Monday, February 21, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
going to see a flick this weekend?
Opening This Week: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son" is interminable and lazy in the extreme, a dirge of inspiration. It's also, it must be admitted, decidedly innocuous and pretty much harmless. Audiences who opt to see it will be given nothing to care about, little to laugh at, and even less to think about. I Am Number Four Stinks of a product-by-committee mentality. With innovation limited, "I Am Number Four" doesn't work as sci-fi or fantasy. With a romance involving two figures who are neither ingratiating nor particularly awake, the arbitrary love story flounders. Unknown "Unknown" is indistinctive and empty, forced to rely on multiple car chases, fist fights, and a literal ticking time bomb to cover up its lack of ideas. Director Jaume Collet-Serra and star Liam Neeson are too good for a project as hackneyed as this one is. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Friday, February 11, 2011
in case you are heading to the movies this weekend...
Dustin Putman's Movie Reviews |
Opening This Week: Black Death "Black Death" carries authentic aesthetics, a dread-drenched tone, and provocative food-for-thought ideas involving religious hysteria that prove timely even in the 21st-century. The horrors within the story deriving from the brutality and ruthlessness of human nature and the danger that comes with extreme belief systems. Cedar Rapids More independent in nature, if not out-and-out unconventional, the film is firmly rooted on solid tonal ground. "Cedar Rapids" isn't hard-hitting, but it is wise in its own dippy way, and in Ed Helms' Tim Lippe is a protagonist written with uncommon affection. It's in the portrayal of his unforgettable week of living a little that makes the whole journey worthwhile. The Eagle A fascinating film might have very easily been made about these events, but this is not it. The film is a handsome production. Empty though it turns out to be, it does looks good. Movies like this one are a dime a dozen unless the makers bring something a little extra or unusual to the table. When they don't, they end up as ho-hum as "The Eagle." Gnomeo & Juliet A pleasingly clever romp that turns William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" on its head. Adults will be consistently amused by all of the references and in-jokes to the Bard's famed works, while children will learn a little about the original play as they get swept up in the likable characters and fast-paced, heartfelt story. Just Go with It So amusing and often laugh-out-loud funny are the proceedings that there isn't much time to nitpick the narrative's stretches in logic and plausibility. "Just Go with It" isn't always without faults but as a romantic comedy that works as both rom and com, it's a pleasant entertainment with, finally, a nice heart. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
In case you are heading to the movies this weekend.....
Dustin Putman's Movie Reviews |
Opening This Week: Kaboom Now OnDemand and in Select Cities - Visually hued to emulate a kaleidoscope and just about as empty of purpose, "Kaboom" features an impossibly good-looking cast being tugged and yanked through a screenplay that doesn't have a substantial thought in its head. The planet's annihilation has never been so ineffectual. The Roommate Viewed on a purely entertainment-based level, the film is diverting in a highly inconsequential way, a watchable 92 minutes of mediocrity. One can guess what is going to happen from scene to scene up until the shockingly heartless, falsely happy ending. "The Roommate" is just about as inspired as its title. Sanctum Can a motion picture overcome a lousy script if it is an otherwise effective, technically proficient piece of filmmaking? "Sanctum" sure-footedly answers this question in the affirmative. Consistently stirring and suspenseful, the core conflict of a cave expedition gone horribly wrong is ripe for a tension-filled cinematic telling. On these grounds, the film does not disappoint. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
