Dog’s Movie House: “Transformers One” An Animated Sci-Fi Film With Heart!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at the latest in the long running Transformers series of films. Based on the equally popular toy line from the 1980s, the popularity of the films exploded in 2007 when Michael Bay and Steven Speilberg brought the first live action version of the popular robots to the cinema. After starting in the 80s as an animated series, we’ve come full circle with “Transfrormers One” an animated origin story that deals with the evolution of the two Transformers who would become Optimus Prime and his archenemy Megatron!
Continue readingDog’s Movie House: See “IF” And “Furiosa” Before They’re Gone!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here and I find myself pondering the strange phenomenon of underperfoming movies at the start of the summer season! “The Fall Guy,” “IF,” and “Furiosa” are all excellent films with some origninal ideas and fantastic performances, yet the general audiences seem to be staying away from the multiplex. I have some theories, of course, but they don’t come down to the usual “this movie is just another comic book movie” or “nobody wants to see this film because it sucks.” Two films in particular should be generating a lot more interest then they are at this point. Are prices of everything so high that folks are choosing to excise the process of going to the theater to save money? Or are the streaming choices available now squeezing the theaters out of business? Whaterver the reason, both “IF” and “Furiosa” are suffering for it.
Continue readingDog’s Movie House – What’s New For January 19th!
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
Dog’s Movie House: “In The Heart Of The Sea” Disappointing Effort From Howard And Hemsworth!
Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog!
Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase in “In The Heart Of The Sea”
Ron Howard is one of our most successful filmmakers and Chris Hemsworth is one of Hollywood’s rising stars, yet the first film they did together, the underseen “Rush” tanked at the box office. It’s a terrific film but for some reason it failed to connect with audiences. Now they’ve teamed up again for “In The Heart Of The Sea,” the fact-based tale that inspired Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.” Now I can’t speak about the box office prospects for the film (although industry analysts say “murky”), but, considering the talent involved, “In The Heart Of The Sea” is a decidedly underwhelming affair. Continue reading
