Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Isle of Dogs (2018) - Anderson goes to the dogs in overrated folly

3/18/2025

Isle of Dogs (2018) - Anderson goes to the dogs in overrated folly

♥♥

Probably the largest ever canine cast assembled on a single poster, here for Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs

The nephew of the Japanese dictatorial mayor Kobayashi loses his beloved dog Spots, when all canines are placed in exile with their dog flu virus on a garbage island, and so the boy ventures out to find him.

Isle of Dogs is written, co-produced and directed by Texan master filmmaker Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket (1996)), whose 9th feature it is. Roman Coppola (Asteroid City (2023)), Kunichi Nomura (Lost in Translation (2003, actor)) and Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling Limited (2007)) contributed story elements.

With incredible-looking animation, mostly stop-motion and doll-based, Isle of Dogs is nevertheless still even less engaging and even more vexing than Anderson's first animated venture, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). It is weird and without sweeping characters, as they are cerebrally oriented, alienated dogs or strange humans with few expressions, respectively.

Accompanied by a droning, "witty" score (by Alexandre Desplat (Lee (2023))), which makes Isle of Dogs even more tooth-pulling. Without laughter, and with a starry voice ensemble that don't elevate matters but only increases the bewilderment at this doggone picture.

Related posts:

Wes Anderson: 2023 in films - according to Film Excess

Asteroid City (2023) - Enjoy Anderson's crisp star parade desert adventure from the comfort of a theater seat

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Top 10: The best adventure films reviewed by Film Excess to date
2014 in films - according to Film Excess
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - A very very good dream
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - A 1960s island youth romance present

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) - Anderson's technically, visually admirable but a bit tiring animation
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) - Anderson beautifies but still wins with India-journey favorite

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 35 mil. $

Box office: 64.6 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.84 times its cost)

[Isle of Dogs premiered 15 February (Berlin International Film Festival) and runs 101 minutes. The film opened #15 to a 1.6 mil. $ first weekend in 27 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #7 and in 1,947 theaters (different weeks), grossing 32 mil. $ (49.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 8.3 mil. $ (12.8 %) and China with 6.8 mil. $ (10.5 %). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, losing both: It lost Best Score to Ludwig Göransson for Black Panther and Animation to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs and 2 Golden Globes, among other honors. The film additionally grossed an estimated 4.7 mil. $ on the domestic home video market alone, according to The-Numbers.com. Anderson returned with The French Dispatch (2021). Bryan Cranston (Better Call Saul (2022, TV-series)) returned in 3 TV credits prior to his theatrical return in El Camino (2019). Isle of Dogs is certified fresh at 90 % with an 8.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Isle of Dogs?

No comments:

Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this month ... (3-25)

3/18/2025

Isle of Dogs (2018) - Anderson goes to the dogs in overrated folly

No comments:

Post a Comment

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (2-25)

My Blog List