The movies, and dog lovers, love movies about dogs.
‘A Dog’s Purpose’ and other new movies
Gold is where you find it, and it looked like Matthew McConaughey had found it in “Gold.”
Inspired by a true story, “Gold” tells the tale of Kenny Wells, a gold prospector who journeys into the heart of Indonesia and, despite the odds, hits a rich vein of the shiny stuff. But it turns out that mining for gold isn’t as hard as hanging onto it, as Wall Street predators descend to separate a fool from his gold.
Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard and Corey Stoll co-star in the drama, directed by “Traffic” screenwriter Stephen Gaghan.
At one point, McConaughey — who won an Oscar for his last physical-transformation performance in “Dallas Buyers Club” — was in the awards-season mix for best actor. But despite the movie’s pedigree, it’s lost some of its luster among Oscar prognosticators. The movie’s middling reviews haven’t helped.
In her review for The Hollywood Reporter, Sheri Linden called McConaughey’s performance one of his best, but the movie, not so much: “The actor’s intensity never flags. What’s missing from this story of struggle and glory and the need to believe is a fever to match his.”
“Gold” is rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity. It runs for 120 minutes.
‘A Dog’s Purpose’
The movies, and dog lovers, love movies about dogs.
Based on a bestselling novel, “A Dog’s Purpose” was supposed to be one of those kinds of movies. Directed by Lasse Hallström — a filmmaker who knows a thing or two about sentimental storytelling (“Chocolat,” “Dear John”) — “A Dog’s Purpose” follows one devoted dog (voiced by Josh Gad), who finds meaning through helping, and sometimes saving, the humans in his lives.
Yes, lives; when the dog dies, his spirit is reincarnated in the form of another, new dog.
The feel-good mood around the movie took a darker turn last week when video emerged of what appears to be a terrified dog being forced during filming to jump into raging waters on the set. Amblin Entertainment, which produced “A Dog’s Purpose,” is reviewing the video, which drew harsh reactions from Hallström, Gad and others on the film. Meanwhile, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called for a boycott of the movie. As a result of the con- troversy, a world premiere scheduled for last Saturday was canceled. “A Dog’s Purpose” is rated PG for thematic material. It runs for 100 minutes.
‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’
It’s not clear how “final” “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” is. Like Michael Corleone, they keep pulling Alice back in.
In the sixth movie in the franchise based on the long-running video game, the super-soldier known as Alice (Milla Jovovich) is still humanity’s best hope against the zombies controlled by the evil Umbrella Corporation. But this time, she doesn’t have her secret weapon — her psychic powers — so she’s gonna need some help. Action director Paul W.S. Anderson is back behind the camera for the fourth time in the franchise.