Tom Putnam Movies
- 2012
- NR
Filmmakers Tom Putman and Brenna Sanchez focus on the efforts of Detroiters to save their dying city from total devastation, and highlight the roles that first responders play in protecting the locals. With their budgets in constant danger of being cut, the local fireman, policemen, and EMTs can do little but watch in despair as the city falls to ruin. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2010
- NR
After a night of drinking at a bar in his hometown of Kingston, NY, Mark Hogancamp got in a fistfight and was beaten so badly he went into a coma. When Hogancamp regained consciousness, he was diagnosed with brain damage and struggled to return to a normal life. As he tried to put his life back together, Hogancamp came up with an unusual hobby -- using G.I. Joe action figures and Barbie dolls, Hogancamp created an elaborate scale model community in his backyard that he calls Marwencol (named for three characters he's dubbed Mark, Wendy, and Colleen). Marwencol is supposed to be a village in Belgium during World War II, and the scene is full of intrigue and military violence; several of the characters also represent his friends and relatives, and one is based on a married neighbor with whom he's infatuated. Marwencol provides Hogancamp with a fantasy world he can retreat into as he deals with the realities of his life following the beating, but the parallels into his real life are troubling to some people he knows, and when a gallery in New York City offers to present Hogancamp's project as an art installation, he has to decide if he's really willing to share Marwencol with the world at large. Filmmaker Jeff Malmberg profiles Mark Hogancamp and the world he created from toys and his imagination in the documentary Marwencol, which received its world premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
An attractive bachelorette (Paris Hilton) finds that her chances of landing a man hinge far too much on her unattractive best friend (Christine Lakin), whom she goes out of her way to find a mate for by denying a childhood friend's romantic advances until he finds this hottie's pal a mate in this Regent Releasing comedy. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, (more)
- 2006
This little-known World War II battle with Japanese forces on the island of Attu is covered in this 2006 documentary from director Tom Putnam. Using the accounts of two surviving soldiers, the film tells of the tragic operation that saw ill-prepared American troops take on massive casualties. Red, White Black & Blue screened at Switzerland's Locarno Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
This short film depicts a period in the life of director Tom Putnam, who, after having suffered a concussion, spent nearly a week too terrified to leave his house. A rapid succession of psychological issues arose, including acute panic attacks, sudden fits of dizziness, and hallucinations. For a brief period of time, Putnam believed himself to be the Antichrist. Despite the serious topic matter, the film itself is taken on from a humorous perspective, and focuses less on the insanity itself than it does the director's efforts to diagnose and treat what is wrong with him. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
The safety of the world hangs in the balance, and it's up to one slightly insane individual to save the day in this offbeat independent comedy. Steven Byzinsky (Morgan Rusler) is an ordinary white guy from California who has a bit of a problem -- he's convinced that he's blaxploitation film icon John Shat. Steven's firmly held delusion has landed him in a mental institution, but when a supervillain hatches a scheme to take over the world, Shat takes over Steve's personality, and he escapes with his psychiatrist, Dr. Foxy Brown (Angelle Brooks), as well as fellow patient Marlene Fujiyama (Hayley Man), a former police officer who imagines herself to be her late brother who was assassinated by the Yakuza. Shafted also features a cameo appearance from one-time child star Gary Coleman as himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Morgan Rusler, Angelle Brooks, (more)
- 1997
Originally telecast in Japan under the title Hare Tokidoki Buta, this animated series revolved around a nine-year-old boy and his magical pet pig. Whenever the youngster imagined an adventure, the plucky pig would enable him to "act it out," generally in a slapsticky fashion. The boy, known as Kazuko in Japan, was re-christened Spencer when the series was brought to North America under the title Tokyo Pig. First broadcast on TV Tokyo from July 3, 1997, to September 29, 1998, the series debuted in the U.S. over the ABC Family cable channel on September 14, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joshua Seth, Dorothy Fahn, (more)
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