straits times movie review

Full disclosure, right off the top: I knew I was going to be a soft touch on “Strays.”

We’re a longtime Boston Terrier family, and I’ve always wondered what our dogs would sound like if they could talk to us. (Surely, I’m not the only one who entertains such insane ideas.) So the prospect of an R-rated comedy in which Jamie Foxx provides the voice of a street-smart Boston named Bug—who drops copious F-bombs, gets high on mushrooms, and humps discarded couches—was very exciting.

“Strays” is pretty much a one-joke movie, one last romp at the end of summer. But it finds enough ways into that joke within its perfectly pithy running time to remain zippy and enjoyable. The way it upends heartwarming dog adventure movie tropes is often hilariously inspired. And there’s great chemistry within the voice cast, particularly between Foxx and star Will Ferrell , who had the unusual benefit of recording together.

Director Josh Greenbaum has shown a flair for out-there comedy with a sweetness at its core in the delightfully bizarre “ Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar ” (2021). He achieves a similar balance with raunchier material in “Strays.” Besides featuring a ton of profanity, the screenplay from Dan Perrault includes plenty of poop and pee jokes (not all of which are entirely puerile), vigorous humping, and some wilderness mayhem that some may find shocking. But the film also explores the importance of identifying and escaping toxic relationships, achieving a sense of self-worth, and basking in the support of deep and unexpected friendships.

I may have teared up a few times. Like I said at the start, a soft touch. Your mileage may vary on this canine road trip.

“Strays” begins on an upbeat note with narration from Ferrell as Reggie, an adorably scruffy Border terrier who’s clueless to the fact that his miserable, abusive owner ( Will Forte ) hates him and keeps trying to abandon him. “Today is going to be the best day ever!” he intones in a sunny manner reminiscent of Margot Robbie ’s optimism at the start of “ Barbie .” And totally coincidentally, “Strays” shares a similar structure to Greta Gerwig ’s mega-blockbuster: Idealistic character leaves home, goes to the “real world,” makes friends, and learns hard truths before returning to fix things with the newfound knowledge. Only in this case, the protagonist’s purpose is literally to bite off his owner’s penis, a more violent form of eviscerating the patriarchy than Barbie ever could imagine. Ferrell is essentially doing a version of his character in “ Elf ” here, mixing wide-eyed enthusiasm with deadpan observations and bringing his signature sincerity to a silly role. As always, he’s a hoot.

After his owner dumps him in a faraway city, Reggie gets help in his quest from the trash-talking Bug, who insists he wants to be a stray and navigates the world with the swagger of a little dog who thinks he’s big. Foxx has fantastic energy here, savoring the musicality of his character’s every profane tirade. Along for the trip are the Australian shepherd Maggie ( Isla Fisher ), a gifted sniffer, and a Great Dane named Hunter ( Randall Park ), a former police K-9 who now works as a therapy dog for the elderly.

Cursing and calamitous antics ensue, much of which you’ve probably already seen in the trailer, but thankfully there are plenty of surprises in store. The visual effects work is mostly seamless, with all of the dogs (and their unseen trainers) giving impressive physical performances. Some of the CGI in the face and mouth movements are distractingly jumpy and inconsistent, especially regarding Bug’s dialogue. Is it too much to ask for total realism in a late-summer talking dog movie?  

The gross-out gags may grow a bit repetitive, but “Strays” ultimately redeems itself by ending on a note that’s feel-good without being cloying. It features some amusing insights into how dogs perceive the world, from fireworks to postal workers. And it just might make you think twice about what that pampered Pomeranian in the expensive sweater is barking about at the dog park.

Now playing in theaters. 

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series “Ebert Presents At the Movies” opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

• Will Ferrell as Reggie (voice)
• Jamie Foxx as Bug (voice)
• Will Forte as Doug
• Isla Fisher as Maggie (voice)
• Randall Park as Hunter (voice)
• Josh Gad as
• Harvey Guillén as
• Brett Gelman as
• Rob Riggle as
• Jamie Demetriou as
• Sofía Vergara as Deliliah the Couch (voice)
• Dan Perrault
• Dara Taylor
• David Rennie
• Greg Hayden
• Sabrina Plisco
• Josh Greenbaum

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‘Blood for Dust’ Review: Dire Straits

This drug-run thriller, starring Scoot McNairy, traffics in grim ponderousness.

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By Ben Kenigsberg

In “Blood for Dust,” Cliff (Scoot McNairy), a salesman, hawks defibrillators across the upper western states. The devices are a tough sell, he admits. Yet this sluggish, self-serious job-gone-wrong movie could itself stand to be jolted to life.

It emerges that, while working for a previous employer, Cliff participated in an elaborate theft scheme that ended with the accounting man’s suicide. That gory mess, seen in a prologue set in 1992, provides the first image, in the sort of sudden brutality that is meant to shock but instead comes across as posturing.

Flash forward 17 months, to when the bulk of the action takes place. Cliff has debts, a tarnished reputation and a wife (Nora Zehetner) with whom he has had the experience of caring for a cancer-stricken child. (Evidently opening with a suicide wasn’t grim enough.) Ricky (Kit Harington), a former colleague in the scandal, approaches Cliff with an offer. “I could use a man don’t mind breaking the rules,” he drawls in an accent far removed from the Montana setting.

Cliff doesn’t trust that pitch — and the barely recognizable Harington shouldn’t have trusted in that horseshoe mustache — but desperation is desperation. So Cliff joins a drug-running operation, with predictably violent consequences.

Directed by Rod Blackhurst, “Blood for Dust” is a throwback, in the sense of being exceedingly familiar. An early shot of a snow-covered parking lot inevitably evokes “Fargo,” but “Blood for Dust” doesn’t have a witty line or a glimmer of humor. The climactic shootout is so dimly lit that it’s difficult to discern who is firing at whom. It’s easy enough to guess.

Blood for Dust Rated R. Gun violence and a topless bar. Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on most major platforms .

Movie review: The Point Men (NC16)

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This thriller is inspired by the real events of 2007, when a group of South Korean visitors in Afghanistan were taken hostage by the Taliban.

Diplomat Jeong Jae-ho (Hwang Jung-min) is sent to Kabul to negotiate, but finds himself out of his depth. He calls on Park Dae-sik (Hyun Bin), a special agent who has embedded himself with the locals. While the clock ticks, the duo try every trick to free the prisoners.

The Point Men gets the big question out of the way first: What were 23 South Korean men and women doing in an Afghan province still racked by fighting? Jeong slaps his forehead in disbelief when he finds out why, as will viewers.

But even if the hostages seem to be less than ideal victims, duty comes first for the civil servant. He sets off, overcoming barriers of language, culture and a suicide bomber or two.

This story could have been much better served as a political thriller infused with black comedy if it had stayed with the dogged Jeong, the sweaty straight arrow thrust into an underworld filled with sweet-talking scammers eager to get hold of the millions in ransom they think he holds.

Enter Korean star Hyun Bin as the superspy who is part Jason Bourne, part Lawrence Of Arabia (a rugged man needs a rugged landscape, you see) and all action man. Once the first close-up of his sun-bronzed cheekbones happens, there is the sinking feeling that the film will get Tom Cruise’d. That is, become a vehicle for much charismatic running, squinting and trick motorcycle riding.

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That certainly happens, but if viewers can get past the shoehorned-in action bits and twitchy plot twists – as well as its cliched depiction of Islamic radicals, which in 2023 feels wrong – there is at least enough visual candy here to sustain interest.

Hot take:  A real hostage crisis has become fodder for an action movie. The consolation is the production has the budget to make it look good.

Verdict: 3 stars

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Times Bookstores shuts last outlet in Holland Road, exits Singapore

SINGAPORE – Times Bookstores will end nearly five decades of operations in Singapore as the lease for its last remaining outlet at Cold Storage Jelita in Holland Road runs out in September.

The English book retailer, which has not responded to queries from The Straits Times on the matter, bid farewell in a statement on Instagram on Sept 16, inviting readers to visit it one final time.

“Our happily ever after has finally come,” it said, after several posts about moving-out sales for its final outlet. “It is with both a heavy heart and a sense of fulfilment that we announce the closure of Times Bookstores.”

The writing has been on the wall for several years for the former book giant established in 1978, as it faced high rents, low foot traffic and weak sales.

The group owned by regional consumer group Fraser and Neave shut its Plaza Singapura and Waterway branches in February, prompting an outpouring of sentiment from the literary community here about how Singapore can better protect its bookstores.

In 2019, a warning sign came when Times Bookstores wound up its Centrepoint branch, once one of the biggest bookstores in Singapore at 8,000 sq ft.

Covid-19 dealt another major blow to the business, as two outlets ceased operations without fanfare at Marina Square and Paragon in 2021.

It is unclear what Times Bookstores’ next steps are, although its book distribution business in Singapore – where it places books printed by international and local publishers it represents into bookstores – continues to operate.

The last day of operations for Times Jelita is Sept 22.

Times’ closure leaves only a few players on the scene. Books Kinokuniya, Singapore’s largest bookstore, has been at Takashimaya Shopping Centre since 1999, and ST has reached out to landlord Toshin Development Singapore about its fate.

A spokesperson said the bookstore’s lease is ongoing, but did not reveal dates for contract renewal. “As an anchor tenant, Books Kinokuniya is a key valued partner that we closely engage through regular discussions, to keep in trend to appeal to the patrons.”

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