On DVD & Blu-Ray: January 31, 2017

Initial Reaction: Video Review - A DOG'S PURPOSE, RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER, & GOLD

With three new, fairly big releases this weekend we here at Initial Reaction did our best to try and cover as much ground as possible. Given Arkansas doesn't get many (if any) press screenings we are forced to see the new releases on Thursday nights leaving room for only two movies. And so, while Charles and I saw Gold, the latest starring Matthew McConaughey, followed by A Dog's Purpose a few members of our crew saw the supposed final installment in the Resident Evil franchise and shared their thoughts on it. Needless to say, it was a busy weekend. Still, none of these new releases could stop the momentum of Split which finished its second weekend dropping a mere 34% from its debut weekend to deliver a $26.26 million sophomore frame. This stellar performance has earned the film a fantastic domestic total of $78 million after just ten days in release. Coming in second was another Universal release in the now controversial A Dog's Purpose. With an estimated $18.38 million the film more or less performed on par with expectations despite the bad press it received in the weeks leading up to its release. It doesn't hurt that the people who went to see it seemed to like it as well meaning the $22 million picture should have strong enough legs to push it past $60 million domestic making it a wise investment and a potential franchise starter should Universal sees it fit to make a few more of these (W. Bruce Cameron's source material yielded a sequel called A Dog's Journey, so who knows). As for Resident Evil and Gold, both underwhelmed though this was expected as far as Gold was concerned given the would-be Oscar contender was basically dumped as hard as The Founder was by The Weinstein Co. With an estimated $13.85 million this was the smallest opening of any film in the Resident Evil franchise, with The Final Chapter opening lower even than the original 2002 film. And then, way down in the tenth spot we find Gold which mined a $3.47 million opening weekend likely to never be heard from again. As always, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel as we have a new review (or reviews) up each week!

GOLD Review

Kenny Wells is a mess and that is pretty evident from the moment he appears on screen hoping to charm the curls right out of Bryce Dallas Howard's eighties frizzled hair, but even as he does this it's easy to tell there is no real thought behind his actions other than what the immediate rewards might be. This is key to understanding the type of mentality we'll be working with for the next two hours as Wells is a man who believes himself lucky to have been born into a family that started a mining company and who intends to carry it on even after the death of his father (Craig T. Nelson). Wells takes the idea from his father that they don't necessarily have to do this for a living as it's a crap shoot of a business, but instead pride themselves of getting to do this for a living. The question they're seemingly missing the answer to though, is the ever-present why? What are they doing this for? Seven years on after the passing of the elder Wells and Matthew McConaughey's Kenny has his men working out of a bar, trying to keep a lid on expenses, and coming up short in seemingly everything, but chiefly in keeping his family's business afloat. As a man who can't help but to try and survive for the next few weeks rather than the next twenty years Wells sees no other option other than to do whatever it takes to keep that business running. He is a man who puts a lot of stock in legacy in the way that he seems to inherently ask himself how proud his father would be were he to still be alive-would he be happy with what Kenny has done with their business? After the rather stirring opening and tone-setting title card fade away it becomes pretty clear that Kenny Wells is in a position neither his father nor his grandfather ever found themselves in. The guy is desperate to find backers for digs that no one believes in and that no one seems to believe will yield any results. Sure, Wells has responsibilities to his employees that are dedicated enough to work out of that aforementioned bar, to Howard's Kay who has stuck with him still and now works at that same bar as a waitress most of the time doubling as his secretary, but the biggest responsibility Kenny feels is clearly to that legacy he is set to taint. And so, Wells takes a chance, a risk-one that could fail just as easy as it could succeed, but one that perfectly encapsulates and sets the stage for how this protagonist McConaughey fully commits to will operate in the mostly entertaining circumstances Gold presents.   

A DOG'S PURPOSE Review

In the opening moments of the latest sun-drenched melodrama from director Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, Hachi: A Dog's Tale) a dog is born and just quickly a dog is euthanized. It's a strange way to open a PG-rated family film about man's best friend, but was apparently the best way to set the stage for a film whose premise is that of dog reincarnation as narrated by Olaf from Frozen. Sound strange? It is, a little bit, but not nearly as bad as you might think though not nearly as effective as it should be either. This is taking into considering the fact the writers/producers and Hallström don't shy away from exploiting what is arguably the easiest way to elicit tears from your audience-a dog dying. They do this at least four times. And yet, through each of these segments, each of these lives that we see different breeds and genders of dogs lead (all voiced by Josh Gad) there is never that moment that just breaks you in the way you expect a movie like this to do. It seems there was no hesitation in doing what it takes to get the audience to that point, but the execution never matches the intention thus making A Dog's Purpose more of a sleeper than the quickly euthanized pup we met in the first scene.

Of course, Universal knows what it's doing and who the audience is for this type of movie and up until a few weeks ago were no doubt counting on cashing in on the countless dog lovers that flood this great land of ours. It's possible, but is now rather difficult to watch the film without the experience being at least somewhat tainted by the set footage that was released in which a trainer is forced to place a dog in water the canine clearly doesn't care to get in for the sake of a shot. Does the footage strike concern for how movies such as A Dog's Purpose are made? Potentially, sure. Is a bigger deal being made out of what footage we've seen than necessary? Absolutely. Sure, the dog clearly doesn't care to go in the water, but the trainer seemed especially sensitive to this hesitation and we only know if we don't like something by trying it first and that could just as easily be the other side of the coin in this case. I stayed through the credits to see that the film received its seal of approval from the American Humane Society and indeed it did. That's enough for me to trust that what video has been released was likely largely taken out of context if not a massive PR stunt to get more people talking about the movie. Needless to say, dog lovers will likely still flock to A Dog's Purpose and have no reason not to-it's made especially for them anyway.   

THE FOUNDER Review

In The Founder, Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc favors the saying, "fortune favors the bold," but the question that comes to mind as the The Founder reaches its denouement and shows us not just what Kroc became in the professional world, but who he became as a person is just how bold was this guy? As it turns out, quite. There were risks involved in his journey that were never guaranteed to pay off and he arguably had a vision no one else did-or at least the balls no one else had to risk it all. In the end, fortune obviously favors Ray Kroc, but at what expense to his humanity and decency? Some may say such things don't matter when you're worth $500 million, but in those final moments of The Founder where Kroc rehearses lines for a speech he stole from old motivational records when his wife, who he also stole, walks into the room and he catches her eye that there is a hint of self-awareness; of knowing that there was a price for all that he now looked down upon. Keaton, in all his charming and endearing glory, snaps his face out of the thought that dazed him only for a moment as if to say such was a price he'd gladly pay again and again. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence he tells himself-not talent, not education-persistence. It is in this train of thought, this idea that Kroc is never complacent or content with his life that confounds though as the movie that now tells his life story tends to air on the side of being exactly that-content. Directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) The Founder is a perfectly acceptable slice of cinema as it is obviously well-crafted, hits all the right notes, and features a handful of appealing performances with Keaton being a whirlwind of as much sly charm as he can possibly muster-carrying this thing across the finish line with ease. It's not that there is anything particularly bad about the film, but there isn't anything that is rather exceptional either. Instead, The Founder more or less delivers what is expected of a biopic these days with only slight indications that there was a deeper, more cutting ambition to the project that maybe took a backseat to safety. There have been many a comparisons between The Social Network and this film with its protagonists being ruthless men who take ideas from smaller thinking men and turn them into multi-billion dollar businesses, but where David Fincher's film had a specific tone and a certain state of mind that was in place from the get-go, The Founder never feels as personal or alluring. It, ironically, never feels bold enough to transcend its genre lines.