Dog’s Movie House: What To Watch This Week!

Howdy Folks!  It’s The Kendog Some Micro reviews for the last two weeks!

 

Spike Lee is back with probably one his most compelling features in years and Jason Statham takes on a giant shark!  Tom Cruise is ruling the box office again with another addition to the Mission: Impossible franchise and Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon are teaming up for a buddy spy comedy.  It’s been a full last two weeks at the theaters and as we head into August it’s time to see just what’s worth watching!

Must See – “Mission Impossible: Fallout”

It’s official: Cruise is crazy in all the right ways!  This sixth installment of the long running exploits of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the rest of the IMF is the best of the bunch.  Returning writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has concocting a twisting turning tale that ties everything together from previous films while providing an adrenaline-fill series of action and stunt sequences that is unlike anything put onscreen before!  Cruise at 56 is in terrific shape an continues to defy the aging process by doing some astounding stunt work.  Also in fine form are returning cast members Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, and Sean Harris.  Really stepping up to the plate is Superman himself, Henry Cavill, playing a lethal CIA assassin with his own agenda.   A terrific blockbuster that’s worth seeing on the big screen!  5 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer !

 

 

Must See – “BlacKkKlannsman”

 

Spike Lee returns to fine form in this tale based on the true story of Colorado Springs police officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) who successfully infiltrated that city’s chapter of the Klu Klux Klan.  Stallworth, who was black, could be the voice on the phone but had to enlist fellow officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to be his public face.  This deception leads all the way to a meeting with Grand Wizard David Duke (an appropriately smarmy Topher Grace) and an attempt to derail the attempt of the local Klan chapter to bomb a meeting of a group of black college students fighting for civil rights.   This movie is a button pusher of the highest order, but it’s okay in this case because Lee isn’t trying to disguise the film as anything else.   The film is bookended with the wounded Confederate soldier scene in “Gone With The Wind” and footage from the Charlottesville violence a year ago.  The Charlottesville coda is sure to polarize many viewers, but it fits with the message Lee is trying to convey about the insidious, every-present nature of racism of this country.  You may not agree with the film or the message, but you can’t deny it’s power and artistry.  The film also manages to find some seriously funny moments despite the somewhat somber subject manner.  Keep an open mind and this film may be one of the most intense experiences at the theater this year!  4 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!

 

Good But Not Necessary – “The Meg”

 

“The Meg” features Jason Statham taking on the seventy-five foot prehistoric cousin of the Great White Shark.   When a group of researchers in the sea off China’s coast find an unusual ecosystem at the bottom of the Marianas Trench, the are attacked by a living fossil known as the Megaladon, a giant shark thought to be extinct.  The Meg manages to escape the Trench and makes it’s way to the surface, looking at the human race as a slow-swimming buffet.   It’s up to Jonas Taylor (Statham) and his crew to track the Meg down before it chows on most of the beach-going human race.

Steve Alten’s novel used a lot of pseudo-science to explain the Meg and it’s ability to survive but the movie reduces it to quick, cinematic shorthand.  The film does play the scenario straight despite the silliness of the plot and the convincing effects help sell the idea.  Director Jon Turteltaub stages some effective set pieces and the cast, though thinly written, has enough witty dialogue to carry the day.  Statham is good as the traumatized Taylor, and he’s ably supported by a cast that includes Bing Bing Li, Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Winston Chao, Ruby Rose, and Page Kennedy.  The MVP of this cast is cute little Shuya Sophia Cai is Li’s adorable eight-year-old daughter.   She and Statham have a great bit of chemistry together.  The film would have benefited from an R-Rating but the movie is good enough for a monster matinee.  3 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!

 

Disappointing Considering The Cast – “The Spy Who Dumped Me”

 

This movie should have been better.  “The Spy Who Dumped Me” features Mila Kunis as Audrey, a woman who finds out her ex-boyfriend is a spy for the CIA.   When said boyfriend (Justin Theroux) is killed delivering a package to Audrey, she and her best friend Morgan (Kate McKinnon) find themselves involved in a conspiracy involving stolen zip drives, gymnast assassins, and all manner of unlikely gunplay.  Writer/director Susanna Fogel actually has a better grasp of the action than the comedy, making this film a confusing ride.   The comedy bits don’t always hit although Kunis and Morgan are great together.  A better script would have made these two a potentially legendary duo, but alas, this was not to be.  Not a total train wreck, but something of a waste given the talent onscreen.  2 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!  So Sayeth The Kendog!

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