Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on March 28th, 2024, reviewing “DogMan,” a new film by director Luc Beeson (“The Fifth Element” “Lucy”), in wide release on April 5th, see local listings.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The DogMan is Doug (Caleb Landry Jones) and as the movie begins we see him busted by New Jersey law enforcement, where they find several dogs in his truck, and he’s also in drag as Marilyn Monroe. Wanting to get into his motivations, they put their psychiatrist Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs) on the case, and she begins to unravel the DogMan’s life, which includes childhood abuse, paralysis and Shakespeare. He also has a psychic connection to the dogs he keeps, using them as an army to protect and do break-ins for him. Finally, because of all these circumstances, he lands a job as a drag queen,...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
The DogMan is Doug (Caleb Landry Jones) and as the movie begins we see him busted by New Jersey law enforcement, where they find several dogs in his truck, and he’s also in drag as Marilyn Monroe. Wanting to get into his motivations, they put their psychiatrist Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs) on the case, and she begins to unravel the DogMan’s life, which includes childhood abuse, paralysis and Shakespeare. He also has a psychic connection to the dogs he keeps, using them as an army to protect and do break-ins for him. Finally, because of all these circumstances, he lands a job as a drag queen,...
- 4/2/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – In one of the more unusual film releases of late, Caleb Landry Jones and Jojo T. Gibbs are the feature lead actors in “Dogman,” opening in Chicago on March 29th and wider on April 5th. Written and directed by Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element’), the film defies convention in a story that is multi-faceted and symbolic.
The DogMan is Doug (Caleb Landry Jones) and as the movie begins we see him busted by New Jersey law enforcement, where they find several dogs in his truck, and he’s also in drag as Marilyn Monroe. Wanting to get into his motivations, they put their psychiatrist Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs) on the case, and she begins to unravel the DogMan’s life, which includes childhood abuse, paralysis and Shakespeare. He also has a psychic connection to the dogs he keeps, using them as an army to protect and do break-ins for him.
The DogMan is Doug (Caleb Landry Jones) and as the movie begins we see him busted by New Jersey law enforcement, where they find several dogs in his truck, and he’s also in drag as Marilyn Monroe. Wanting to get into his motivations, they put their psychiatrist Evelyn (Jojo T. Gibbs) on the case, and she begins to unravel the DogMan’s life, which includes childhood abuse, paralysis and Shakespeare. He also has a psychic connection to the dogs he keeps, using them as an army to protect and do break-ins for him.
- 3/25/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Luc Besson’s Dogman is in search of some kind of distinctive armature on which to hang its psychoanalytical and philosophical ramblings. Which is ironic considering that Douglas Munrow (Caleb Landry Jones), the paralyzed “Dogman” of the film’s title, makes much ado about having discovered his voice through drag, pontificating on the value of disguises and lip-synching while dressed as Édith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, and Marilyn Monroe. All the while, Jones plays the dog-loving avenger as a puzzling riff on Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar-winning performances as the Joker. It’s a performance that, like much of the film, flits between telegraphing seriousness and wanting to be understood as camp.
Doug was abused and abandoned as a child, and after embracing his ostracization as an adult, he began taking in stray dogs and playing the part of the Pied Piper by having his “babies” burglarize the wealthy and take down criminals.
Doug was abused and abandoned as a child, and after embracing his ostracization as an adult, he began taking in stray dogs and playing the part of the Pied Piper by having his “babies” burglarize the wealthy and take down criminals.
- 3/24/2024
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
“Dogman” director Luc Besson might be a newcomer to Venice, but following his film’s warm reception on Thursday, he’s likely to come back.
Though Besson’s Golden Lion contender polarized critics, with Variety’s Jessica Kiang sparing few words by calling it a “numbskulled nonsense movie,” audience members at the film’s gala premiere opted to spread the love at its world premiere, showering the film and filmmakers with six minutes of sustained applause. That tied the six-minute ovation Venice audiences gave Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” earlier in the evening on the second night of the prestigious festival.
If Besson offered no closing thoughts, the director nevertheless appeared visibly moved, beaming under the spotlight and embracing his cast with bear hugs. Besson shared a particularly tender moment with star Caleb Landry Jones, with whom he developed and honed the central role over the course of a full year before the cameras ever rolled.
Though Besson’s Golden Lion contender polarized critics, with Variety’s Jessica Kiang sparing few words by calling it a “numbskulled nonsense movie,” audience members at the film’s gala premiere opted to spread the love at its world premiere, showering the film and filmmakers with six minutes of sustained applause. That tied the six-minute ovation Venice audiences gave Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” earlier in the evening on the second night of the prestigious festival.
If Besson offered no closing thoughts, the director nevertheless appeared visibly moved, beaming under the spotlight and embracing his cast with bear hugs. Besson shared a particularly tender moment with star Caleb Landry Jones, with whom he developed and honed the central role over the course of a full year before the cameras ever rolled.
- 8/31/2023
- by Ben Croll, Ellise Shafer and Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Check under most any post relating to the recently released trailer for Luc Besson’s “Dogman,” and you’ll find one, if not several responses riffing, to various degrees of enthusiasm, on the theme of “Omg, what if ‘Joker’ but with dogs?” That rhetorical question can now be answered, following this numbskulled nonsense movie’s inexplicable Venice Competition premiere, with a resounding “If only.” The bludgeoningly obvious, creatively inert, deathly dull tale of a cross-dressing misfit in a wheelchair who favors canine company over that of humans, it is scarcely fit to lap from the same water bowl as Todd Phillips’ controversial Golden Lion winner. Even those who didn’t much like “Joker” have to admit that it did not actively treat its audience as if they were so brain-dead that everyone left feeling about 30 Iq points dumber than when they went in.
Much like Terrence Malick’s marginally more accomplished “The Tree of Life,...
Much like Terrence Malick’s marginally more accomplished “The Tree of Life,...
- 8/31/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.