Marmaduke (D- or .5/4 stars)
When Phil Winslow (Lee Pace) takes a job for an organic pet food co. & moves his family to O.C., California, from rural Kansas, his 200 lb. Great Dane, Marmaduke (voiced by Owen Wilson), has to fit in with the local dogs he encounters in a dog bark in 'Marmaduke', directed by Tom Dey, & based on a 50+ yr. old comic strip. With time, Marmaduke becomes popular through a sneaky ruse he comes up with his best pal, Carlos (George Lopez), a cat, whom he pretends to hate in front of the other dogs. However, when his falsified bravery is uncovered, he becomes shunned. The local dogs are pedigreed & don't like having mutts anywhere near them (Marmaduke isn't 100% Great Dane). Bosco (voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) & Jezebel (Fergie) are the ruling pedigrees.
Marmaduke is introduced to this group by Mazie (Emma Stone), a pretty, kind, go-get-'em rescue dog who likes him - but he seems to be more into Jezebel. Before Marmaduke & owner Phil (who is work-obsessed & continually ignores his family) redeem ... oh to Hell with it ... no one cares. Marmaduke wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. He farts. He break-dances {gag me}. He farts. He throws a wild all dog party at his owner's house (wreaking said havoc). He farts some more. He surfs in the ocean {gag me}. He almost dies saving Mazie in a dangerous sewer. He puts Bosco (& the other snobby pedigrees) in their place. And everything ends happily. Please, take this summary as all encompassing & skip seeing the movie.
I suppose you could say that 'Marmaduke' provides good, clean fun for little tiny kiddies. But that's just it - the film should/will not appeal to anyone over the age of 6. It's juvenile. I'd be 'okay' with that if the movie was decent. But because this movie is pretty atrocious, it makes for a worse experience. You know, I think the worst thing about this movie is that, with an 80 min. running time, it felt painfully long. Like, stare at the floor, stare at the walls, stare at your watch 'long'. It's an annoying movie with a dull story. I probably only chuckled 2 or 3 times. And I'm sure I eye-rolled it about 36 times.
As far as the performances go, again, they're geared toward kiddies. And I am saddened that both Lee Pace & Judy Greer finally get headline roles - only for it to have been for THIS film. Also, William H. Macy ... really? What are you doing in this film? Who paid you what? Let's see, what else can I bash? Oh, not only do the real dogs' mouths move & talk (my biggest cinematic pet peeve), but most of the dogs are filmed as CGI-animals. That's right. Make a movie about dogs, & then make them special effects, anyway. Brilliant. Hmm, what else? Oh, yes. The film looks awful; cheap. You know what, I'm done now. I think I'll go back now & re-watch 'Furry Vengeance'. With a D score from me, I rate that a masterpiece to this drivel.
Marmaduke is introduced to this group by Mazie (Emma Stone), a pretty, kind, go-get-'em rescue dog who likes him - but he seems to be more into Jezebel. Before Marmaduke & owner Phil (who is work-obsessed & continually ignores his family) redeem ... oh to Hell with it ... no one cares. Marmaduke wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. He farts. He break-dances {gag me}. He farts. He throws a wild all dog party at his owner's house (wreaking said havoc). He farts some more. He surfs in the ocean {gag me}. He almost dies saving Mazie in a dangerous sewer. He puts Bosco (& the other snobby pedigrees) in their place. And everything ends happily. Please, take this summary as all encompassing & skip seeing the movie.
I suppose you could say that 'Marmaduke' provides good, clean fun for little tiny kiddies. But that's just it - the film should/will not appeal to anyone over the age of 6. It's juvenile. I'd be 'okay' with that if the movie was decent. But because this movie is pretty atrocious, it makes for a worse experience. You know, I think the worst thing about this movie is that, with an 80 min. running time, it felt painfully long. Like, stare at the floor, stare at the walls, stare at your watch 'long'. It's an annoying movie with a dull story. I probably only chuckled 2 or 3 times. And I'm sure I eye-rolled it about 36 times.
As far as the performances go, again, they're geared toward kiddies. And I am saddened that both Lee Pace & Judy Greer finally get headline roles - only for it to have been for THIS film. Also, William H. Macy ... really? What are you doing in this film? Who paid you what? Let's see, what else can I bash? Oh, not only do the real dogs' mouths move & talk (my biggest cinematic pet peeve), but most of the dogs are filmed as CGI-animals. That's right. Make a movie about dogs, & then make them special effects, anyway. Brilliant. Hmm, what else? Oh, yes. The film looks awful; cheap. You know what, I'm done now. I think I'll go back now & re-watch 'Furry Vengeance'. With a D score from me, I rate that a masterpiece to this drivel.