rescuer-fledgedn Reviews

Life Is Ruff (2005 TV Movie)

One of the best children's movies I have ever seen

[10/10 · 29 March 2024]

Life is Ruff is my second favorite Disney Channel movie and one of the standout movies from my childhood. I rate the movie 10/10. The movie follows a boy (Calvin) who from the beginning of the movie is portrayed as quite arrogant and selfish. Calvin's best friend (Raymond) is a quiet kid who basically follows him around. Calvin is used to always getting his way and being irresponsible but all that changes when he adopts a dog at the local dog shelter. Why does he adopt a dog? You'll have to watch the movie to find out! (Hint: it's for an ulterior motive.)

The movie is funny and heartwarming, with lots of beautiful moments as Calvin's bond develops with his new untrained dog. Also, there are a lot of quite comical scenes with Calvin and his parents (who have no idea that there is a dog in their house). In the movie, a beautiful bond also develops between Kyle and Emily (a girl at Kyle's school who works at the local dog shelter), although they did not initially get off on the right foot due to Kyle's selfish behaviour.

I loved the movie as a kid and still love it as an adult because it has several twists and turns as well as some comedy and heartwarming moments. The movie focusses on relationships between different characters and shows how Kyle's attitude toward life and the people around him fundamentally change with the responsibility of having a dog. I think it is a wonderful family movie and a great movie for kids. Life is Ruff is the best movie I have ever seen about a kid and his pet. I highly highly recommend this sweet movie to anyone who loves children's movies (you don't have to be an animal lover because most of the movie centres around the human characters and the relationships between them, although Kyle's dog does play a continuous role).

A Harvest Homecoming (2023 TV Movie)

A heartwarming family-friendly romantic movie with a straightforward plot

[8/10 · 27 March 2024]

If you enjoy uplifting family-friendly movies with a simple romantic plotline, then you will love this movie. I certainly loved the movie, although I think I would have loved it even more if there were more twists and turns/conflicts in the plotline and more depth to the characters. My rating is 8/10.

"A Harvest Homecoming" is about a man (Drew) who temporarily returns to his small hometown to take on the job of a substitute teacher. Drew's parents own an orchard and his sister is also living at home with their parents without a specific plan in her life. In Drew's class, there is a 12 year old boy (Aiden), and the movie is centred on the romantic relationship that develops between Drew and Aiden's (single) mom (Lainie) as well the bond between Drew and Aiden. (Aiden and Lainie moved to the town at the same time that Drew moved back.) However, there are also minor plot lines involving side characters like Drew's grandfather, Drew's best friend, Drew's sister and Drew's parents. The movie is set over two weeks, but a lot does happen and progress in this time, so it feels more like two months.

The movie is absolutely uncontroversial and it is suitable for all ages. The romance is very tame and the plot is extremely family-friendly centering around the experiences of a diverse range of characters from Drew's grandfather, to school-aged children, and everything in between. You definitely feel happy and positive watching the movie. Although God is mentioned a few times, it is certainly not preachy, and the messages are positive referring to "God's plan" (how small random events lead to amazing moments and relationships) and "the future is God's delegation and not for us to worry about". I enjoy these sorts of positive messages although I am not religious myself. The romance in the movie is very sweet and the characters are kind and happy.

The main criticism I have of the movie is that the plot is simple and pedestrian. I wouldn't say there are a lot of twists and turns - all of the characters are happy and have excellent relationships with each other. The odd conflict between characters or worry of one character is usually minor and quickly taken care of in a simple way. The character development is also somewhat surface level, and given the movie is 85 minutes long, I think there could have been much more depth to the characters (or even at least more depth to one or two main characters like the romantic leads). I personally still loved the movie, but I can understand criticisms of the movie along these lines by other reviewers.

A lot of reviewers commented negatively on the use of Fall decor in the set design of every scene. I personally don't have an issue with this and I don't think it detracts from the plot because you get used to it and it does give the movie a unique feel/theme. It is unusual to see Fall leaves adorned in the corners of bedrooms and classrooms and a lot of orange colors/themes in general, but I don't see this as a bad thing.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed the movie because I love heartwarming family-friendly romantic stories with a simple plotline and a happy ending. If this describes you, then I highly recommend this movie. The best part is it is free to watch on YouTube! (The producers have legally made it freely available and it currently has 450k views after about 2 months.)