You probably didn't even know that dogs came from outer space. As Good Boy! spells out, they traveled to Earth thousands of years ago from Sirius (the dog star) to colonize and rule the planet. But they and the earthlings got along so well that they decided to forget the ruling part. Now Canid 3942, an extraterrestrial border terrier with the voice of Matthew Broderick, has come to see how things are going. He is understandably horrified when he learns that dogs have become pets.
As children's film premises go, this is a cute one, but the execution is a failure. As Owen, the boy who adopts the terrier from the pound, Liam Aiken does a nice job of conveying adolescent vulnerability and affection. And 3942, whom Owen names Hubble, becomes a character who matters. But overall, the film suffers from a singular lack of imagination. And energy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL
Attempts at humor include the ridicule of pet lovers who talk baby talk to animals; dogs falling asleep while trying to learn meditation; the comparison of canned dogged food to our food; that old standby, flatulence; and breed-specific behavior. When Barbara Ann, a froufrou standard poodle, talks in Delta Burke's voice about how pretty she is, young movie-goers are unlikely to find it any funnier than adults do. Good Boy! reinforces breed stereotypes, and poodles should sue.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL
Humans receive more politically sensitive treatment. Owen's best friend is a black girl; one neighborhood dog belongs to two gay men; and when Owen is surprised to learn that the Greater Dane (Vanessa Redgrave), the highest leader on Sirius, is a she, Hubble says, "Of course." (Dogs talk in this movie, but only Owen can understand them.)
The film, which opens today nationwide, does have its moments. Hubble/3942's detailed response to the command "play dead" is impressive. And the children in a preview audience laughed when Shep (Carl Reiner), the Bernese mountain dog, got a Japanese paper lantern stuck on his head.
Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon, Saturday Night Live alumni, play Owen's parents, who make their living buying, restoring and selling houses. They are unwittingly destroying their son's emotional health by moving constantly, a problem that children can understand. The gentle celebration of human-and-dog relationships, on the other hand, will probably go over a lot of little heads.
Last week, Viola Zhou published a marvelous deep dive into the culture clash between Taiwanese boss mentality and American labor practices at the Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) plant in Arizona in Rest of World. “The American engineers complained of rigid, counterproductive hierarchies at the company,” while the Taiwanese said American workers aren’t dedicated. The article is a delight, but what it is depicting is the clash between a work culture that offers employee autonomy and at least nods at work-life balance, and one that runs on hierarchical discipline enforced by chickenshit. And it runs on chickenshit because chickenshit is a cultural
By far the most jarring of the new appointments for the incoming administration is that of Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) to head the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). That is a huge demotion for one of the most powerful figures in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Tseng has one of the most impressive resumes in the party. He was very active during the Wild Lily Movement and his generation is now the one taking power. He has served in many of the requisite government, party and elected positions to build out a solid political profile. Elected as mayor of Taoyuan as part of the
Moritz Mieg, 22, lay face down in the rubble, the ground shaking violently beneath him. Boulders crashed down around him, some stones hitting his back. “I just hoped that it would be one big hit and over, because I did not want to be hit nearly to death and then have to slowly die,” the student from Germany tells Taipei Times. MORNING WALK Early on April 3, Mieg set out on a scenic hike through Taroko Gorge in Hualien County (花蓮). It was a fine day for it. Little did he know that the complex intersection of tectonic plates Taiwan sits
When picturing Tainan, what typically comes to mind is charming alleyways, Japanese architecture and world-class cuisine. But look beyond the fray, through stained glass windows and sliding bookcases, and there exists a thriving speakeasy subculture, where innovative mixologists ply their trade, serving exquisite concoctions and unique flavor profiles to rival any city in Taiwan. Speakeasies hail from the prohibition era of 1920s America. When alcohol was outlawed, people took their business to hidden establishments; requiring patrons to use hushed tones — speak easy — to conceal their illegal activities. Nowadays legal, speakeasy bars are simply hidden bars, often found behind bookcases