Dog’s Movie House- “X” And “Fresh” Thrilling New Horror For The Weekend!

Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at two excellent horror films that are opening in the multiplex and streaming platforms, respectively. The first is called “X” for reasons that will become quickly self-evident during the course of my review. “X” is a return to the horror genre by famed filmmaker Ti West and what a homecoming it turns out to be. Next we have “Fresh” an original horror film on Hulu starring Sebastian Stan in a wonderfully seductive performance. Both films put fresh spins on familiar genre tropes and the results are both horrific and sometimes, blackly funny.

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Dog’s Movie House: “Turning Red” Another Pixar Charmer!

Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at Pixar’s latest masterpiece. It’s called “Turning Red” and it’s a gorgeously animated, terrifically voiced coming of age story that will resonate with everyone but especially with teenagers who will feel that this film is talking directly to them. Like almost all of Pixar’s films, “Turning Red” has something for everyone with eye-popping visuals that will appeal to audiences of all ages.

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Dog’s Movie House: “The Batman” A Bold, Original Take On The Dark Knight!

Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at one of the most anticipated releases of the year. It’s Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” and although it’s the umpteenth version of the Caped Crusader put to film, this one benefits from being a straight up detective yarn as well as one of the most chilling atmospheric comic book films ever made. Reeves has brought his considerable filmmaking skill to the fore and rendered a film that could have been the offspring of “Batman” and “Seven.” The result is a thrilling, intense, and well-acted superhero film that doesn’t feel like a superhero film at all and sails through its three-hour running time!

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Dog’s Movie House: Quick Hits – “Cyrano,” “No Exit” Imperfect But Entertaining Films!

Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a quick look at two films recently released and worth your time, even if they are, shall we say, a bit uneven. The first is “Cyrano” Joe Wright’s telling of Edmond Rostand’s play. This is a musical, which for me proves a bit jarring as the musical numbers distract somewhat from the otherwise riveting tale of Cyrano De Bergerac (an excellent Peter Dinklage), a smart, tough man who’s only flaw is his diminutive size. (This is a change from the original story in which Cyrano is cursed with a large nose.) Cyrano, for all his prowess, feels his lack of height such an impediment to declaring his love for Roxanne (Haley Bennett) that he decides the next best thing is to help the young soldier Christian (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) woo Roxanne with Cyrano’s words. Rozanne, you see, in a bit or irony has confessed to Cyrano that she is attracted to the young soldier. Comedy and tragedy ensue. The movie is worth seeing solely for Dinklage’s amazing performance and the scenery is breathtaking, but the songs are so-so and the other actors don’t make much of an impression. I think the musical version probably made more sense on the stage. 3 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!

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The Dogcast: A Little “Bold Venture” For Some Bogie/Bacall Adventure On The High Seas!

Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with some classic adventure with one of the silver screen’s all time great couples. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were one of Hollywood’s great love stories. Having met on the classic film “To Have And Have Not” they fell in love and were married until his death in 1957. They appeared together in films (most notably in “To Have And Have Not” and “The Big Sleep”) but they also did a radio series together during 1951. It was called “Bold Venture” and starred Bogie as Slate Shannon (what a great name!) as the owner of a hotel in Havana and a boat called “The Bold Venture.” Bacall stars as his lady Sailor Duval. Both are similar to their characters in “To Have And Have Not” and that’s not accidental. The two episodes I have are a lot of fun and feature that crackling Bogie and Bacall chemistry! Enjoy and as always feel free to comment below or on my Facebook Page! So Sayeth The Kendog!

Bold Venture – The Kwan Yen Statue – 4/2/1951
Bold Venture – Six Crates Of Apples – 4/9/1951