8 Blueprint
ENTERTAINMENT
Feb. 24, 2017
‘A Dog’s Purpose’ did not leave viewers’ tails wagging By Addyson Wesolowski, Online Opinions Editor Kylie Schatmeyer, Copy Editor Why is it that every time a movie stars a small furry animal by the end of the show every person is sitting in their seat, hiding behind their sleeve, trying to keep their sobbing to a minimum? “A Dog’s Purpose” creates this exact scenario, but this time the same dog dies four depressing times. Let’s just say that calling the audience an emotional wreck is an understatement. “A Dog’s Purpose” is a story from the perspective of a dog based off the book “A Dog’s Purpose” by W. Bruce Cameron. The dog’s spirit travels through different canine lives as he struggles to understand the meaning of a dog’s life. All lives of the dog reflect back to his initial life as Bailey, a golden retriever who unconditionally loves his owner, Ethan. Through each life Bailey learns different lessons and is ultimately led back to his original owner years later. Never fear, this is no spoiler. Although the message of “A Dog’s Purpose” is evident, there is a lack of substance to the plot. The trailer sums up the entire two-hour movie in exactly two minutes and 36 seconds. The dog has a very innocent and curious description of our world and every life that he encounters. Every story provides examples of how powerful the companionship can be between a human and their dog. The film, overall, is very depressing. Every time Bailey is reincarnated the audience grows emotionally attached to his new form and the con-
nection he has with his owner. Every story presents different obstacles that Bailey helps lead his owner through. This is what made the movie truly moving and ultimately mournful. Prior to the premier of this much anticipated movie, a video was released on Twitter and TMZ showing a scene from the filming. The video, in short, shows what was assumed to be a German Shepard being forced into turbulent water in order to film a vital part of the movie. The video shows the dog trainer attempting to get the dog to jump into the rapids, which viewers perceived to be harsh and abusive. The video went viral, and not long after news stations around the country were showcasing the alleged video of a dog being abused. We were suspicious of the authenticity of this video and thus decided to conduct some research. Gavin Polone, director and producer of “A Dog’s Purpose,” spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his side of the incident, and the steps he took. “Like you, I’m sure, I was appalled when I saw the video...I have participated in, helped pay for and written in this publication about animal welfare causes. My will is set up so that all I have shall be donated to charities benefitting animals when I die...Love of animals defines my existence,” Polone said. Polone expresses his horror regarding the release of the video on TMZ. He shows how much of an impact animals have had on his life. As the producer, he says he had never experienced any concern for the well-being of the dogs featured in the movie. “A Dog’s Purpose” was filmed in
2015, meaning this recording was also filmed in 2015. Whoever filmed this video held onto it until January of 2017, one month before the movie was released. In our perspective this raises questions on whether or not those who released the video were worried about the well-being of the dog, or simply gaining money from the release of this video. In an interview with Dennis Quaid on The Ellen Show, Ellen Degeneres comments on her personal view of the situation. “I think it’s really interesting, if you care about a dog, and if you see a dog that is being forced to do something or treated badly, the next day that video should have been released. Somebody should “A Dog’s Purpose” makes veiwers both smile and have said something the next day. cry. Don’t wait until the movie comes Photo by Claire Pikul out and say, ‘Boycott the whole movie,’” Degeneres said. Degeneres looks at this story from treated with the greatest respect and an outside perspective and sees the care and compassion. They had lots of alleged animal abuse. After watching breaks,” Quaid said. the movie, our views align with DegeDue to all the controversy of this neres’ opinion. The spirit of the film film we entered the theatre slightly is based off the relationship and bond skeptical , but based off of what we between a dog and his owner. saw, the movie as a whole emphaDennis Quaid also speaks from his sized the influence dogs have on experience as an actor on “A Dog’s humans’ lives. Purpose,” giving further insight into Overall, we give this movie three what actually happened that day on out of five stars. The storyline was set. very predictable and we spent the “I don’t think this video tells the majority of the movie in tears. Howwhole story, I would not be on a set ever, the lessons behind each of Baithat had any kind of abuse towards ley’s lives were impactful.Sometimes animals, any animals, or people. I life is not about solving philosophical know in my experience that the dogs questions but to enjoy chasing your I worked with and the donkey were tail every once in a while.
M.Night Shyamalan finds his redemption with ‘Split’ By Jonah Ocuto, Staff Reporter I have a love-hate relationship with M. Night Shyamalan. On one hand, he directed “Unbreakable” and “The Six Sense,” a couple of my favorite thrillers ever made. On the other hand, he directed “The Last Airbender,” which currently has a 6% on Rotten Tomatoes and still haunts me anytime I think about the amazing cartoon it was adapted from. Naturally, I was wary when I heard Shyamalan was directing a new thriller called “Split.” However, after hearing that it stars one of my favorite actors, James McAvoy, I got excited. “Split” (M. Night Shyamalan) was released on Jan 20 of this year, and details the kidnapping of three young girls, Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), Marcia (Jessica Sula) and Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) by the hands of a man with dissociative identity disorder, Kevin (James McAvoy). The girls are held at the mercy of Kevin’s 23 personalities and all the while planning their escape. However, rumors of a 24th personality that could kill the girls limit the time they have left. For lack of better words, “Split” is a really cool movie. M. Night Shyamalan, despite all his flaws, is a fantastic storyteller at heart, which is clear
throughout the film. The highlight adding to the eerie sense the setting of the movie, of course, is a stellar gives you. Above all however, the performance, cinematography of or should I say multiple sequences performances, is brilliant, seamby McAvoy. lessly transitioning McAvoy gives from one scenario a truly masterto another with no ful performance cuts. as the personIt was genuinely alities of Kevin, exciting to learn giving each one about each india completely vidual personality, unique identity but I found myself and characterwanting more as a istic. What’s whole. It was stated amazing is that Kevin has 23 that with no personalities, but dialogue, and only 7 are shown. from just lookWhile each personing at McAvoy’s ality is fully develface in certain oped, I feel that the scenes, it is aptrue overwhelming parent exactly nature of having which personalall of that inside ity is acting in your head didn’t hit the present. His home as much as I ability to switch wanted it to. Graphic by Claire Pikul between the personalities The roles of the three girls at will is thrilling to watch. were underwhelming as a whole. M. Night Shyamalan hit a high While all actresses gave a decent pernote with this movie, each shot is formance, they stayed on one note of framed closely, mimicking the conbeing simply “scared” the entire time. stricted and claustrophobic room that The lead, Casey is supposed to come the girls are trapped in. All lights are off as crafty and good under presdim, almost never at full brightness, sure, but I was never able to tell that
through Taylor-Joy’s performance. My biggest issue with most films today is when characters are given hastily-written backstories to attempt to give the audience some reason to care about them. Sadly, that happened for both of the major characters in this movie. Shyamalan really tried to tug on some heartstrings, but it just came off unnecessary as a whole. That’s my biggest issue with “Split” -- the movie was telling me to fear for these girls’ lives, but in the end, I had no reason to care about them. They weren’t incredibly unique as characters, and I found myself rooting for the “villain” most of the time, as he was the only character I was interested in. The ending of the movie was weak as a whole -- it felt extremely convenient and unnecessary. I think Shyamalan wrote himself into a corner with a specific plot point, so there was no really creative way to resolve the plot he set up. “Split,” amidst its imperfections, remains a fun movie to watch. While it isn’t as “on the edge of your seat” as some of Shyamalan’s other films, it remains one of the most unique due to McAvoy. With a weak ending but a fairly solid middle, “Split” earns a B.