Show Dogs (PG) **
Dir: Raja Gosnell
With: Will Arnett, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges
Runtime: 92 minutes
“NOBODY makes talking dog movies any more,” says a dog in this, er, talking dog movie. Young cinemagoers will be glad they did as the tale unfolds of no nonsense New York police dog Max going undercover at a Las Vegas dog show to save a baby panda (it’s complicated). Modern technology means the mouthy mutts look far more convincing, and the screenplay gives them plenty of cute lines. The principal human, Will Arnett, he of Blades of Glory, gives it his all, ensuring adults won’t be too bored. Delightfully daft, it gets two opposable thumbs up from me.
The Breadwinner (12A) ****
Dir: Nora Twomey
Voices: Saara Chaudry, Shaista Latif
Runtime: 93 minutes
NORA Twomey’s stunning animated drama comes with some heavyweight backing in the form of Angelina Jolie as executive producer. Adapted from the novel by Deborah Ellis, it tells the story of Parvana (Saara Chaudry), a girl living in Kabul at the height of Taliban rule. Females are forbidden to have any life outside the home, but when her father is jailed and the family is going hungry, needs must.Twomey’s drama lost out to Coco at the Oscars (no shame in that). Twomey (The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea) has a style that blends the dreamy and the dramatic, resulting in a picture that appeals to head and heart.
GFT: May 25-June 5; Filmhouse, Edinburgh, June 8-14
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