MOVIE REVIEWS - New In Theaters

A huge range of movies to choose from right now. There is something for everyone.

The Comedian

This little Independent movie has a huge cast, a great concept and really marginal, if not bad execution that really left me disappointed.  Robert DeNiro, Leslie Mann, and a bunch of others including a ton of cameos from big comedians can't save this.

This is the story of an aging comedian  (DeNiro) that is trying to come to grips with the fact that comedy has changed and he struggling to be relevant. He also finds younger love (Mann) and is having a tough time adjusting to that.  He is his own worst enemy, and finds life more difficult as time goes on.  

This is terrible. The "comedy" written for this is absolutely horrible  His stand up routines are brutal and almost unwatchable.  These scenes are vile, crude, and flat out not funny.  The movies best moments are those between Mann and DeNiro, as she is really great in this, in a role you have not seen her in before.

 For a movie about comedy, this is not funny. Almost never funny. What a shame. This was a good idea that could have been pretty darn good, everything was in place.  Horrible writing.

 
A Dogs Purpose

For a few moments, let's put aside the disturbing video with the German Shepard in the making of this movie and talk about - The movie. No one liked that video, including me.  But this movie is a very emotional piece that dog lovers and owners will tear up with.

This is the story of a single dogs spirit that lives through 4 different dogs.  After an one passes on, he is reborn in another. The spirit is wonderfully voiced by Josh Gad, who really is the star of this movie. This is very powerful at times, hard to watch at times, and very solid at times.  If you own a dog, get ready to really run a huge range of emotions.

This could have been a bit shorter, and refocused a bit tighter. This for some reason is just not as good as t should be.  There are some really nice moments here, but overall this is just a project that should have been put in different hands. 

Is it bad?  No, but this is an opportunity lost

scott@wqmx.com