MY REVIEW OF ‘A DOG’S PURPOSE’
I just watched this wonderful movie on Cox On Demand. This was not because of the hooplah regarding its release in movie theaters alledging’animal abuse’ which BTW turned out to be totally BOGUS; the so-called video was conveniently edited, and all charges of animal cruelty/abuse were negated by independent review.
NOW, to proceed with my thoughts on the movie itself . . . I have only been brought to tears three times with regard to an ‘animal’ movie. Old Yeller was the first; I cried like a a baby sitting there in the movie theater as did many other viewers who were probably around the same delicate age as myself. Hitachi really choked me up, and was such a heartwarming story of a dog’s loyalty and compassion. Now comes A Dog’s Purpose.
The premise of the story revolves around the aspect of a dog’s journey through several ‘incarnations’ as narrated by the dog him/herself. Anyone who has ever had a dog will definitely look at your furbaby with renewed consideration after seeing this movie.
Almost every aspect of a dog’s life is touched upon by the plot of this movie, from pup to adulthood as well as dealing with the strong bond between dog and his person, euthanasia, and loyalty.
I got choked up from the first segment, then I got mad in the second segment at how ignorant and cruel some people can be in the treatment of an animal. Then there were many happy moments where you are laughing out loud at the antics of the main character – Bailey Bailey Bailey and his person Ethan, which is the main focus of the movie. As ‘Bailey’ goes through each progressive life he is trying to figure out what his purpose in life is . . . to be happy, to be brave, loyal, what exactly is my purpose he continues to ponder as he plays, romps, create minor pandemonium, and eventually it all comes to a culmination of what his purpose is, but I will not spoil it with too many details. I truly believe that everyone would thoroughly enjoy this movie. Just have a ginormous box of tissues handy, and perhaps sit on your comfy sofa with YOUR furbaby cuddled up beside you!
There are moments where you will get that lump in your throat and your eyes will leak uncontrollably. There are also moments where your neighbors will wonder what is going on in your house as you hoot with laughter at the antics of Bailey in situations that are all too familiar with most of us who have ever loved a dog.
You cannot help but chuckle when Bailey is in one segment reincarnated as a female dog, and realizes he doesn’t have his ‘package’. Or when he (as Bailey Bailey Bailey) creates chaos at a dinner party hosted by Ethan’s father for his boss.
I give this movie FIVE STARS for it’s story that will tweak memories for all of us who watch it. It is a heartwarming tear-jerking extravaganza that will have a ending that will having you believe in a Dog’s Purpose. My only word of advice is that it may be difficult for extremely young children (this IS a family movie after all) to comprehend some of the scenes but other than that I think anyone from 9 to 90 will thoroughly enjoy this movie.
I was so excited to watch the ‘reboot’ of The X-Files with their six episode ‘premiere’. Having been a die-hard X Files devotee throughout its nine seasons, even to the point of planning my evening’s activities around the viewing of each episode, I was just a little let down by the seemingly disjointedmess (is that really a word?) of the first offering. And MY GAWD . . . what’s up with Skinner’s EYEBROWS?
It seemed as though after fourteen years, suddenly Mulder had become a slouchy overweight ‘I don’t care anymore’ shell of his former self. When he and Scully get back together to follow up on a lead ( and I will NOT give any spoilers ) . . . their interactions are a little more than strained. And . . . WHAT’S UP WITH SKINNER’S EYEBROWS?
SPOILER ALERT!
For those of us whose lives literally revolved around the Friday night episodes of The X Files, and the subsequent movies it is a little hard to wrap my mind around the sudden changing of paddles in the middle of the river for Mulder who is now all of a sudden enamored with the theories of somewhat creepy Ted O’Malley, who provides his own brand of ‘proof’ that Mulder’s search was all a ‘sham’ . . . the aliens aren’t the ‘bad guys’ . . . it is truly a government conspiracy to ‘take over the wold’ using alien technology garnered from the Roswell incident. One big giant hoax that led Mulder and Scully ‘literally by their noses’ through nine seasons of chasing after the truth. ie hard fans may find this a LOT disjointed, and newcomers will probably have an easier time relating to the ‘current’ rational that the ‘government’ will be taking away our weapons ferrying us off to interment camps and annihilating any subversives who attempt to defy them. Heck, that’s nothing new! People that say or do anything that the ‘powers that be’ don’t find beneficial to their cause, or in defiance of their actions suddenly ‘disappear’ and have been doing so for centuries. But I for one am a little less enamored that Chris Carter chose to weave that scenario into the X Files. We will have to see how it all pans out in the forthcoming 5 episodes. Perhaps this will serve as fodder to attract ‘newbies’ (i.e. the newer generation) to go back and begin the entire series from the beginning just to see ‘what if’ . . . or perhaps it will have them all shaking their heads saying WTF . . .
