Opening This Week: The Adjustment Bureau Nationwide - Now here's something you don't see every day—a gripping, literate sci-fi film, full of thematic texture, emotional warmth, and existential complexity. In other words, it's the motion picture 2010's overcelebrated, dramatically ineffectual, subjectively barren "Inception" wished it was. Beastly Nationwide - A slipshod teen sudser starring 20-year-olds playing 17-year-olds penned as 12-year-olds. The "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale is transplanted to high school and given a modern spin in "Beastly," a tame, perfunctory romantic drama with a lack of sophistication that probably won't be making anyone over the age of about thirteen swoon. Bereavement Select Cities - A character-centric thriller signifying writer-director-editor-composer Stevan Mena's progression as a filmmaker even as it doesn't quite retain the same home-grown charm and earnestness of its predecessor. "Bereavement" is as grim as its title, a motion picture that knows who its specialized audience is and goes after them in short order. Cold Weather OnDemand & Select Cities - Described in some circles as the mumblecore movement's answer to the myster-thriller genre, "Cold Weather" is congenial, to be sure, but also so very subtle that it never becomes more than a confectionary dash of moody pleasantness. Dream Home OnDemand & Select Cities - A ghastly, disturbing and, in its depiction of a person who can't seem to get ahead in a competitive, unforgiving economic climate, surprisingly melancholy horror show. "Dream Home" may only be for the strong of stomach, but horror fans will be elated with what could be the bravest slasher effort of the last couple years. I Saw the Devil Select Cities - Ceaseless in its goals to devastate, infuriate, nauseate, and finally challenge (in roughly that order) audiences used to more pandering, watered-down treatments of tragedy and vengeance. "I Saw the Devil" is a crackerjack thriller, present and in-the-moment and with its fair share of surprises up its sleeve. Rango Nationwide - Wry, genial, and not at all interested in jumping on the bandwagon of flash-in-the-pan pop-cultural hipness. Sparked by inspired vocal performances, an involving story, and thoroughly witty humor that refuses to talk down to anyone, "Rango" is a glorious and affectionate little spoof-cum-ode to Sergio Leone-inspired travails of the spaghetti-enthused Wild West genre. Take Me Home Tonight Nationwide - An '80s movie lover's wet dream. "Take Me Home Tonight" is that rare, special kind of film that most viewers should intimately connect with, enduring and growing in popularity with time, its rabid rewatchability factor a priceless attribute that too often goes undervalued by cinephiles. We Are What We Are OnDemand & Select Cities - It's one thing to keep certain aspects of a story close to the vest, or even to purposely leave room for ambiguity, but "We Are What We Are" time and again promises answers and payoffs that do not come. Instead of being enigmatic for a reason, the film feels simply half-formed. |
© 2011 Dustin Putman |
Friday, March 4, 2011
A lot to see..
