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Peter Hastings new animated film ‘Dog Man’ channels his previous work on Animaniacs

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Dog Man opens this weekend, and families should not miss this one. With a fun script packed with humor and written by Animaniacs writer Peter Hastings, there is something for everyone. Hear our thoughts below and stay tuned for more advance screening opportunities coming up soon from the Countdown City Geeks!

From DreamWorks Animation—creators of the beloved blockbuster franchises Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Boss Baby—comes the canine-crime-fighting film adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s New York Times bestselling literary phenomenon: Dog Man. When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born.

Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve—and fetch, sit and roll over. As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief (Lil Rel Howery, Get Out, Free Guy), he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson; Saturday Night Live, The King of Staten Island). Petey’s latest plan is to clone himself, creating the kitten Lil Petey, to double his ability to do crime stuff. Things get complicated, though, when Lil Petey forges an unexpected bond with Dog Man. When Lil Petey falls into the clutches of a common enemy, Dog Man and Petey reluctantly join forces in an action-packed race against time to rescue the young kitten. In the process, they discover the power of family (and kittens!) to bring even the most hostile foes together.

Dog Man also stars Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, Rango) as TV reporter Sarah Hatoff; Poppy Liu (Hacks, The Afterparty) as Petey’s assistant, Butler; Emmy nominee Stephen Root (Barry, King of the Hill) as Grampa; Billy Boyd (the Lord of the Rings franchise, Seed of Chucky) as Sarah’s cameraman, Seamus; and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras) as Flippy the fish. Dog Man is directed by Emmy winner Peter Hastings (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness), whose credits include the groundbreaking animated series Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. The film is produced by Karen Foster (Spirit Untamed), who served as co-producer on DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon.

Ted aka Steady is a film critic and the managing editor forCountdownCityGeeks.com. He has covered some of the largest pop culture events in the world including SXSW and San Diego Comic-Con. He has also hosted a variety of events such as eSports Tourneys, film festivals, to moderating panels for some of the biggest names in entertainment including Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson and Giancarlo Esposito.

Movie Reviews

Paddington in Peru is Sweet Enjoyment, Like Orange Marmalade – Review

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Paddington in Peru delivers heartfelt warmth and kindness and sends the message of embracing risk and change, especially when family is involved. This is the third film in the Paddington franchise that sends our cuddly marmalade eating bear, along with his British family, off in search of his Aunt Lucy who has gone missing from the Home of Retired Bears that is managed by Reverend Mother.

With the support from his family by his side, the adventure takes Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) back to his roots trekking the dangerous Amazon jungle. During the quest, they encounter a river boat captain Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), who communicates with his ancestors in his visions and seeks their guidance in search of legendary treasures hidden within the rainforest. His daughter Gina (Carla Tous) knows her father can be challenging but does her best to keep him grounded. Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville ) also realizes that he has to overcome his challenges and face his fears head on. With all the commotion happening, the Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman) has a covert agenda that could put everyone at risk, but Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) has a greater treasured secret to share.

Although Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Brown was missed, the role was not significant in the film to impact Emily Mortimer. On the contrary, Academy Award winner Olivia Colman, known for best drama performances, adds the witty sweet and sour to Reverend Mother. Then there is Antonio Banderas that was remarkably hilarious taking on multi-characters with eccentric mannerisms.

While the approach to Padding’s journey felt a bit lost amidst the whirlwind chaos in the jungle, it delivered a strong ending with a charming note that audiences of all ages would enjoy. Be sure to stick around for the post credits. It will surely continue the smiles and laughter.

Paddington in Peru will be released in theaters February 14, 2025. A great Valentines date for the family!

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Love Hurts is all Love Bombing Action and Comedy – Review

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Love Hurts is Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan’s first leading role as Marvin Gable, an unexpected hero after leaving his brother’s crime family. Things get crazy when Rose Carlisle (Ariana DeBose), former partner in crime and love interest, tracks him down working as a real estate agent. However, Marvin’s brother Alvin ‘Knuckles’ Gable (Daniel Wu) has his crime associate The Raven (Mustafa Shakir) get to him first.

Quan delivered the laughs with impressive martial arts skills. However, the storyline was weak and got lost inside the saturated comedy and exaggerated bloody fight scenes along with the lack luster characters. It almost felt like watching a tacky sitcom or cheap version of Rush Hour.

I did find it exciting to watch Drew Scott from the most popular tv show Property Brothers make a cameo in this film. There was no disappointment here, since Scott’s character Jeff Zaks is also a real estate agent and is the competitor to Marvin.

It was rather nostalgic seeing Quan and Sean Astin reunite, but it was a shame that Astin’s character Cliff Cussick did not have a larger role. Perhaps we will see these two again in a much anticipated Goonies 2.

If you want to see a silly, outrageous action film with your Valentine, hold your potatoes, a nice romantic dinner for two will suffice.


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Movie Reviews

Invincible Season 3 is Packing Superpowered Punches – Review Episodes 1 and 2

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At the end of season 2 of Invincible, Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) was left distraught after killing Angstrom Levy for threatening his family. In this new season Mark is now fueled with anger and rage and allows his emotions to take the best of him, especially when seen feuding with Multi-Paul and violently splattering each multiple. It also appears Mark is gaining massive strength.

The second episode of season 3, did some flashbacks into the dark past of how Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) got his scars and how he came to be the head of Global Defense Agency (GDA). It also highlights on Cecil’s first encounter with Omni-Man/Nolan Grayson (J.K. Simmons). I anticipate season 3 will have more deep dives on these two characters.

It goes without saying there will be tensions and riffs amongst the superheroes within the GDA and even some unlikely hook-ups. Also, Mark’s little brother Oscar is growing up sooner than expected and is showing signs of possessing superpowers. With a glimpse of the first couple of episodes, it seems this season will be certainly fast paced.

The series stays consistent with presenting great post credits after the ending of each episode, which helps bridge over to the next saga of the astronomically chaotic drama of Invincible. I am eager to learn if a friendship will transpire from Omni-Man and Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) as they are still imprisoned inside a Viltrum Empire. More so, if and how Omni-Man will reconcile with his wife Debbie Grayson (Sandra Oh).

Invincible adult animated superhero television series is like a sandbox for sci-fi artists. It allows performers from different productions to partake in the excitement – Steven Yeun, Ross Marquand, J.K. Simmons, Walton Goggins and Seth Rogen to name a few – having a blast and losing themselves to their childhood vivid imaginations, back when they played with their action figures. It also gives them leeway to contribute their own flare to unique characters, which I am super keen to it.

I had a wonderful opportunity to attend a prescreening of the first couple of episodes on the big screen, which enhanced the experience. It would be a fantastic idea to have this type of anime become available to view at a movie theater. Season 3 of Invincible is absolutely extraordinary and will definitely accelerate high ratings far beyond this world.

Invincible season 3 streams on Prime Video on February 6, 2025.

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