Dog’s Movie House: “Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes” Thrilling Addition To An Excellent Franchise!”
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at the latest in the long-running “Planet Of The Apes” franchise. After the orginal series ran it’s course in the mid-seventies, Tim Burton directed a slick but eventually disasterous reboot in 2001. Rick Baker’s makeup effects were fantastic and there were some very good performances, but the story was a mess and the ending was groan-worthy. It took a good ten years before Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa wrote and produced “Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes,” which turned out to be the first of an outstanding prequel trilogy featuring the rise of intelligent apes and the virus which all but wipes out humanity. It also introduced us to Caesar (the incredible Andy Serkis), the eventual leader of the ape uprising and architect of ape civilization. Now the story continues with “Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes” a story that takes place generations after the events of the most recent trilogy. And boy, is it pretty frickin’ great!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “The Fall Guy” An Hilarious Salute To The Movie Stuntman!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at David Leitch’s new film titled “The Fall Guy.” Now if that title sounds familiar it’s because the film is loosely based on the television series featuring Lee Majors that ran for five seasons in the 1980s. This version feature’s Ryan Gosling as Colt Seavers, a professional stunt man who drops out of the industry for a year-and-a-half after a nearly disasterous accident. He’s lured back into the movie business when he finds his one-time crush Jody (Emily Blunt) is directing her first big-budget film. When he gets there, Colt finds himself involved in a dangerous plot featuring a missing star, a murdered stuntman, and a somewhat vengeful would-be girlfriend.
Continue readingDog’s Movie House – “Challengers” Puts The “Love” In Tennis To A Ridiculous Extreme!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a confession: I’m getting old! Yep, it’s obvious age is advancing and is always up to no good. That’s the only explanation for my sudden outbreak of eye-rolling every thirty seconds when Luca Gaudagnino’s latest film showcased a scene filled with sexual innuendo. Guadagnino, known for his racy, relationship oriented movies (“Call Me By Your Name,” anyone?) injects an overdose of sex in this drama involving a former tennis prodigy (Zendaya) turned coach gets involved in a love triangle between her husband (and current client) and her former boyfriend. Oh yeah, and the two men have been friends since they were twelve. Ouch!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Abigail,” “Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare” Two Exciting Movies. . .For Different Reasons!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at two films, both very good, that feature their director’s signature styles. The first is “Abigail” from the directing duo known collectively as Radio Silence. It’s a vampire flick that, while not especially frightening, is a creepy, gory, funny, action packed good time with a villain that is sure to become a horror icon! The next is Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warefare” an action flick based on the first real-life black ops mission carried out by the British during World War II. It’s based in truth, but Guy Ritchie’s flamboyant style makes it feel more like “Inglorious Basterds” than “Saving Private Ryan!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Civil War” An Intense Piece Of Realistic Fiction!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at Alex Garland’s latest film titled “Civil War.” The title says it all: America is in the middle of another civil war, with a group called The Western Alliance, led by California and Texas, having secceded from the Union and taking up arms against the current president (Nick Offerman) who has, as the film begins, begun serving a third term and has had his troops fire on civilians. Covering this nightmare are photojournalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst), her reporter partner Joel (Wagner Moura). Tagging along on the trip to Washington D.C. are newbie photographer Jessie (Caillee Spaeny) and veteran reporter Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson). The quartet finds out the hard way about the fog of war and, after a certain amount of fighting, it doesn’t seem to matter what side you’re on!
Continue reading
