The Dog Stars

TheStoic 8/29/2026 1:18:03PM 8.4

What a great movie!! One of those worth seeing in the theater—and one that leaves you hoping for a sequel! Great story, great actors, great direction! No racial quotas, no trendy interracial couples, and no gender issues shoved down our throats—in short, no “woke” garbage! A breath of fresh air. I want more of this. I highly recommend it! I’m looking forward to a sequel!

CinemaSerf 9/3/2026 4:07:38PM 8.4

In a world where a flu virus has wiped out most of the human population, mechanic-cum-pilot "Hig" (Jacob Elordi) lives on a remote farm with his world-weary pal "Bangley" (Josh Brolin). He makes occassional sorties with his beloved dog "Jasper" into town (think "Omega Man" - 1971) for supplies and to reminisce at the home he shared with his late wife and unborn bairn but is spotted from the ground as he returns home one day and a violent tragedy ensues. That galvanises him to set off in his plane to find the town of Grand Rapids from where he has had intermittent radio contact over the years. It's at the extreme edge of his range, though, and so it's no great suprise when his aircraft blows a gasket and he finds himself crash-landed in a field. Luckily, that just happens to be adjacent to the home "Cima" (Margaret Qualley) shares with her curmudgeonly dad (Guy Pearce) who promptly gives him his marching orders. That'll be easier said than done as the field has to be cleared of trees and rubble before he can take off - plenty of time for everyone to get to know each other. Pretty swiftly, the question is more about whether he's going to stay or she's going to go - a decision that is made for them and so it's Grand Rapids here we come. What might they find if/when they get there? There is plenty of attractive aerial photography of the Alpine scenery and Brolin does try to bring a little gritty substance to the proceedings as the marauding "reapers" attempt to raid his only functioning fridge in a fifty square mile radius, but there isn't anywhere enough by way of action to sustain this couple of hours and the episodic storytelling strays into all too familiar territory very quickly once Elordi sets off on his adventure. Surprisingly for a Scott film, the continuity isn't the best either - the plane is spattered in blood then it isn't; it's attacked by an axe then - well it wasn't, and the radio aerials are there one minute and not the next, too. That all rather sums up the lacklustre nature of this ponderous opportunity for the charismatic but unchallenged Elordi to travel the lengths of the country in his tiny Cessna hopping from frying pan to fire. It's all perfectly watchable but there's very litle soul to the thing and with each character bogged down with pre-disease baggage it's a bit like swimming through glue at times, too.

Bud the Lea 10/6/2026 7:08:00PM 8.4

Rated 6. This is quite generous. Well its not much of a film but its kind of family friendly post apocalyptic domestic bliss with some killing thrown in. Not much happens and the story is paper thin but it'll fill a rainy afternoon with no other options to entertain. Brolin is always good so there is that. The lead guy is a total non entity and is anyone else in it? Dunno, its hard to remember. Yes, Guy Pearce. He must've done it for the paycheck, like Brolin. There's a surreal bit with a woman dressed in 1950s Company B type air stewardess uniform and it felt like we'd jolted into a reel from another film altogether but then we were suddenly back in the other one and really it was just all so pointless.