The Life of STRAYS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray, DVD and Digital from director Josh Greenbaum, written by Dan Perrault and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is a dog’s world of STRAYS.

Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) is a small and loveable Border Terrier who lives with Doug (Will Forte). Not realizing he is being treated badly by Doug, Reggie sees their almost daily game of ‘find your way home’ as fun. That is until one day Doug goes way out of his way to play the game leaving Reggie in a world he doesn’t know.

That’s when Reggie meets Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a Boston Terrier who may be small but has a huge, well, attitude and view of the world. He almost immediately takes Reggie under his paw to show him the life of being a stray. Reggie tries to explain he is not a stray and Reggie realizes the very sheltered life his new friend has lived.

Bug introduces Reggie to his friends Maggie (Isla Fisher) is a lovely Australian Shepherd with a nose like no other and Hunter (Randall Park) a Great Dane who might be a therapy dog but needs a bit of therapy himself. When they all hear Reggie’s story, they group decides to return to Reggie’s home so that he can show Doug what he really thinks of him.

Along the way, they all experience some of the craziest things known to dog kind and their reaction is, well, howlingly perfect!

Ferrell as Terrier Reggie is adorable, accepting and just sees the world in a sweet way. That is until he realizes that perhaps his new friends are telling him the truth. He is torn between wanting to be accepted by Doug and seeing the world in a whole new light. Ferrell lends his voice giving Reggie such sweetness but even sweet will talk a dog only so far.

Foxx as Boston Terrier Bug may be small but he makes his presence larger than life. Not about to take anything from anyone, man nor beast, he makes his stray rules clear and lives by them completely. Bug is inappropriate and hilarious all at the same time and Foxx lends his voice in such a way that I certainly wouldn’t want to mess with him, well, most of the time anyway.

Fisher as Maggie is a gorgeous Australian Shepherd who is almost the mother figure of the bunch but knows what she is good at and that’s sniffing! She has a bit of the feels for one of the pack but isn’t quite sure how to handle it. Fisher gives us charming, loveable, protective and one-of-the-boys without giving up being one-of-the-girls!

Park as Hunter the Great Dane is just a hot mess of issues. Insecure about his failures and hiding behind what our family calls ‘the cone of shame’, Hunter has a bit of the feels for a member of the pack as well. He wants so badly to be as brave as the others and sometimes questions it all but man, I just love Parks voice as a big dog with a small voice.

Forte as Doug soon realizes that perhaps revenge against an ex-girlfriend has the huge potential of being the worst thing he could have done. That being said, he is a manipulating, lying, using bit of an a-hole who really deserves everything he gets from both human and beast. When a dog adores you, don’t abuse that or else, well, Doug knows what the what else is!

More cast include Josh Gad as Gus, Havey Guillen as Sh%*stain, Jack De Sanz as Munchkin,Phil Morris as Bubsy, David Herman as Underbite, Charity Cervantes as Jenna, Rob Riggle as Rolf, Brett Gelman as Willy, Jamie Demetriou as Chester, Sofia Vegara as Deliliah the Couch, Greta Lee as Bella, Jimmy Tatro as Finn, and Dennis Quaid as Dennis Quaid.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings amazing film to theatres and their home entertainment library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

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Bonus Features include Talk Like a Dog, The Ultimate Treat: Making STRAYS, Poop, Booms and Shrooms, Will Forte: STRAY Actor, Training to be STRAY, A New Best Friend, and Feature Commentary with Director/Producer Josh Greenbaum and Screenwriter/Producer Dan Perrault.

STRAYS is a cute dog movie, yes, but it is not, I repeat, is not meant for children at all. Okay, now that that’s out of the way let’s get down and dirty because that’s what STRAYS is. It is a raunchy, dirty, pushing the limits and then jumping off the cliff comedy about what the hounds may be thinking, saying and doing when humans aren’t paying attention.

The jokes are good, the dogs are awesome, but man oh man be prepared to see things you never thought to see on the screen done by dogs. Is this raunchy humor, absolutely, did I laugh a lot, absofrakkenlootely. Mixed in with the laughter were moans, groans, ewwwwwww’s and every other human emotion regarding the things our four-legged furry friends might be thinking.

This is the kind of film that lets you know up front it isn’t about to play the cutsie game (even though there are cutsie moments) and its every dawg for themselves. No bones about it, when the big dog comes out, stand back because the poop is going to fly.

In the end – listen to their bark or face the bite!

Disney+ Brings SOUL

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on Disney+ from directors Peter Docter, Kemp Powers is the musical life that reaches down to the SOUL.

Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) is a high school music teacher that is still trying to bring his love of jazz into a profession. When former student Dez (Donnell Rawlings) calls to let him know that sax player Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) is looking for a piano man, Joe is beyond thrilled.

Making his way to the club, Joe plays his heart out and Dorothea tells him to come back in a suit to play with her quartet that very night. Believing his world is about to change forever, he has no idea how right he is. After a little accident, Joe opens his eyes to discover he is not quite sure where he is!

On a long ramp leading toward the light and the Great Beyond, Joe comes to understand that he is not part of the world any longer and he is not about to take that lightly. After another tumble, he finds himself surrounded but giggles and cuteness. Learning from the Counselor’s Jerry (Alice Braga), Jerry (Richard Ayoade), Jerry (Fortune Feimster), and Jerry (Zenobia Shroff) and Jerry (Wes Studi) that he has landed in the Great Before, they think Joe is there to train souls and given 22 (Tina Fey), a soul that has had no luck in learning anything from anyone.

Joe’s job is to help 22 find her spark that will get Joe an Earth badge so he can return. After trying again and again, Joe is wondering if maybe there is a good reason 22 never made it to Earth. That is when Joe and 22 meet Moonwind (Graham Norton), who has the ability to be both on earth and in the Great Before to rescue lost souls.

Agreeing to help, Joe and 22 make a jump back to Earth where 22 becomes Joe and Joe becomes a cat! About this time, the soul accountant Terry (Rachel House) realizes that the soul count is off, and he is not about to have that! Now the race is on for Terry to correct the count, Joe and 22 to find their way back to themselves and Joe to make it to the performance by nightfall.

This soul thing is pretty complicated!

 

Foxx as Joe plays an endearing man who has a unique love of jazz but can only find a job as a high school music teacher. When given the chance to do what he has always wanted, he takes it and finally sees his musical future. Foxx gives Joe lovability, humor, an outlook that transcends his Before and After and the something we can all relate to – dealing with a Mom we are afraid to say “this is what I want for my life” without chickening out.

 

Fey as 22 is as hyper as a soul can get! This soul is not as different from Joe as she would like to think. There are fears here as well but covered up sass and pride in never having been sucked into the vortex to Earth. Fey is charming, funny and a stubbornness that keeps her from joining the human race. Once she has a chance to experience life on Earth, there is a change in both 22 and Joe that is so very sweet.

 

Shout out to Phylicia Rashad as Mom Libba who wants the best for her son and believes the life her husband had was a hard one and does not want it for her son. Basset as Dorothea sees the potential in Joe, but she just does not have the time to deal with him in a hospital gown on the city streets. Norton as Moonwind just had me cracking up from start to finish but if I was a lost soul, I’d be thrilled to have his ship pull up and rescue me.

 

Shout out to all the Jerry’s for being compassionate, understanding and gentle spirits in the midst of Joe and 22’s madness. House as Terry is another character that I just love with the spirit to seek out the missing soul because one slot open on the abacas just won’t do!

 

Other cast include Questlove as Curley, Cora Champommier as Connie, Margo Hall as Melba, Daveed Diggs as Paul, Rhodessa Jones as Lulu, Peggy Flood as Marge, June Squibb as Gerel, Cathy Cavadini as Dreamerwind, Dorian Lockett as Dorian, Esther Chae as Miho, Elisapie Isaac as Miali, and Marcus Shelby as Ray Gardner.

 

Disney+ is the subscription home streaming entertainment with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and more. There are exclusive originals with new feature films, shows, short form content, documentaries and actions series such as THE MANDALORIAN. For more information please visit www.disneyplus.com.

 

SOUL is everything we have come to expect from Disney and so much more. During this time of anxiety, this film gives us all a chance to cuddle up with our family and be taken away into a story of love, life, family and how we all need to be true to ourselves.

 

The film is hilarious, heartwarming, lovely, and vivid in color. The story is complex but not in a way that is hard for children to follow. My granddaughter was riveted the moment SOUL came on the screen because she also has a love of music. She, along with the entire family, felt for Joe and just love 22 and the antics she manages to cause.

 

That is what a Disney film does, transports us all into another realm of possibilities with hope, love, and the continual belief that we need to try to do the things that bring us joy – and right now that is top on my family’s list. As we all look forward to this new year, it is my hope we all can do it with a little bit of SOUL.

 

In the end – everybody has a soul and Joe is about to find his!

BABY DRIVER Rides in on Rails!

Jeri Jacquin

Racing into theatres this Friday from writer/director Edgar Wright and Tri-Star Pictures is the song mix of the summer with BABY DRIVER.

Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a quiet young man who has the uncanny knack for calm driving in intense situations. That is exactly what boss man Doc (Kevin Spacey) consistently counts on. Using Baby’s wheel talent for heists, it quickly becomes clear that Doc is using him.

Taking car of a worried Joseph (CJ Jones), Baby lets him know that one more job will get him free of Doc. Using music to keep his focus, it takes lovely waitress Deborah (Lily James) to pull out the ear buds.

Finishing his last job with Doc, Baby wants to be part of life without fear. Taking a job in pizza retail, even Joseph is happier. Taking Deborah out for a grand dinner to celebrate, Baby freaks when he sees Doc who sways him in for one more go by threatening through charm.

Putting a plan into action, Doc recruits Buddy (Jon Hamm), his gal Darling (Eliza Gonzalez) and Batts (Jamie Foxx) for the most intense and brazen score. Keeping focused, Baby is about to turn left while everyone else goes right and all to the beat of his own iPod.

Never mistake being quiet for being a pushover!

Elgort as Baby is brilliant! Everything about this character, Elgort makes look so seamless and easy. From his smooth walking, music choices and quirkiness, Baby is somebody you watch intently and cheer on with an evil grin. Also, Elgort is as cool as an outsider can possibly be and I loved every minute of his performance. Can someone explain to me why isn’t he Han Solo?

Spacey as Doc is just impeccable because, as everyone should know by now, you don’t mess with the Spacey! This actor has brought roles of badness to a level no one can touch. As Doc he once again plays outside the good guy lines with a gleam in his eye all the way.

Jones as Joseph cares so much about Baby and it is in their relationship that a deeper understanding of his story comes to light. James as Deborah is charming, sweet and knows Baby isn’t all he seems yet she doesn’t hesitate to be all in.

Foxx as Batts is intense and out to get all he can. Having a problem with Baby from the moment they meet, Foxx has no problem showing his edgy side. Gonzalez as Darling is into her man and the money they get together. At the same time she certainly isn’t shy about cutting someone down who gets in her way.

Hamm as Buddy just rocks the screen. This is such a dark character and Hamm certainly embraces every scene and aspect of his character. There is one particular moment where his character just goes deep dark and the change happens right before our eyes. Absolutely fantastic!

Other cast includes Sky Ferreira as Baby’s Mother, Lane Palmer as Baby’s father, Flea as Eddie, Lanny Joon as JD and Jon Bernthal as Griff.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give BABY DRIVER four and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. Giving Edgar Wright the props he totally deserves, this film has saved my film sanity. Depressed at the ridiculous franchise films, superheroes being jammed down my throat and lack of imagination elsewhere in tinsel town, BABY DRIVER gave me story, action, cinematography and music for months to come.

The audience was yelling, cheering and laughing from start to finish. There is something to be said for sitting in a theatre and to be taken on a ride in so many storyline directions. Does it hurt to have a cool ass cast and awesome soundtrack? In this case, not one dayyuum bit!

In the first five minutes of the film I was happily hooked and like a kid, I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat wanting more. Translated…I was having fun. Using music across so many eras allowed something for everyone to lip-synch too.

Car chases, underlying stories, sweet romance, good guys, bad guys and the lines between them blurred, BABY DRIVER is a mash-up of what summer fun at the movies is all about. Grab a group of cool, a large bucket of popcorn, sit middle seat dead center and mentally buckle up for 113 minutes of awesome.

In the end – all you need is one killer track!