2.5/5 stars
Black Dog begins with all the trappings of a revenge Western. Set in a godforsaken town where bad guys roam around with impunity, it revolves around a reticent man returning home after a decade-long absence to confront his sworn enemies.
It also seems to have everything in place for a political allegory. Juxtaposing images of crumbling tenements with incessant radio news bulletins about the Beijing Olympics, the story, set in 2008, could offer commentary about the clash of reality and dreams in 21st century China.
As it turns out, Guan Hu’s film is neither. From the big bang of its first half-hour, Black Dog is slowly reduced to a whimper, as what was set up to be a hard-boiled genre film turns into a sentimental relationship drama about a wayward man’s attempt to connect with his family, friends, foes and his new four-legged buddy.
Settling into his long-abandoned home, his past returns to haunt him in the form of the local butcher, who accused Lang of having caused his nephew’s death.
But the bad guy in town is Yao (Jia Zhangke), the chain-smoking leader of a bunch of “dog management officers” who capture strays and steal pets in order to resell them elsewhere for a profit.
Lang joins Yao to earn some hard cash, only to find his humanity flickering back to life when he forms a bond with a raging, rabies-stricken hound. This inspires him to reconcile with his adversaries, his ailing zoo-master father and his younger self.
While there’s nothing wrong with Guan’s decision to steer a fatalistic tale towards a happy ending, the change of tone does Peng few favours, as he is forced to reprise the kind of gawky man-child role he has been typecast in for just too long.
Meanwhile, the flood of positive energy in the second half of the film renders its remarkable set design evoking doom and gloom irrelevant. The same can be said even of apparently important characters: Dong Liya’s circus acrobat, for example, is left with nothing to do as the prospect of forming a relationship with Lang evaporates.
The canines are cute, though – and for some, perhaps, that is Black Dog’s main draw.
Spoiler- free Pushpa-2 Live Updates from USA Premiere Show – Keep Refreshing This Page :
Director: Sukumar
Cinematography: Miroslaw Kuba Brozek
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Producer: Naveen Yerneni
Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar
Production:Mythri Movie Makers
Sukumar Writings
Allu Arjun, who won the National Award for his performance in the first instalment, returns in the lead alongside Rashmika Mandanna reprising her role as Srivalli. The film also features Fahadh Faasil as Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat. According to reports, the film’s narrative will delve deeper into the conflict between Pushpa and Shekhawat while exploring his rise to power.
The first film in the franchise grossed an estimated Rs 400 crore globally. Its success laid the groundwork for ‘Pushpa 2’, which is already generating record-breaking advance sales. According to box office reports on sacnilk.com, the movie is well on its way to record a Rs 300 crore weekend at the global box office. With advance day 1 sales crossing Rs 80 crore, buzz is that the film will beat the lifetime collections of ‘Pushpa: The Rise’ in its debut week at the box office. The movie is poised to surpass collections of blockbuster hits including Prabhas’ ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and even Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Jawan’ and ‘Pathaan’.
Trade analysts have even boldly predicted that ‘Pushpa 2’ could just become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024.
The huge box office numbers have been linked directly to the hype around the film and also the higher ticket pricing. The Andhra Pradesh government approved the price hike of the tickets for the film, calling it a “progressive decision”. This move backed by the government, has made ticket pricing for ‘Pushpa 2’ the highest for a Telugu film.
Despite the rise in ticket prices, reports state that shows are selling out in multiple regions, with fans eager to experience the cinematic extravaganza on its opening day.
Stay tuned to this ETimes live blog for all the real-time updates on the release, movie reviews, audience reactions, box office numbers, and more about ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’.
The program is bright, colorful, and full of Christmas fun. There is no questionable or offensive content. The characters are kind and helpful and work together to promote a biblical/moral worldview. It contains light pagan elements about the magic of Santa Claus. There is no violence but one train drives into the ocean but is quickly rescued. THOMAS AND FRIENDS: THE CHRISTMAS LETTER EXPRESS is appropriate for all ages.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
A biblical/moral worldview with characters who are kind, helpful, and work together. Light pagan elements featuring the magic of Santa Claus;
Foul Language:
No language;
Violence:
No violence but one train drives into the ocean but is quickly rescued;
Sex:
No sex;
Nudity:
No nudity;
Alcohol Use:
No alcohol use;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
None; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
None
THOMAS AND FRIENDS: THE CHRISTMAS LETTER EXPRESS is a holiday special streaming on Netflix that follows Thomas the Tank Engine and his locomotive friends as they prepare for Christmas and help deliver a missing letter to Santa. The program is bright, colorful, and full of Christmas fun. The characters work together to help one another and display kindness. The movie has a biblical/moral worldview with no questionable content and is appropriate for all ages.
THOMAS AND FRIENDS: THE CHRISTMAS LETTER EXPRESS begins with Thomas and Percy riding together as Percy delivers Christmas letters around the town. Thomas delivers cookies and learns that Santa will appear in the Christmas parade. Later, a few trains become tangled in Christmas lights and must work together to untangle them.
Percy thinks he’s done delivering letters until he notices that one letter has yet to be delivered, and it has Santa’s address on the envelope. The trains travel to a mountain and watch the sky, searching for Santa. They realize many of the Christmas lights on the hill are out, and Helicopter Harold helps them locate working lights. The trains finally spot Santa in the sky and head into town to find him.
Later, the letter blows away, and the trains work together, chasing it to retrieve it. The letter opens, and Thomas reads that a child named Ryan has asked Santa for a skateboard. The trains decide to make the child’s Christmas wish come true, but they can’t find a skateboard. Santa comes to the rescue and gives the skateboard to Percy to deliver. Percy is thrilled when he sees the child happy once they receive their gift. THOMAS AND FRIENDS: THE CHRISTMAS LETTER EXPRESS closes as the trains participate in the Christmas parade.
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