Dog’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 readingDog’s Movie House: “The First Omen” Is Actually Pretty Darn Creepy!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here and I’m wondering about the penchant for rebooting, remaking, or sequelizing decades old properties, specifically horror films. We have updates on “The Exorcist,” “Halloween” and “The Thing” among others and the law of diminishing returns has definitely become evident in each. So when a prequel to “The Omen” was announced, that audible clicking sound you heard was the sound of my eyeballs rolling in disbelief. The original film was released in 1976 and was directed by Richard Donnor. It’s considered a horror classic and a stand alone film despite the many entries that later followed, most of which, well, sucked! Imagine my surprise when “The First Omen” actually turned out to be a pretty darned effective movie in it’s own right, marrying the original film’s aethestics to a modern day horror experience!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Monkey Man” Energetic Debut From Actor Dev Patel!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at actor Dev Patel’s directorial debut, an action-revenge thriller set in India called “Monkey Man.” In the film, Patel plays The Kid, a young man on a mission of revenge against the corrupt chief of police who is responsible for the death of his mother. Flashbacks parse out the information that show The Kid as, uh, a smaller kid when his village is burned and people slaughter by the corrupt police force led by Chief Rama (Sikander Kher) in the service of a sinister religious leader-turned-politician Baba Shakti (Makrand Deshpande). Kid now must infiltrate and climb the ladder of privelege in India to get his revenge, kicking all sorts of ass along the way!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” Fun, Energetic Monster Romp!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at the latest in Legendary Studio’s Monsterverse series featuring none other than the iconic Japanese monster Godzilla. We’re now ten years into the Monsterverse and the big guy and his friends show no signs of slowing down. The fifth and most recent film in this series is titled “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” and features returning director Adam Wingard from “Godzilla Vs. Kong” from 2021, marking the first time in the series that a director has helmed more than one film. The results are not particularly emotionally deep, but as monster movies go, “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” is a highly enjoyable ride!
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