Opening This Week: Fast Five Nationwide - Bloated, haphazardly paced, and reckless in more ways than just behind the wheel of a souped-up speed machine, "Fast Five" is a faint shadow of what it once was, now detailing the exploits of virtual terrorists hell-bent on mass destruction in the name of getting rich. Sure, it's supposed to just be a silly popcorn movie, but treating these cardboard cutouts as people to admire and care about is dishonest and contemptible. That the movie sucks besides is the final insult. Prom An egregiously low-wattage, anticlimactic, visually grubby, disinterested slog-fest that tests one's patience but never amuses or bewitches. Romance? Forget about it. These mostly novice performers would have better chemistry with a wet match. "Prom" is a real downer that forgets it's supposed to be any fun. Heck, the representation of the prom in 1976's "Carrie" had more life to it even after all the pig's blood and telekinetic mass murder business took place. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Saturday, April 30, 2011
in the event you feel like staying inside this weekend....
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The transformation is complete.....
Earlier this year, our friends asked us to help them transform their new home. At the end of January, we shared the following “before” pictures of the project.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonniebogle/sets/72157625685419011/show/
A month or so ago, our friends moved into their new place. We had fun and are so pleased that the place turned out the way they wanted it to.
Take a look at the “after” pictures and enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonniebogle/sets/72157626472442490/
Friday, April 22, 2011
for your viewing weekend....
Dustin Putman's Movie Reviews |
Opening This Week: African Cats Nationwide - Creatively mishandled to the point of making a mockery of its own brand, Disneynature's "African Cats" tosses all but the vaguest educational value to the wind as it transforms the world of its lions and cheetahs and their ill-fated meals into a dopey, faux-cutesy soap opera. Dumbstruck Select Cities - As a documentary chronicling five people's strive for success in a tough, decidedly unconventional profession, "Dumbstruck" is as passionate as its human subjects. Though centering on ventriloquism, it is clear that director Mark Goffman's film could just as easily be about anything. Water for Elephants Nationwide - "Water for Elephants" always seems to be on the cusp of locating some bigger truth about one's life and destiny—and maybe the book did—but this cinematic treatment loses its way by focusing almost solely on a sudsy, perfunctory love triangle. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Friday, April 15, 2011
After you are done with spring cleaning......treat yourself to a movie.
Opening This Week: The Conspirator Nationwide - Competent but hollow, the film is out of sight, out of mind the moment the end credits roll. With meager scope, undernourished characters, and the inability to emotionally captivate, the all-star cast gets in the way of what most closely resembles a small-screen reenactment. Hobo with a Shotgun OnDemand, In Select Cities May 6 - A non-stop, over-the-top, intentionally ridiculous smorgasbord of violence and bloodshed that ceases being disturbing and just becomes pure, 100% fun. For the right audience, movies don't get much more deliriously entertaining and courageously off-color than this one. Rio Nationwide - As a whole, "Rio" is just resoundingly okay. The plot is okay. The characters are unoriginal, but okay. The lush, lovely setting should have been better-used, and is just okay. At least "Rio" is aesthetically attractive. Too bad the rest of the film doesn't match the visuals. Scream 4 Nationwide - It's whip-smart, it's auspiciously savvy, it's full of escalating tension, and it knows just how to juggle humor with frights without either tone lessening or overshadowing the other. At a point when most series have gone stale, run out of ideas, and worn out their welcome, the bold, exhilarating "Scream 4" replenishes itself anew. Super OnDemand & Select Cities - "Super" gets points for being so unusual—as far as R-rated superhero movies go, this one makes 2010's "Kick-Ass" look positively conventional in comparison—but it also unsettles in a distinctly off-putting way. Sharp tonal shifts can work to a picture's benefit, or they can prove harmful, and that is where this one's individual pleasures grow murky. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Think twice before you throw that plastic bottle top out the window
Ever wondered what happens if you don’t recycle….
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-dead-birds-filled-with-plastic-2011-4
Sidney Lumet
The passing of a true genius……..
http://www.businessinsider.com/sidney-lumet-dies-director-serpico-dog-day-afternoon-network-2011-4
Friday, April 8, 2011
Time for Gummy Bears, Nachos and some Popcorn.....
Opening This Week: Arthur Nationwide - Even when it tries to be, it's almost never funny and eventually loses interest in even attempting such a feat. In a way, this is okay since it is the core romance that works best, but what goes on between these sweet scenes lacks interest, plausibility, and comes off as more than a little strained. Greta Gerwig, bless her, floats effortlessly into the film to almost single-handedly save the day. Hanna Nationwide - A B-movie with astonishing A-level aesthetics, "Hanna" is a decided example of style over substance, but, boy, what style it has. The grim, beautiful fairy tale that the crummy recent "Red Riding Hood" ought to have been, the picture is a dream of sumptuous art direction, set design, music, and editing. Visually and aurally, "Hanna" is a highlight so far in 2011. Soul Surfer Nationwide - As directed by Sean McNamara, the film remains overly glossy and could have benefitted from a tougher cinematic treatment, but its inspirational core and the sincerity of its portrayal of Bethany Hamilton remains. Even with its downsides, "Soul Surfer" perseveres as a well-meaning, heartfelt drama. Your Highness Nationwide - Filled to the gills with explicit scatologia, gay panic, physical slapstick, female ogling, and pot jokes, the movie is forever stuck within the mindframe of an immature high schooler who hasn't yet grown beyond a grade-school mentality. A limp misfire, depressing in its waste of talented filmmakers both in front of and behind the camera. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
perhaps after the seeing the Cherry Blossoms.......
Opening This Week: Hop Nationwide - Kids will be drawn to "Hop" as Easter nears, no doubt about it. It won't be an offensive waste of time for anyone, but there is no denying how much better it might have been with an extra screenplay polish and a greater willingness from director Tim Hill to think outside the box. Insidious Nationwide - As uneven as "Insidious" sometimes is, it can also be dread-inducingly, cling-to-your-armrest scary. Tiny Tim's legacy might not have been to terrify the living hell out of people, but that is what it will be once this movie gets done with him. Source Code Nationwide - The moviegoing public needs more Hollywood films like "Source Code." The screenplay is trim and compact, not a second wasted, but it is the striking appeal of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan that raises the film above the level of a crafty technical exercise. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
