Dustin Putman's Movie Reviews |
Opening This Week: The Change-Up Nationwide - For all of its gross-out humor—some of it works, some of it doesn't—the movie listens to, respects, and cares about its characters. Scattershot though the narrative is, at its core is a certain disarming sweetness. "The Change-Up" is blue and bawdy as all get-out, but it turns out this is just a ruse for the heart hiding underneath. The Devil's Double Select Cities - It's an intriguing story, but one that is only occasionally dramatically sound. When it meanders in the third act for too long just as it should be wrapping up only calls attention to this deficiency. Nevertheless, Cooper's awards-bound turn is impossible to turn away from. Through sheer force and vigor, he ensures that "The Devil's Double" remains a film of frequently electric interest. The Future Select Cities - For her sophomore effort, "The Future," Miranda July has narrowed in her gaze but refused to soften the esoteric edges of her sensibilities. The picture is a heady conversation piece, nearly infinite in its number of big thematic ideas. For sheer ambition alone, it's worth seeing. Boy, does it have problems though. The Myth of the American Sleepover OnDemand & Select Cities - Interweaving and narrowly connecting, the characters in "The Myth of the American Sleepover" stand as a microcosm of the teenage experience in Anytime, USA. Set over a 24-hour period, this is but a snapshot of their lives. As such, it's unforced and beautiful. Rise of the Planet of the Apes Nationwide - Might viewers be turned off by such a potentially hopeless finale, or will it leave them eagerly awaiting what a possible sequel might hold? No matter, the picture should be commended for following the apocalyptic plot threads to their logical destination. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" boasts enough skill and showmanship to act as a respectable franchise upstart if the studio is inclined to do so. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Friday, August 5, 2011
Looks like a good weekend to relax at the cinema....
