A Dog's Purpose (2017)

[IRONicmerMAN 391]

Just because it chances being a good HDTGM target, I'm going to leave this out here. Upcoming film that implies dogs, or at least one dog, do not go to heaven and are instead subjected to ongoing reincarnation as new dogs. Or is this one dog being subjected to a torturous, subservient hell for what he did?

 

Lots of dog stuff going around with the people involved:

• Ironically, the director's name is Lasse. You know, like the dog name sans an "i". And looking at his filmography, I notice both My Life as a Dog and Hachi: A Dog's Tale. Is Lasse really a dog trapped in a man's body and his films are a lifelong cry for help?
  
• The screenplay credit goes to Audrey Wells, who wrote The Truth About Cats and Dogs.
  
• Its cast also includes a man named Pooch Hall.
  

 

The book it's based on has a 5-star rating over nearly 3000 reviews on Amazon (!!!). For the director and screenplay writer, they've been involved in some good films. Maybe I'll be proven wrong, because it has a lot of positive going for itself, but this looks like it's going to be pretty bad.

 

Look, I think dogs are great and this will probably be a huge hit with dog lovers who can stomach dog deaths in film and a bomb with cat folks, but we shall see. Here's a couple of the less optimistic articles I found.

 

The First Trailer For the Dog Reincarnation Movie A Dog's Purpose Is a Sociopathic Nightmare

http://io9.gizmodo.c...-dog-1785808014

***the comment thread is fantastic***

 

‘A Dog’s Purpose’ Trailer Might Be the Most Unintentionally Creepy Thing You’ll See This Week

http://www.slashfilm...urpose-trailer/

[TVsFredSavage 502]

No one ever saves the dog...

[Lando 2019]

Me watching Hachi: A Dog's Tale

[IRONicmerMAN 391]

This piece of cinematic diarrhea drops tomorrow. I just saw this and figured it might add some momentum to the recommendation. If I recall, an older episode had the crew discussing a dog being thrown into a lake in the background of a film. Not sure which episode or movie, but I think it was a lengthy discussion.

 

On January 18, 2017, a video surfaced on TMZ showing footage taken from the set of the film, which shows a German Shepherd named Hercules being dragged and dipped into rushing water while visibly resisting. After a cut in the video, the next clip shows the dog being submerged in the water at the other end of the tank while a voice on set can be heard saying "cut it", and various people are then seen rushing towards the dog. The American Humane Association, which ensures that animals are not harmed in entertainment productions, announced that its representative on set had been suspended over the incident, and that the incident is under further investigation. PETA called for a boycott of the film. Actor Josh Gad, who was not on set during the making of the movie, claimed he was "shaken and sad to seen any animal put in a situation against its will". Producer Gavin Polone wrote in an editorial for The Hollywood Reporter, "Last Thursday, I went to Amblin's office and watched all the film shot on the day in question, as well as saw video from the trainers and still photographs. As with the TMZ video that you saw, two things were evident: 1) the dog handler tries to force the dog, for 35 to 40 seconds, into the water when, clearly, he didn’t want to go in; and 2) in a separate take filmed sometime later, the dog did go into the water, on his own, and, at the end, his head is submerged for about 4 seconds. These two things are absolutely INEXCUSABLE and should NEVER have happened. The dog trainer should have stopped trying to get the dog to go in the water as soon as the dog seemed uncomfortable, and the trainers should have had support under the dog as soon as he came to the side of the pool and/or had less turbulence in the water so he never would have gone under."

 

Director Lasse Hallström stated on Twitter that he "did not witness" the actions in the video, and was "very disturbed" by the footage. Amblin Entertainment released a statement in regards to the incident, saying that "[o]n the day of the shoot, Hercules did not want to perform the stunt portrayed on the tape so the Amblin production team did not proceed with filming that shot", and that "Hercules is happy and healthy". Due to the release of the video, Universal Pictures cancelled the film's scheduled January 19 Los Angeles premiere.

[NathanGordon 1096]

It's cute that there's a tempest in a teapot about that German Shepard video, when there is similar or worse going on in many productions. This is not a unique situation; it just happened to be filmed and leaked. People get outraged about incidents like this and then go on to eat Chicken Fil-A for lunch and take their children to zoos. I feel like you just can't have it both ways with animals; you either are complicit in the abuse, exploitation, and consumption of them, or you aren't.

 

I'm sure this movie is garbage just like the book. The idea of having to kill the same dog five times to make a narrative point about how love is important or some Hallmark shit makes my skin crawl.*

 

*nvm, I'm in diabetic shock after eating four boxes of those candy message hearts. They had text message abbreviations and emojis on them!

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I feel like you just can't have it both ways with animals; you either are complicit in the abuse, exploitation, and consumption of them, or you aren't.

And it's very shitty to tell people who aren't vegan or vegetarian that they can't be against animal abuse. Good to know that because I had a chicken sandwich for lunch I should just stop advocating for the correct treatment of living animals.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Good to know that because I had a chicken sandwich for lunch I should just stop advocating for the correct treatment of living animals.

 

Of course! That's why every time I eat a burger I find a puppy to kick afterward--just so these uppity animals know who's boss.

 

I love living in a binary world!

[jarrycanada 2483]

I am a strong believer in the ethical treatment of animals to some point, I don't want to hear or see animals get hurt, and I do believe happy animals make for taster meat products. but the same can be said about fast food. I don't enjoy eating fast food anymore because I know that it's some careless minds who are preparing it that have no care in the world for your health and safety. Anthony Bourdain Kitchen Confidential is a must read if you want to get into the mind set of people who work in the food and service business. it really is a eye opener book about cooking in a restaurant.

 

He asks the question: who is cooking your dinner tonight.?

 

and on that note: it's George R.R. Martin's dinner time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlK5sNyyxxI

 

then you could be like these people and take it too far! "a letter from the chicken."

[NathanGordon 1096]

And it's very shitty to tell people who aren't vegan or vegetarian that they can't be against animal abuse. Good to know that because I had a chicken sandwich for lunch I should just stop advocating for the correct treatment of living animals.

I apologize for offending you.

 

Of course! That's why every time I eat a burger I find a puppy to kick afterward--just so these uppity animals know who's boss. I love living in a binary world!

Not as much as you love a passive aggressive world of snark, but if that's what gets you through the day after kicking a puppy, that's cool.

 

Some issues really are an either/or proposition, like supporting animal exploitation and abuse. If someone feels they need to define an ethical area for themselves that enables them to see some animals as less deserving of a comfortable life, that is their prerogative. This poor German Shepard, though.

[IRONicmerMAN 391]

It's cute that there's a tempest in a teapot about that German Shepard video, when there is similar or worse going on in many productions. This is not a unique situation; it just happened to be filmed and leaked. People get outraged about incidents like this and then go on to eat Chicken Fil-A for lunch and take their children to zoos. I feel like you just can't have it both ways with animals; you either are complicit in the abuse, exploitation, and consumption of them, or you aren't.

 

I'm sure this movie is garbage just like the book. The idea of having to kill the same dog five times to make a narrative point about how love is important or some Hallmark shit makes my skin crawl.*

 

*nvm, I'm in diabetic shock after eating four boxes of those candy message hearts. They had text message abbreviations and emojis on them!

I don't eat dogs, so I'm good.

 

My point was that on top of this being a dog-focused movie that looks like complete dog shit, one of the animal actors was abused. I feel like June would jump on this, considering her stance on the simian actors in Monkey Shines. They just didn't get credit. No word on actual physical harm.

[NathanGordon 1096]

I apologize for soapboxing, I shouldn't have. I love you guys. I am also passionate about this issue.

 

I'm going to leave my comments up, but I'm excusing myself from this conversation. I am sorry.

[jarrycanada 2483]

[IRONicmerMAN 391]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjolJ2d9z-g

The music in this video is perfect.

[jarrycanada 2483]

Of course! That's why every time I eat a burger I find a puppy to kick afterward--just so these uppity animals know who's boss.

 

I love living in a binary world!

 

Cameron H, This little guy would like to have a word with you.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD9QEgx_LDY

 

this is the kind of fuck heads that are making that burger for you,

.

his boss has told him to wash his hands on his own time. if you get food poisoning it's time for Forastor, the only probiotic supplement that can handle food poisoning, Good times.

 

Note: in better of dead, why is he making up those burgers on a cookie sheet! LOL is he going to bake those burgers?

[RyanSz 3140]

When I first saw this trailer I figured the elevator pitch went like this: "Okay so you know how everyone cries at dying/hurt dogs in movies like Old Yeller, My Dog Skip, and Homeward Bound? Well what if we do it a shitload of times over the course of the movie, but people will watch because somehow we will make it nice by having him end up with his original owner in an uber-sappy way. We are so gonna win Oscars for this! Now let's high five and do some coke!"

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

After finding out about Milo and Otis and having my childhood memories destroyed,i've made it a point to try and avoid any movies with animals as a lead.