Isle of Dogs (2018)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I mean gow could you not love edward nortans charecter rex or chief this film is so uniqe and good i reccomend

Great cast, great acting, great story, great script, great animation, great comedy... pretty great. Id have made it longer, personally. Loved it.

Uncomfortably racist, the dogs are ugly looking and the plot is all over the place. Neither funny nor moving nor clever, the soundtrack doesn't fit and it's generally uninteresting. Maybe one day I'll watch the rest of it. Maybe.

A 12-year-old Japanese boy, with the assistance of a small group from the local canine population, journeys across a barren landscape in search of his beloved dog, Spots.A helpful opening title card explains that the Japanese characters in Isle of Dogs speak Japanese (mostly) untranslated, while the dogs' barks have been generously translated into English. The film keeps its promise - the only time a Japanese character's dialogue is spoken in English is when they're on TV with a translator - which means that some parts go over our heads as they do the dogs' (since an Alsatian can't understand Japanese either), but never enough that the audience is alienated or lose track of what's going on. Sadly, there's little to the story - travel here, get some advice, travel there - but the way the script reveals the pasts of the dogs, the 'little pilot' named Atari and the island means there's always something going on to keep your attention, although people who don't like slower films will be fighting off their heavy eyelids (at 102 minutes, this is the second longest stop-motion film ever made).The animation, as you would expect from Wes Anderson, is charming and endearing to the eye much like his last venture into Ray Harryhausen's domain, Fantastic Mr. Fox. However this isn't an especially pretty film; the harsh landscape of an island made almost exclusively from refuse isn't one that lends kindly to Anderson's trademark cutesy style and perfectly centred simplistic shots, though he certainly tries. Instead the charm comes from the doubtless talents of the animators in giving the dogs individual and collective personalities, while the cast of voice actors aids their efforts.The biggest disappointment (not that there are any others worth mentioning) is that the ending is one of those that just happens because 'reasons'; it washes over you and the entire status quo is flipped on its head without being entirely sure why. Isle of Dogs leaves you with lasting messages of the dangers of misinformation, the perils of unflinching obedience to authority, and that man's best friends are bloody awesome - after all, the title itself when spoken makes the person admit their love of dogs!Best Quote: (in Bill Murray's voice) "I was the lead mascot for an undefeated high school baseball team. I lost all my spirit ... I'm depressing."