American Sniper meets Lassie? We take a look at Max, which has quietly slipped into UK cinemas...
It feels like the dog movie might have had its day. Although we still get a few films every now and then where a canine performer plays a pivotal character, this once-booming genre bracket is largely reserved for the booming direct-to-video market- Disney's Air Buddies spin-off franchise is going strong and as of 2014, the Beethoven saga is up to its eighth instalment (and its fifth to skip cinemas.)
The unusual logline for Max appears to be 'American Sniper meets Lassie', but it's not without charm. With staggering earnestness, it plays out the tale of a Belgian Malinois called Max, (played by Carlos) whose Us Marine handler Kyle (Robbie Amell) is killed in action while apprehending a suicide bomber during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Brought back to the States from Afghanistan, Max has suffered...
It feels like the dog movie might have had its day. Although we still get a few films every now and then where a canine performer plays a pivotal character, this once-booming genre bracket is largely reserved for the booming direct-to-video market- Disney's Air Buddies spin-off franchise is going strong and as of 2014, the Beethoven saga is up to its eighth instalment (and its fifth to skip cinemas.)
The unusual logline for Max appears to be 'American Sniper meets Lassie', but it's not without charm. With staggering earnestness, it plays out the tale of a Belgian Malinois called Max, (played by Carlos) whose Us Marine handler Kyle (Robbie Amell) is killed in action while apprehending a suicide bomber during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Brought back to the States from Afghanistan, Max has suffered...
- 8/9/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Jingoistic propaganda and heart-tugging cornball melodrama about a dog with Ptsd. It’s how we are Enduring Freedom. God bless America. I’m “biast” (pro): love dogs
I’m “biast” (con): hate propaganda
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Like American Sniper, except about a dog, and with a Hardy Boys vibe. In Texas. At the Fourth of July.” I’m pretty sure that was how Max was pitched, and here we are. It would be bad enough if this jingoistic bit of propaganda had stuck to its literal flag-waving and heart-tugging cornball melodrama about a bomb-sniffing Marine dog with Ptsd (canine actor Carlos) and the teenage boy, Justin (Josh Wiggins: Hellion), grieving the death of his soldier brother, the dog’s handler (Robbie Amell: The Duff), who will help each other heal, natch. But that was not enough for writer (with Sheldon Lettich) and...
I’m “biast” (con): hate propaganda
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Like American Sniper, except about a dog, and with a Hardy Boys vibe. In Texas. At the Fourth of July.” I’m pretty sure that was how Max was pitched, and here we are. It would be bad enough if this jingoistic bit of propaganda had stuck to its literal flag-waving and heart-tugging cornball melodrama about a bomb-sniffing Marine dog with Ptsd (canine actor Carlos) and the teenage boy, Justin (Josh Wiggins: Hellion), grieving the death of his soldier brother, the dog’s handler (Robbie Amell: The Duff), who will help each other heal, natch. But that was not enough for writer (with Sheldon Lettich) and...
- 8/7/2015
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Max is an Afghanistan War-set battlefield adventure and a look at the unbreakable bond between a Marine and his military working dog ……. for about the first ten minutes! What’s left for another long hour and a half, despite some moments of bravura and lazy tugs at the heart-strings, is a poorly-written, Texas-set melodrama that I can’t recommend. The end credits for Max play over vintage photos of dogs in combat, from the Civil War to Wwi and WWII to Iraq. Dogs have been trained by the military as scouts, sentries and trackers for centuries and I wish that was the story that the producers of Max had tackled. A kind of canine War Horse might have made for a stirring adventure. On the surface, Max is an old fashioned throwback to more innocent family fare which may seem like a good antidote to the violent and defeatist thrillers...
- 6/26/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
If you've seen one dog movie, you've probably seen them all, and Boaz Yakin's (Remember the Titans) red-blooded, family-friendly military feature Max isn't going to give you much of anything you haven't seen before. There are dog antics, petty kids coming into their own through their new animal friends, family drama and an obvious villain who just can't have a dog mucking up their plans. It's repetitive, it's lazy, it's narratively tired and plain-faced, but, most of all, it's just plain boring. But it's also entirely inoffensive -- save for some cringe-worthy Mexican stereotypes -- and it's hard to necessarily get mad at a film as vanilla as this. It's tacky, but it's almost like kicking a dog. Literally. As overlong and overplayed as Yakin's movie is, it wears its purebred, red, white and blue intentions on its sleeve, and causing an uproar won't do anyone any good. Good or bad,...
- 6/25/2015
- by Will Ashton
- Rope of Silicon
Between the heady empathy of Pixar’s latest, the ripped from the feel-good-headlines documentary Batkid Begins, and the Marine mutt melodrama Max, June has provided an oasis of fresh squeezed tears amidst the usual dry heat of summer blockbuster season. Batkid has heartwarming facts in his pint-sized utility belt, and Inside Out has Pixar. Against that competition, even an adorable animal vehicle like Max might seem grossly overmatched. But there’s a surprising spryness to this old chestnut of a family picture that makes Max more than just a delivery system for cute and patriotic imagery, roughly in equal measure.
The film stars the e-paw-nymous Max (Carlos), a Belgian Shepard and Usmc service animal. It’s his doggy duty to run point for his handler, Kyle Wincott (Robbie Ammell), a fellow Marine stationed in Kandahar. Thanks to his heightened senses and rigorous training, Max, like other service animals, gives American...
The film stars the e-paw-nymous Max (Carlos), a Belgian Shepard and Usmc service animal. It’s his doggy duty to run point for his handler, Kyle Wincott (Robbie Ammell), a fellow Marine stationed in Kandahar. Thanks to his heightened senses and rigorous training, Max, like other service animals, gives American...
- 6/24/2015
- by Sam Woolf
- We Got This Covered
Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 100 advance-screening movie seats up for grabs to the new family adventure “Max” about a veteran military service dog!
If you win, choose between a family 4-pack of tickets or admit-twos!
“Max,” which opens on June 26, 2015 and is rated “PG,” stars Josh Wiggins, Lauren Graham, Thomas Haden Church, Robbie Amell, Luke Kleintank, Mia Xitlali, Dejon Laquake, Jay Hernandez and Owen Harn from writer and director Boaz Yakin (“Remember the Titans”), writer Sheldon Lettich and a producer of “Marley & Me”.
To win your free passes to “Max” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Monday, June 22, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of...
If you win, choose between a family 4-pack of tickets or admit-twos!
“Max,” which opens on June 26, 2015 and is rated “PG,” stars Josh Wiggins, Lauren Graham, Thomas Haden Church, Robbie Amell, Luke Kleintank, Mia Xitlali, Dejon Laquake, Jay Hernandez and Owen Harn from writer and director Boaz Yakin (“Remember the Titans”), writer Sheldon Lettich and a producer of “Marley & Me”.
To win your free passes to “Max” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Monday, June 22, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of...
- 6/21/2015
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Sneak Peek footage from "Max" a new adventure drama directed by Boaz Yakin, with Robbie Amell ("The Flash"), Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Miles Mussenden, Lauren Graham, Luke Kleintank, Jay Hernandez, Joseph Julian Soria and Dejon Laquake, opening June 26, 2015:
"...military working dog 'Max' returns from service in Afghanistan, traumatized by his handler's death.
"He's adopted by the man's family and helps the grieving family heal..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Max"...
"...military working dog 'Max' returns from service in Afghanistan, traumatized by his handler's death.
"He's adopted by the man's family and helps the grieving family heal..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Max"...
- 3/19/2015
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
While Clint Eastwood cleared up the lingering political questions around "American Sniper" by declaring his film is "anti-war," there will be no such confusion in the upcoming "Max." A family friendly, flag-waving tale of patriotism and one special canine, it's basically "American Sniper" with a dog. Directed by Boaz Yakin ("Fresh," "Remember The Titans") and starring Thomas Haden Church, Miles Mussenden, Robbie Amell, Lauren Graham, Luke Kleintank, Jay Hernandez, Joseph Julian Soria and Dejon Laquake, the film tells the tale of a special military pooch who loses his handler in battle and is taken in by the soldier's grieving family. After saving lives in the Middle East, the dog inspires everyone back home in this heart-warming tale led by"the Air Jordan of dogs." Whatever that means. "Max" opens in the U.K. on October 9th. No U.S. release date yet.
- 3/18/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.