Zane's take at the Cinema's

A title doesn’t make a movie good or bad. A title is simply a marketing tool just like a poster, TV spot or a movie trailer. Be that as it may, the title Dog is so embarrassingly unoriginal that it’s amazing we went from dog movies with much clever titles like Marley & Me, Beethoven, Air Bud, Togo, Isle of Dogs, Alpha, Homeward Bound, Cujo, Call off the Wild and so many others. Now, we’ve gotta new one coming out this weekend and it’s simply called Dog. Again, it’s just a title. It’s not gonna make or break anything on the true quality of the movie, but it’s a dumb title. But what’s really heartwarming about the movie Dog is how it’s loosely inspired by Tatum’s rescue dog Lulu, who tragically passed away in 2018. Stories like this always turn into some neat and refreshing passion projects and knowing that Channing Tatum experienced this but wanted to tell a story about it is incredibly thoughtful.

Serving as co-director and as the main lead, Dog is simple, straight forward and something we’ve seen hundreds of times in various dog-centric movies. But there’s something about the simplicity that makes this whole experience amusing, heartfelt and insightful. Channing Tatum really shines with a fully toned performance and even serving as co-director, Tatum has some promise as a storyteller. The movie has focus and there’s really nothing wrong with it. This is a nice movie, through and through.

 U.S. Army Ranger Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum) is tasked on brining Lulu, Belgian Malinois military dog, down over somewhere by the Pacific Coast in time to attend the dog’s owners funeral.

Channing Tatum, like any other actor, had a rough start to his career. It was a mixture of either the projects he chose or his performances just never stuck the landing. However, when the first 21 Jump Street came knocking into theaters, Channing Tatum found a real footing for comedy. But what became even more surprising was turn from comedies into dramas like Magic Mike and especially Foxcatcher and since then, Tatum has had an impressive career and improving as an actor in films like Hail, Caesar!, Logan Lucky and even the small role he had in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight. In todays day an age, any project Channing Tatum is attached too you can’t help but get excited for all the reasons just listed. But what’s even more interesting about Dog is that not only is Tatum starring in it, he’s also co-directing for the very first time. In regards to the direction of Dog, both Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin do a remarkable job with this story. Knowing the collaboration the two have had on a variety of projects, their vision for this story wonderfully matched together. Dog doesn’t do anything that’s super game changing with it’s filmmaking techniques but it’s nice and steady direction made this journey very arousing.

Channing Tatum, as the lead, really gives a dedicated and determined performance that really acts as a testament on holding the movie together with a fully realized and dimensional character. It might not be the best performance he’s ever given, but in scope of his career it’s easily one of the best he’s ever had. What’s even more remarkable about his performance is the fact that he’s really the main human character for the entire runtime. He interacts with other human characters here and there and aside from his relationship with Lulu, Tatum is the essential piece of the puzzle that carries this movie. His relationship with Lulu just only makes things even better and it’s the type of relationship that will melt dog lovers hearts.

There’s ultimately nothing wrong with Dog. For what it’s worth, it’s a sweet, gentle and very thoughtful letter about how much dogs can bring us joy and comfort. Channing Tatum does a remarkable job operating this story from a director and acting standpoint. This movie might be forgotten when 2022 comes to a close, which is a bloody damn shame because the more this movie sits with you, the more you learn to appreciate it.

My grade for Dog: B+