To Be Man's Best Friend Is "A Dog's Purpose"

A Dog's Purpose (2017)

Rated PG

Starring Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, K.J. Apa, Britt Robertson,

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

The Story:

The story about an inquisitive dog (Gad) who wants nothing more than to discover why he exists.

So if you can accept that Josh Gad is a dog who is reincarted multiple times as a new dog with his same memories and search for the purpose of his life, then you'll likely enjoy this one.

It's not a talking dog picture, with CGI lip movements, thankfully.

No, it's basically the dog narrating his lives as he goes from breed to breed, owner to owner wondering if there shouldn't be more to his life than just eating and sleeping.

Some stories are shorter, some happier, but all build to a culmination when the dog is reunited with the boy (Apa) that he loved more than all the others. Now a man (Quaid) whose life didn't turn out quite like he planned, perhaps what he needs most in life is the company of a good dog.

I would imagine at the end of the day, the only people that wouldn't like this film are cat people.

:)

It's beautifully filmed and quietly engaging, but that is to be expected from any Lasse Hallstrom film.

And as a final word of caution, you might want to keep a box of Kleenex nearby.

Final Grade: B-

Something Delicious To Be Had After Taking "The Hundred Foot Journey"

The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)

Rated PG

Starring Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon,

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

The Story:

After a tragic accident in India, the Kadam family move to France, finally settling in a small village and opening up an Indian restaurant. The problem? 100 feet away is Madame Mallory's (Mirren) restaurant, and she doesn't take kindly to competition. 

So that's the overall story, but the major focus is on Hassan (Dayal) and his quest to become something greater than just a cook for his father (Puri) at the restaurant.

This is the latest in Lasse Hallstrom's arsenal of quiet movies that tell a great story and you're glad to have been along for the ride.

Drama. Comedy. Life.

He continues to weave them all together in small movies where everything happens, and nothing happens, all seemingly at the same time, yet all of the characters grow and change right before your eyes.

Puri threatens to steal the movie away from everyone when he's onscreen, he's simply fun and bigger than life, yet plays the dad in a restrained, magical way that keeps you glued to his performance. His feud with Mirren is amusing and sweet.

Dayal is wonderful as the chef who wants to be something bigger, and then has to decide what he truly wants to be once he achieves what he set out to be.

Overall, you won't really go wrong with choosing to take this journey.

Final Grade: B-

Sounds A Little Fishy To Me..."Salmon Fishing In The Yemen"

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Amr Wakad, Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

The Story:

Sheikh Muhammed (Wakad) wants to bring his peaceful hobby of fishing to the dry arid desert of Yemen.  So working with a fisheries expert (McGregor), they plan to construct a river and fill it with Salmon.  However, the British government winds up only giving them hatchery raised salmon which don't know how to spawn upstream instinctively.  Couple that with some Yemen extremists who aren't thrilled with what the Sheikh is up to, and this dream may derail long before it even has a chance to succeed.

Meh.

Again, another film more appropriately labeled a dramedy, than a comedy.

There's some humor, but it's not "funny'.

I had high hopes for this one, but really, it was average, at best.

The performances were fine, but I was never really grabbed by anything else to make me invest more into the storyline.

Adding the complicated romantic subplot between McGregor and Blunt simply adds to the run time and really adds nothing to the story.

The best part of the film is the ending when we truly discover if the Sheikh's ideas would work or not.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah, I'm good.  Once was plenty.