Show Dogs Review
“So what you’re a cop?” –Daisy
“I am undercover as a show dog.” –Max
Max, the Rottweiler must learn what it means to truly be a show dog if he is to discover what happened to the baby panda, Ling Ling, even if it means learning to trust the bozo FBI agent who is helping him.
In a somewhat twist of Mission Impossible meets Hotel for Dogs, Show Dogs has something for everyone. Kids will enjoy the talking dogs who essentially poke fun at the humans that they are with, while there is a deeper message for the adults. The message centers around what it truly takes to be a show dog as well as the trust that comes with it. It’s something that everyone has to deal with and at an hour and a half, the movie does somewhat succeed.
Show Dogs stars a long list of celebrities as the voices of the dogs as well as the companions and the interesting thing, though the dogs are talking, is not whether the characters can understand them word for word. Let’s get to our main character Max, voiced by Ludacris along with his FBI partner, Frank (Will Arnett). This relationship is interesting because when we first see Max, he is all alone, tracking down the culprits who kidnapped the baby panda. At the same time, he encounters Frank, in a somewhat hilarious manner, chasing him down when he thinks he is in on the whole case. Right away, there is an uneasy feeling between the two of them that gets even more interesting in the NYPD police station when the chief pairs them together to go undercover at a dog show.
Funny from the start, the pairing of Ludacris with Arnett is ideal as the two, though Arnett is dealing with a voice-overed dog, it meshes well in the finished package and credit thus also goes to the dog handler offset as they were able to perfectly match the dog’s movements with that of the voiceover. I’m always a fan of voiceovers done the right way with live action animals as I know animals’ mannerisms are not easy to control.
Subsequently, the film also stars voices including Alan Cumming as Dante, Stanley Tucci as Phillipi, Shaquille O’Neal as Karma and Jordan Sparks as Daisy. All of these voices ring out of the dogs they are portraying. The director, Raja Gosnell, did a great job working with the stars to match each breeds’ temperament. For example, O’Neal’s peace and love rings out of Karma as being a big dog with a soft heart, and Tucci’s spunky temperament as a Papillion did justice as well.
As a whole, the film flowed quite nicely as it opened with a kind of spyish quality, mirroring that of Mission Impossible or a 007 parody. The camera angles paid off as they perfectly captured both animal and humans, blurring reality and CGI. The wise cracking pigeons were one element that did leave me short, as the editors could’ve very easily used CGI on real pigeons for an extra level of authenticity.
Shot on location in Las Vegas, it was refreshing to see various elements of the Las Vegas strip superimposed with dog like qualities, such as the runway for the dog show smack dab in the middle of Caesar’s palace. Though Show Dogs may not be for everyone, especially if one doesn’t like dogs, it is a quite enjoyable ride. It’s refreshing to see the difference in dialogue between the dogs as opposed to their human counterparts and yet in the end, the dialogue mirror each other as the heart of the situation is to rescue the baby panda. The writers did an adequate job of developing the storyline and appealing to all ages as a whole.
At an hour and thirty minute run time, Show Dogs will take you on an adventure with Max and Frank, as the matter of trust is put to the ultimate test. Recommended for kids and dog lovers at heart, it is truly an enjoyable film for all who wish to let the dogs take control.
Show Dogs came out in theaters May 18 and is currently playing near you.
29th Annual Pet Expo In Costa Mesa
14th Annual Day of the Horse in Chatsworth
Sponsored by the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council, the Historical Society and Congressman Mitchell Englander of the 12th district, crowds came out to Stoney Point Ranch on Sunday April 9, 2017 from 11-3 for the annual Day of the Horse.
Residents could enjoy free hot dogs and hamburgers compliments of the Kiwanis of Chatsworth and there was fun activities for the kids including making their own
Stick Horses to take home as well as
decorating personalized horseshoes.
In the center of the ranch riders showed off their skills with various tricks, jumps and training methods for different breeds of horses including trained mustangs.
74th Annual Golden Globes RECAP
Hosted by Jimmy Fallon and airing live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills and exclusively on NBC, the opening scene of the 74th Annual Golden Globes paid tribute to one of the best picture nominees, La La Land, with a satire skit intro, by Fallon. The following list of awards and who took them home are below.
- Ryan Reynolds and Emma stone presented the first award, for best actor in a motion picture drama, awarded to Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Nocturnal Animals.
- The best actor in a TV series drama went to Billy Bob Thornton for his role in Goliath.
- Hugh Grant introduced his movie and the first nominee for best picture, Florence Foster Jenkins.
- Drew Barrymore and Timothy Elephant presented the Best Actress in a TV Series Musical or Comedy, won by Tracee Ellis Ross for Black-ish. and the Best TV Series Musical or Comedy went to Atlanta accepted by writer, actor and director Donald Glover.
- Vince Vaughn introduced the first movie nominated for Best Picture, Hacksaw Ridge.
- Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon presented the award for Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie and Sara Paulson won for her performance O.J. Simpson American Crime Story. The People vs. O.J. Simpson also won for best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
- Annette Bening introduced Twentieth Century Women which is nominated for Best Picture as well.
- The Best Actor in a Limited Series or Made for TV Movie went to Hugh Laurie for his role in The Night Manager.
- Sting and Carrie Underwood presented the award for best original score to Justin Hurwitz for La La Land as well as the best original song to “City of Stars” from La La Land.
- John Legend introduced the best picture musical or comedy nominated, La La Land.
- Michael Keaton presented Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Drama to Viola Davis for her role in Fences.
- Kristen Bell and Cuba Gooding Jr presented the award to Olivia Coolman for best actress in a TV Limited Series or Made For TV Movie, though she wasn’t able to appear to accept the award.
- Dev Patel introduced his movie nominated for best picture, Lion.
- Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer presented the award for best actor in a motion picture comedy or musical to Ryan Gosling for his stunning performance in La La Land.
- Damien Chazelle won the best motion picture screenplay for his latest movie La La Land.
- Kristin Wigg and Steve Carell presented the best animated motion picture to Zootopia.
- And jimmy Fallon also introduced a touching film montage tribute for mother daughter team Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds who passed away just days before the end of 2016.
- Casey Afflict introduced his film nominated for best picture, Manchester by the Sea.
- the Best foreign language motion picture is Elle, from France.
- Tom Hiddleton won for best actor in a limited tv or made for tv movie.
- The Crown took best tv series, drama.
- Viola Davis awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Maryl Streep as she intro a video tribute to before she took the stage to accept the honor.
- Chris Pine introduced the next nominated best picture, drama, Hell or High Water.
- Damien Chazelle won best director for La La Land.
- Danny Glove won Best actor in a TV series comedy or musical for Atlanta.
- Emma Stone received the Best Actress for a motion picture, comedy or musical for La La Land.
- Pierce Brosnan introduced the last nominee for best picture, in a musical or comedy, Sing Street.
- And Brad Pitt introduced the last nominee for best picture, drama, Moonlight.
- And Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmaine awarded the best motion picture, musical or comedy to La La Land.
- The best actor in a motion picture drama goes to Casey Afflict for his role in Manchester By the Sea.
- Leonardo DiCaprio awarded Isabelle Huppert the best actress in a motion picture drama for the French movie, Elle.
- And Carl Weathers and Sylvester Stallone awarded the best motion picture, drama to Moonlight.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees for the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards. The Golden Globes are determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association prior to the awards show.