Very well executed

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

At last, a dog movie that shepherds who had to move to get work in the city when they were young can understand and get! From the mad, untameable but intelligent dog that we all had to train when we were younger, we were captivated to see how the intelligent but time-worn and world-weary written-block author who always had dogs would cope with a new and crazy challenge. The voices in the background, the agent, the wife and the confused university daughter home for the weekend to 'check things out' only got in the way of the main character trying to figure out his newest dog, which led him him to a country-dog guru who figured him out, and you are left wondering, who cured who, the main character, or the dog! City folks will not get this movie, but country folks will. Well done!

Really disappointed in the film as an avid Jon Katz reader and fan. It took how many weeks to build the HBO Memorial Lambing Shed? Where was it? And the film showed none of Bedlam Farm. Perhaps that hilltop where the Blair woman showed Katz what a real sheep dog can do was actually the steep hill on his NY property although the bulk of it was filmed several miles west of his home. The actual view of the village is stupendous, missed that. Where were the donkeys? Sorry, Jeff Bridges fans, but I did not get any of Mr. Katz's true angst from him. He was his usual, my-way-or-the-highway character, which I have grown very tired of over the past few decades. And I've been there for his entire career. I once had a pre-teen crush on the guy when he appeared in Sea Hunt with his dad, but ended up loving his brother way more. The last film I liked Jeff in was "Blown Away". John Goodman would have brought more of Jon Katz to the Jon Katz in this movie. I kept waiting the movie to really start and suddenly it was over. As dog movies go, the one about the Pig was better.

Although the idea of this movie is okay, the introduction about Devon, the 'dog from hell' is so wrong. In this movie, Devon is introduced as a fearful dog who has been traumatized from the early abusive owner. However, the behavior of the scared dog doesn't really portray the trauma. Instead of being scared of his environment, Devon seems to enjoy his position as a king. Jumping on the bed, cupboards, cars and buses; stealing foods, running relentlessly and chasing people are not the character of a dog who lived in years of abuse. On the contrary, those are signs that the dog has been excessively spoiled, so he thinks he's the king - thats why he has major problems in obedience.If you understand dogs, you'll see that this movie is just so wrong. Besides the wrong development of the dog's character, the people's characters also make me clueless. There is no single clear display of a strong character here, even the dog owner himself. Some other characters seem to appear from the middle of nowhere and that makes the movie even more ridiculous.This movie is only for those who love watching dogs without understanding them.

The "Dude" is back. And with a dog. Jeff Bridges plays a struggling, middle-aged writer (Jon Katz) who of course has writers block, adopts an abused border collie. Another "crazy dog" who's hijinks resemble Marley from "Marley and Me." The dog is seemingly untrainable. Par for the course. Katz already has two wonderfully mannered labs. So why is Katz to blame for his so-called anger with the collie? Who wouldn't be frustrated. But as the wise old dog whisperer told Katz, it's not all about the dog, but Katz and his inner anger. Okay, well, I didn't see Katz or Bridges playing someone who was particularly nasty. But what to do about the writer's block? Then comes the cliché epiphany. Write about his experience with the collie. Viola! I like Bridges. Who doesn't. But this movie plodded along with the same "bad dog" gags one has seen a thousand times. And of course, there's redemption, as dog accepts man and vice versa. And all is well in the world. Not the greatest dog movie around. If it wasn't for Jeff Bridges, I wouldn't have kept watching.