The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

When I first saw Rocketman upon its release on May 31, 2019, I instantly fell in love with it. I found it to be brilliantly conceived, and led by an extraordinary performance from Taron Egerton. I loved it so much that it ended up being my second favorite film of the year, behind Joker. It’s a truly astonishing film, and one that I am excited to revisit as it becomes available to stream today on Amazon Prime and Hulu.

What makes Rocketman so utterly unique is how it incorporates the music into the film. Instead of being a straightforward biopic, Rocketman becomes a musical fantasy. It strays from reality, allowing for elaborate dance numbers and for characters to burst out into song — all renditions of Elton John’s music. Director Dexter Fletcher finds the most creative ways to weave in between reality and fantasy. There is enough of a grounded story that we can follow Elton’s life and see how he evolves as a person. Fletcher knows exactly when to put that on the back burner in order to dive head-first into the fantasy.

The music would have no weight to it if it wasn’t for how layered and developed of a character Elton John is in this film. His ultimate struggle is to find love and happiness. As he is told many times by his own parents, no matter where he goes he cannot find it. This leads him down a dark, self-destructive path of drugs, alcohol, and several suicide attempts. The movie gives us a well-rounded look at who Elton John is as a person, and it holds nothing back.

Taron Egerton is absolutely magnificent in this film. I first came to know him from Kingsman: The Secret Service. He’s great in that movie, but I had no idea he was capable of a performance quite like this. He has deep emotional moments of pure dramatic acting, he has elaborate dance numbers, and he sings all of the songs in the movie himself. When it comes to movies about musicians, I always think the actors should perform the music themselves. It heightens the realism of the film for me.

Rescued By Ruby (2022) is a biological drama film that focuses on a young adult state trooper, Dan who dreams of joining an elite K-9 unit after being rejected many times, and has only one last chance to qualify before he turns 30. The theme of this film focuses on the bond between a man and a dog, which is Dan and Ruby, similar to the bond between Ryder and Chase in Paw Patrol: The Movie (2021).

This article will discuss the topics of "a dog is a man's best friend" and search and rescue, as seen in Rescued By Ruby.

For one, Dan discovers how one adopted dog can change his life. Ruby, a hyperactive collie that has been returned to the shelter multiple times due to her inability to be trained, is given an opportunity of a lifetime to become a K-9 dog. After hearing that his wife, Melissa, is pregnant with their second child, Dan is more determined to be qualified for the K-9 unit. Pat, the woman who works at the animal shelter, convinces and encourages Dan to adopt Ruby, so Ruby can be well trained.

Dan's attempts to train Ruby as a SAR dog (search and rescue) are very similar to how Ryder trains his search and rescue pups in the popular cartoon series Paw Patrol. Dan and Ruby learn the effectiveness of teamwork through successes and failures. Though Ruby becomes impatient at some point during the training, Dan does not give up. At the end of Rescued By Ruby, Dan discovers that Ruby is able to rescue a little boy, Michael who gets lost during a hike. Michael turns out to be Pat's son. The way Ruby is able to track down the lost boy shows viewers that, with proper training, they can perform well in their jobs just like people. Dan learns that Ruby is his new best friend and gets accepted into the elite K-9 unit, finally fulfilling his dream.

Rescued By Ruby is another movie that focuses on what it's like for rescue workers to do their jobs. Although, the film has been directed by the phenomenal Katt Shea known for Poison Ivy (1992)  and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999), there is not much diversity. Furthermore, this movie would be even better if it contained a more diverse cast.