Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog!
Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in “Tombstone”
Westerns are something of a dying breed in cinema nowadays. From the 1930’s into the 70’s they were all the rage with legendary stars like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper donning the cowboy hat and six shooters to bring justice to the wild, wild west. Now westerns are few and far between, but those movies that do come out are pretty darn good. Continue reading
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog with two new releases this week in the cinema!
Chris Hemsworth In “12 Strong”
First off we’ve got “12 Strong” the true tale of twelve soldiers led by Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) in the first, top secret fight against the Taliban just after 9/11. Directed by Nicolai Fuglsig from a script by Ted Tally and Peter Craig (based upon Doug Stanton’s “Horse Soldiers), “12 Strong” is surprisingly light on character development given the fact that it’s based on a true story. It feels more like a patriotic propaganda piece than a true-life experience and it takes away from the emotion one might feel if the characters were a little more fleshed out. Hemsworth leads a cast that includes Michael Shannon, Michael Pena and William Fichtner, but all of these talented actors are trapped in cardboard, clichéd characters. The best performance goes to Navid Negahban as General Dostum, the Afghani warlord charged with helping the Americans fight the Taliban. Negahban has a sense a gravitas that helps improve Hemsworth’s performance as Nelson. The two have good chemistry and serves as a reminder of how good the film would have been if the rest of the cast had been given this much meat for their characters. Continue reading
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog!
Jessica Chastain As Molly Bloom In “Molly’s Game”
Aaron Sorkin is one of the most talented writers in entertainment. He’s written scripts for such incredible films as “A Few Good Men” and “The Social Network” and was the creative mind behind the television hit “The West Wing.” He’s never actually directed a film until now. With “Molly’s Game” the true story of “Poker Princess” Molly Bloom, he gets to direct a radiant Jessica Chastain from his own script and the result is a highly entertaining, if slightly unfocused film.
Howdy folks! It’s The Kendog with my list of the top ten movies of this year!
You have to admit, this last year has been crazy when it comes to the movies. Venerable franchises like Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean floundered and an Amazonian warrior ruled most of the late spring box office. Marvel soared and The Justice League just kind of. . . laid there. The Minions and Star Wars continued to kick ass and the live action Beauty And The Beast made the old seem new again. And let’s not forget the frightening adventures of a certain clown named Pennywise. Yes it was a fascinating year for movies and without further ado, here is my top ten films of 2017! Enjoy!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog with a couple of new releases you should check out!
Doug Jones As The Creature In “The Shape Of Water.”
Awards season is rapidly approaching in the film business and while “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is cleaning up the box office, several other new films are vying for both your dollars and a piece of the awards pie. Into this mix are two standout films, both made for adults. Guillermo Del Toro’s latest, “The Shape Of Water” makes it easily on to my top ten list this year, while Ridley Scott’s “All The Money In The World” is a fine film but an even more amazing filmmaking accomplishment in that Scott and his team had to reshoot entire sections of the film just months before its release, replacing the fired Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty.
