In my A Dog’s Purpose Review  and my Gold Review , I feel the love for one, but not so much for the other

A Dog’s Purpose Review — All we need is love right now

I know there’s controversy swirling around about the mistreatment of a German Shepherd during a swimming scene, but I don’t think we should throw the puppy out with the bathwater, so to speak. The jury is still out about what really happened to the poor pup, and this film is so full of love, emotion and warm fuzzies it would be a shame for any dog lover, or anyone, for that matter to miss it.

Josh Gad voices a pleasing pooch who is reborn several times before he finally understands his purpose, and in each life, he teaches his owners a little more about theirs. Yes it’s poignant. Yes you’ll need more than a package of tissues. And if you cried all the way through the book the film was made from like I did, you’ll need even more. Director Lasse Hailstrom has found a poignant purpose indeed.

Yes, it’s a little hokey, and it’s about one owner too long, but sometimes you just need a good cry. With so much hate and rancor going around these days, it’s nice to feel a little love.

Rated PG

2 Hours

Gold Review — Mining for mega millions and coming up short

Very loosely based on the true story of the Bre-X gold mining scandal, Matthew McConaughey plays a modern day gold prospector/con man who will do anything to hit it big. When he teams up with a geologist (Edgar Ramirez) who seems to have found an untapped mine in Indonesia, he finally hits the jackpot…or does he?

That’s the basic promising presence–it’s a shame the film doesn’t live up to it.  McConaughey, with his receded hairline, jiggly stomach and manic character is really hard to watch. It’s a shame he made the sacrifice for his art of shaving his head, gaining 47 pounds and wearing false teeth to make his character seem authentically unattractive. The devices succeeded all too well.

In addition, under the direction of Academy Award winning writer Stephen Gaghan (Syriana, Traffic), the film is all over the place. It feels like it was going for a Big Short vibe, but ends up being messy and ill-conceived.

You walk away from the theater scratching your head and wondering “What was that all about? Let’s go get ice cream.”

Rated R

2 Hours

https://youtu.be/RV3gPgTy9Pw

Get times and tickets for both films at Fandango.com.