off, as I've got two sick babies at home. I always want to make sure you guys get the best (and best-sounding) version of Cinemavino, so we'll continue with Blade Runner next Wednesday. In the meantime, I think this is the perfect time to double back to our episode looking at Aliens. This 2021 entry aired during our Halloween series, but it could have fallen under several categories: Sequels, Sci-Fi, Halloween, and All-Time Classics. James Cameron's bra...

Hello! Part 2 of our Sci-Fi Series features one of the greatest ever: Ridley Scott’s horror classic, Alien. Longtime listeners might be shocked we’ve never gotten around to this all-timer. No one was more shocked than we. As always, we break down the story for newcomers, and add some trivia you might not have heard. This week, we’ll pair the Xenomorph with one of the most acidic white wines out there. Unlike the monster, however, this Riesling is delicious!

Welcome back! Hope you all had a great New Year holiday, and thank you for coming back for 2025. For January, we're kicking a sci-fi series. Many of these entries will shock you that we haven't already done them. That goes especially for this first entry, George Miller's action classic, The Road Warrior! This is a brilliant, jaw-dropping masterpiece, and it made Mel Gibson a global star. This is one of my favorite films, and we have a lively discussion. Enjoy! Read my full reviews here: https...

Hello, and Happy New Year, everyone! We hope your 2025 is off to a great start. We're off this week, but this will be a good time to catch up on an episode you may have missed. There aren't many true NYE movies out there, but When Harry Met Sally definitely qualifies. One of its most famous scenes occurs during the final countdown to midnight! Deep down, I think all four of us love rom-coms, and this is the rom-com. We had a lot of fun with this episode...even if it's just Trav, Tay, and I. Wh...

Welcome and Happy Holidays! This episode will air on Christmas Day. Whatever that day means to you, we hope you're happy and healthy, and we thank you for spending a little of it with us. This final Christmas installment features on of our newer episodes--Alexander Payne's The Holdovers. It's much in the vein of Payne's earlier work, with moving drama and dry humor blending seamlessly together. If you're watching this on or around Christmas, prepare yourself for a rewarding--if bittersweet--exp...

Seasons greetings! We hope y'all are warm and safe, and all ready for the upcoming holidays. Part 3 of our Christmas Series takes us to a sardonic 80s classic--Bill Murray's Scrooged. It's a gnarly, sarcastic update on A Christmas Carol, with Murray perfectly cast in the lead role. As with many of our other recent choices, this one was a modest hit that's become a cult classic. How does it hold up? Also, Murray was notoriously difficult to work with on this film. How does that affect our opinio...

Welcome! Part Two of our Christmas Series takes us to a surprising movie: Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. This was a troubled production--even by Kubrick's legendary standards--with lots of backstage intrigue, especially concerning star couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. It also ended up in the Guinness Book of World Records, and not in a good way. Find out all the hot details, and what we really thought of this fascinating and flawed movie! (And yes, it is somehow a Christmas movie.) #Cin...

Can you believe it's already December?? Our annual Christmas Series will feature a few unorthodox selections, just to keep things spicy. We'll start things with a 90s cult flick that might have slipped under your radar: The Long Kiss Goodnight, starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. This spy action-comedy had top level stars, a premium screenwriter (Shane Black, who created the Lethal Weapon series), a veteran director (Renny Harlin, of Die Hard 2 fame), and yet it was a box office disappo...

Welcome back! This week concludes our miniseries looking at comfort movies. For this installment, we discuss a personal favorite, Galaxy Quest! This 90s comedy classic gently pokes fun at the Star Trek franchise, and features sharp writing and spot-on casting. It's a wonderful movie, and a must for Trek fans. Never give up, never surrender! Next week, we'll go heavy into the Christmas spirit with an expected and underrated action classic. Check out all my reviews here: https://toddwoffordmovie...

And we're back! After last week's brief break, we're doing a mini-series of comedies to close out November. In light of recent events, all of us here could use some cinematic comfort food. Nothing provides that like The Big Lebowski, a 90s classic with quotable dialogue, an all-star cast, and one of the more eccentric plots in all of movie history. What's your favorite Lebowski quote? ("This aggression will not stand, man!") Who's your favorite character? (Phillip Seymour Hoffman damn near stea...

Welcome back! For this week’s episode, we’ll take a special look back at an episode from 2 1/2 years ago, Rounders! It’s an episode you may have missed, so enjoy! After that, we’ll close out November with 2 classic comedies, and then a few Christmas moves that might surprise you!

Welcome the finale of our Halloween Series! For this episode, you get a double feature--Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof and Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror. Both flicks pay homage to exploitation genre of 70s horror. That means you'll see deliberately damaged film stock, missing reels, and cheesy dialogue. It's a fine line between clever and indulgent. Where do these movies fall? Are they scary, or just goofy? How does an all-star cast handle the film? Tune in to this special bonus episode an...

Hey! Our Halloween Series is nearly done, and we're wrapping things up with an all-time classic--The Exorcist! It's an iconic experience--disturbing, violent, and brilliantly acted and filmed. Does this film have any basis in real-life events? Is it still creepy? Find out all the answers on this week's episode! #TheExorcist #halloween #scary #exorcism #demons #horror

Welcome back! Our Halloween Series continues in high gear with an 80s cult classic--An American Werewolf in London! This horror flick has a lot going for it: Elements of comedy, a fast-moving pace, and Rick Baker's stunning monster effects. In fact, the top question you'll probably have from this movie is, "How did they do that?!" You can find out in this week's Cinemavino! Plus, this werewolf epic was directed by John Landis, a filmmaker known for his comedies. Is it still funny? Is it still s...