shalom's pics
Sign Up for Monthly Newsletter
Email:  
 November 2009

Shalom 
OLYMPIC FEVER

Whenever it's time for the Olympics, I don't get to watch any cartoons.  But I do have to admit, I really do like speed skating.   

I wanted to jump right in there and chase those guys all over the ring.  And I bet I could have caught one or two of them too!  And snowboarding looks like something I'd be really good at.  Why I bet I could beat that skateboarding Bulldog any day!   

Mom's favorite is bobsledding but I'm not sure why she thinks she could even do it because she's afraid of heights, although she does drive pretty fast sometimes!  Paws down though, hockey is my game!   

I like things that move really fast and I loved watching the US beat the Canadians....oh wait....they beat us didn't they?   WELL, with my black fur, silver is more becoming so I'm very happy with the silver medal and am really proud of all the U.S. athletes from the 2010 Olympics (even the ones that fell down).   

Until next time (when I get to choose what to watch),

Peace Out!

 

LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 2010

4 Paws Up for Blind Side
 
It's been a pretty jam-packed month trying to watch all of the potential Oscar contenders before the big event.  Mom doesn't like to admit this publicly but...we do embrace a family tradition of watching the Oscars and, dare I say it, the red carpet parade! So, when Sondra Bullock won a Golden Globe for best actress we thought we'd better add the Blind Side to our movie roster.

Even though there weren't any dogs in the movie and it was seemingly about football (I'm a girlie-girl so that topic is usually not in my top 20) we gave it a peek. I have to say we weren't disappointed! 

The Blind Side is about this woman and her family who take in this stray kid. It's true! People rescue people too, not just dogs. Anyway, even though their friends and community are racist and don't support their decision, they take this quiet, giant of a kid from the projects into their family. Turns out he has talent and turns into a pretty amazing athlete. With the help of their love, patience and guidance he gains the self-confidence to become a world-class football star.

Not only is the Blind Side based on a true story but it touches on a few important topics like love - something I know about thanks to my patient Mom (I have been known to be a little challenging in my day), second chances (something we in the rescue world all know all about) and looking beyond appearances (being a Rottweiler I know something about this topic too).

Sondra Bullock's performance was understated but spot-on and Quinton Aaron was so disarmingly humble he can hang with my pack anytime!

So if you want to see something with a little heart, go see Blind Side. It's one of those gentle, family value movies you don't see that often.

Peace out!
Shalom
____________________________________________________________________________________
LOS ANGELES - December 2009
3 Paws Up for Benjamin Button
 
Well we watched a lot of movies this month but I'm going to tell you about the one called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  

Now this was a very long movie and I think they could have cut out about an hour because I got a little bored.   It's a movie about this guy who is born old and instead of getting older as he gets bigger, he gets younger and then he gets smaller again at the end until he's back in diapers for the 2nd time in his life.  

He's really kind of a boring guy in my opinion but he is very nice to everyone and ladies liked him a lot after he got over the old man stage.  (Mom says Brad Pitt - he's the star - is gonna still be a hottie when he's 50 - whatever that means.)  Anyway, except for being too long this was a pretty good movie.   I just know that I would NEVER wanna be a puppy again because then I wouldn't be living at Mom's house and my life would not be very happy so I'm glad I'm just getting older and living here!

I give this movie 3 paws up.  (Get a large popcorn if you're gonna watch it)

 
Peace out,
Shalom
____________________________________________________________________________________
LOS ANGELES - November 2009
4 Paws Up for Over the Hedge
 
So Mom FINALLY picked out a good movie.  This one was called Over The Hedge and it was just one of the best movie cartoons ever.   
 
See, t
here is this bunch of animals that are really hungry and the humans have used up all their space with houses and roads and the animals don't have anyplace to get food anymore.  
 
This
raccoon named RJ decides that they should take food from the humans since humans NEVER eat all the food they have and lots goes to waste.  RJ is a very smart raccoon but my favorite guy in this pack is a squirrel named Hammy. 
 
I think Hammy drinks lotsa energy drinks because he talks faster than anyone I know.  Well the animals are doing OK until these mean people named Dwayne and Gladys decide they all have to be exterminated and well...things get ugly for awhile except you know in the end the animals are smarter than the humans and HAPPY ENDING.
 
Mom said that most of
the animals reminded her of people she knows.  That sounds very weird to me but Mom thinks she and I are a lot alike.  Imagine that!  (wink,wink). I give this movie four paws up and a butt wiggle!
 
Peace out,
Shalom
____________________________________________________________________________________
LOS ANGELES - October 2009
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
 

Just because there are a bunch of cute dogs in a movie does NOT make it a good movie. 

WHAT was Disney thinking with Beverly Hills Chihuahua? 

Did the trailer show the dog fighting scenes? 

Did the trailer show the coyote bringing in unwanted dogs from Mexico to the United States...yes a real coyote. 

Did the trailer show all the hun
gry, sad, unwanted stray dogs in Mexico City?  NO!  Seriously, if I was a little kid who liked dogs I would have been bawling my eyes out in Scene Two.  Instead, I am just a very angry Rottweiler who would like to have a word or two with the people who made this movie. 

Oh and of course the Doberman was the bad dog.   And don't even get me started on the people in the mansions in Beverly Hills who dress up their dogs and....I said don't get
me started.  

Go save a chihuahua or any other dog from the shelter with the money you would have spent on this movie.  I'm gonna go watch Kung Fu Panda again.  I need to get out of this bad mood.


Peace out!

Shalom
_____________________________________________________________________________________
LOS ANGELES - September 2009

Farmville - Let's Grow Together!
 
This has been a very busy month
because Mom has been getting things together for BOWLING FOR COLLARS so I haven't had a chance to watch many movies.  So instead I've been surfing the web and found this new game called Farmville.  

This is so much fun.  You get to grow your own food and milk cows and get eggs from chickens and all sorts of stuff.  Sometimes a neighbor asks for help so I go over to their farm and I chase away crows or rake leaves for them.   

The music is kind of annoying but other than that it's lots of fun.  I always wanted to live in the country but Mom says she has to work to feed us Rottens so I guess this is as close as I'll get.  

Well, I have to go harvest my eggplant now.  Next month I WILL be watching movies....Mom promised.

Peace out!

Shalom
_____________________________________________________________________________________
LOS ANGELES - August 2009

My friend Stacy and I watched Hotel for Dogs.  We did not like this movie at all!  There were some very scarey parts and very mean people in it that made us cry!  

The dogs were very cute....I loved the big Mastiff boy, and they were very, very smart.  But the humans in the movie...man....they just didn't act good at all.  All the little boy could do was stare and open his eyes wide...BORING.  And really, what teenage girl just lets another teenage girl steal her boyfriend without getting mad?  This movie did not make us happy and we do not recommend it especially for kids who like dogs....the scarey parts were VERY scarey.
 
Tail down between my legs and ears back!

Peace out!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES - July 2009

OK, I thought Mom said we were gonna watch a DOGumentary but it was a DOCumentary.  But it was so cool.  The movie was called The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill and it's about this man who takes care of these really pretty birds in San Francisco.   

Some of them come in his house but most of the time they stay outside and fly around the city.  I didn't know that birds could be that pretty...the pigeons in my yard only come in grey.  These birds were mostly green and yellow with some red but there was one really cool one who had a blue head.  

He was sad because he didn't have a girlfriend.  I say that everyone should see this movie....you'll learn alot about parrots!
 
Three paws up (no dogs, no car chases...but still good!)
 
Peace out!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES  - May 2009

I watched the movie BOLT two times.  This is the most fun movie ever!  BOLT is a dog with super powers but only on TV.  But he thinks he ALWAYS has super powers and things get really crazy when he gets lost and has to find his way back to the movie studio.   

BOLT makes friends with this cute cat (yes I said "cute cat") named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino.  Mittens the cat is very smart and I don't think BOLT would have made it in the real world if she wasn't there to help him.  Mom says it's a nice story about friendship and she liked the part about adopting animals from shelters but Mom always looks for the sappy part.

I liked the car chases and the people yelling and that silly Rhino rolling around in his ball.  So I give this movie a for sure four paws up and I hope Mom lets me watch it one more time before she sends it back.
 
Peace out,
 
Shalom
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES - April 2009

So I invited some friends over to watch Milk with me.  This is a movie about a gay man who decides to run for a government office in San Francisco. 

He keeps losing and losing and finally he wins and becomes the first gay government official EVER in California.   

A lot of people weren't happy about him or his friends wanting to be in charge of things and they were very mean and nasty.  I think that the best thing about this movie was the whole "idea" of Harvey Milk.  He didn't just run for office for his own glory or gain - he ran for office to help a group of people who weren't represented in the government and didn't have a say in anything.   He didn't do it for the money or because he would be famous.   He did it to really help people...he believed in equality for everyone.   
 
I bet if he could, he would have had a pitbull!  Four paws up, a tail wag and a Rottweiler slurpy kiss!

Peace out 
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES - March 2009

I went to the movies with a whole bunch of Squad people to see Marley and Me.  This was a great movie  about a couple who adopt a "clearance dog" which is kinda what all rescues are, right?  

And this dog, Marley, is not too bright (well, he's NOT a Rottie) and just makes a huge mess of their house from day one and doesn't listen to any commands but the couple does not give up.  They love Marley for who he is and work with him every day.   And even when they have kids, they still love Marley and teach their kids that Marley is a member of the family.  This is how all our adopters are and I sure wish this is how all people would be to their animals.  If I keep typing I'll start crying because this movie could be very sad in parts.   

Everyone should see it though but bring some tissue.  Mom made a fool of hersel in the theater with all that sniffing!  But that's just 'cause she loved the people in the movie and loved Marley. 
 
This movie gets 4 paws up and a really fast tail wag!

Peace out  
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES - February 2009

Did you guys know that they used to make movies in black and white only?  Seriously - NO COLOR.

We watched this really silly movie called Arsenic and Old Lace.  Mom says it's a classic dark comedy from the old days and she was laughing all the way through the whole movie.   
 
It's about this guy who is going to get married but he finds out that his aunts are crazy homicidal maniacs so he has to change his wedding plans.  He also has a really scary brother who keeps getting plastic surgery and an uncle who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. 

It's really a whacky movie with people running all over the house and climbing through windows and digging holes in the basement of their house.  Dogs are SUPPOSED to only see in black and white (we can see some colors you know) and I guess Mom thought this would be an easy movie for me to watch.  BUT I WANNA WATCH KUNG FUN PANDA AGAIN MOM!!!!!!!!!!!  (I've seen it four times!)  But if you like black and white movies, this was a good movie to watch.   I give it 2 paws and a tail up!

Peace out 
Shalom
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – January 2009


I watched X-Files, I Want to Believe and BOY was that scary.  Everyone in the movie lives in the snow and it looked very, very cold.  

Muldur and Scully have to go back to work for the FBI because some bad guys stole an FBI agent.  Now these bad guys don't speak very good English and they are very, very bad to the FBI agent who got stolen and to Muldur, who of course just does what he wants and doesn't listen to anyone and gets in all sorts of trouble.   

There is also a Rottweiler/Pitbull mix in this movie (trust me on this - you have to see the movie!) and that dog scared ME!    Scully doesn't want to help Muldur solve this mystery but of course she does anyway because deep down inside she loves him.   So this is a love story/scary movie and the best part was that  - oh I can't tell you that because it will ruin the ending for you. 

Really see this movie but keep the lights on in the house when you watch it.  You know...just in case the bad guys come to get YOU!
 
I give this 3 paws up!

Peace out 
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – December 2008

I really couldn't figure out why a nice Jewish dog like me was going to watch Christmas with the Kranks but what Mom says goes so I watched this movie.  

I would much rather have been given a time out in my crate.  I sure know why they were named Krank...they were all cranky. All everyone did in this movie was complain and whine. 

Maybe the last 5 minutes were nice but MAN...what a dumb movie.  No car chases, nothing.  There was a really pretty cat that Tim Allen kept stepping on and that made me really mad but seriously...I will always wonder WHAT WAS MOM THINKING??????   Next year I get to pick the holiday movie that's for sure!
 
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Peace out 
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – November 2008

I watched Into the Wild the other night.  I'm not sure if this kid has all his biscuits in his treat jar.  Sure Nature is GREAT - even I like to go outside when it's hot and just lie on the cool ground and listen to crickets - and sometimes human parents can be annoying but I will NEVER give up my nice comfy bed to sleep in dirt or a "magic" bus. 

And let's face it - all he really learned in the end is that in order to be happy you have to have someone to share your happiness with.  I could have told him that.  So if you want to get really depressed, you can watch this movie.  On the other hand, after this movie was over Mom let me watch a show about this guy Shaun Ellis who lives with a pack of wolves in England.  Now THAT was a great show.  I got to howl with WOLVES!  That is what I call Nature - lying on my bed watching wolves howling on TV, chewing on a Kong and "chillin' with my peeps". 

I'm very, very thankful that my Mom found me and I don't have to live outside like the kid in the movie or those wolves.   I'm even thankful for the dumb puppies that live with us...they can be entertaining but WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE ADOPT URSULA AND ABIGAIL SOON! 

Peace out 
Shalom
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – October 2008

Well, Mom told me I had to watch a scary movie because it's Halloween time but I just couldn't do it.  So when she wasn't looking I switched to my favorite TV show - SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS. 

This guy is so cool.  He lives in a pineapple under the sea and has all sorts of crazy friends.  There's always something going on in his puddle all the time and I love howling to the song.  It drives Mom crazy.  

One day when I learn how to drive, or maybe when Mom isn't so worried I'm going to get scared of all the people on the beach, I'm going to go to the beach and see if I can meet Spongebob.  I bet my friend Pierre will go with me because he loves going to the beach.    So all together now:  “WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA?  SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS”.  Yea! Sorry Mom.

Peace out 
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – September 2008


Well we didn't get to watch any movies in our house this month because Mom kept putting on this show called The Olympics. 

I didn't think it was all that much fun to watch.  Just a bunch of people splashing in a pool, running around in circles, jumping up and down and throwing balls at each other. . 

There was this guy named Michael on the show who Mom kept yelling at to GO FASTER.  I liked the horses jumping fences the best still - this wasn't the kind of show I want to watch and I'm really glad it's all over.  Mom promised me a real shoot 'em up, crazy loud movie if I would just let her watch the Olympics AND DEXTER SEASON 2 IS OUT so...   I guess Mom can have the remote once every four years. 

Peace out 
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – July 2008

OK, I know I'm supposed to be watching MOVIES but have you guys seen the TV show Dexter?  Boy this is the best show ever!  It's on some cable channel, which we don't have so Mom rented Season 1 for me from her movie place.

Dexter is CRAZY.  He works for the cops but he's a serial killer.  But Dexter only kills bad guys who the police can't catch or they can't put in jail.  So even though he's a killer, he's a good guy.  Does that make sense?  The whole   Season 1 he was chasing after this crazy person called the Ice Truck Killer.  Oh boy, that last episode -- Mom screamed!  I fell off my chair.

It is a very exciting show and you all should rent it.  I can't wait for Season 2 and I know two other Dawg Squad volunteers who are just DYING for the next set of discs to be released.  Maybe they'll come over to my house and we can all watch it together.  I'll pop popcorn!  Jan and Elisa--come watch with me!  My new favorite person! (Sorry Stacy) 

Peace out,
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – June 2008

I LOVE my toys! I love to play with them and throw them all around the yard. In Lars and the Real Girl this guy Lars gets a girl toy but he doesn't really play with her. He just carries her around and talks to her and pretends she is real. Now I KNOW my stuffy rabbit isn't a real rabbit. So it was really sad that this guy Lars thought his stuffy was a real girl. His friends tried to tell him she was just a stuffy but Lars didn't listen - he just loved his stuffy. So I don't want to tell you the whole story BUT it had a happy ever after ending. I really liked this movie even though nobody got shot and there were no robots or car chases. I give it 3 paws up and a tail wag! 

Peace out,
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – May 2008

When Mom said we were gonna watch Lords of Dogtown I thought "OH BOY. Finally a movie about Rottweilers!" But NOOOOOO. It was even BETTER. This was all about skateboards. I love to chase skateboards - what dog doesn't????

This movie was GREAT. OK, the acting was horrible but there were lots of SKATEBOARDS and I barked and jumped and I think this is the best movie EVER!  All you dogs out there - get your people to rent you this movie. Tell them to leave the room (Mom did....she thought it was a dumb movie) and get your bag of treats, a bowl of water and HAVE A GREAT TIME BARKING AT SKATEBOARDS! Whoooo hoooooo. I wanna watch this again.  Can I Mom?  Can I?????
 
Four paws up for SKATEBOARDS
Tail down for acting

Peace out,
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – April 2008

I got all excited this week because Mom said she got Easter Promises for me to watch. I thought I'd get to bark at lots of bunnies and chickies and pretend to hunt for Easter Eggs.

But what she really said was EASTERN PROMISES and there were no bunnies in this movie, that's for sure. Everyone speaks with an accent so it was hard for me to understand but it still was very good. The girl, Naomi Watts, was pretty annoying because she just wouldn't QUIT bothering Viggo Mortensen and his Russian mob friends and she caused lots of trouble for her family.   

It's kinda cool because first you think Viggo is really a bad guy, then you start thinking he's a good guy, then you see him without any clothes on and then you're not really sure if he's a good guy or a bad guy. I'm giving this movie 4 paws up for costume design (Viggo's outfit in the bath house) and 3 paws up for entertainment.
 
Shalom (peace out)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – March 2008

Well, we rented The Brave One with Jodi Foster and I really expected to love this movie. Had the Pupcorn out and everything. BUT, I walked out after 1/2 an hour. This was just so boring. The music made me tired, the acting was so low key even my doggie ears couldn't hear all that the actors were saying and the dog was just plain stupid. What self respecting dog doesn't attack the people attacking its owners?!?!?!
 
Don't bother with this one. All four paws DOWN!
 
Shalom (peace out)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – February 2008

Well I was supposed to watch The Simpsons Movie this week but BERNIE stole it and well, he did say it was very "tasteful". Bad Bernie.
 
But I watched Live Free or Die Hard and BOY is that a great movie.   There are these bad guys who want to take over the world via the internet. And Bruce Willis is the only person in the whole world who can stop them. Well, him and his sidekick Justin Long (who Mom thinks is really cute). There are cop cars that smash into helicopters (REALLY!) and fighter planes that blow up bridges and car crashes and LOTS AND LOTS of gun battles. And the best part was when this building blew up and caught on fire and WOW...was that noisy. I loved this movie! Five paws up for sure!

Until next time, 
Shalom (peace out)


_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – January 2008

Transformers is a very noisy movie! It was SO noisy even the puppies at our house were looking at the TV.

So, there are these good robots who are trying to save Earth from some bad robots. The good robots turn into cars and trucks and the bad robots can turn into tanks and fighter jets and bad stuff like that. The best robot of all is one named Bumblebee who turns into a yellow Camaro.

The thing about this movie is they didn't really need the humans in it at all. I'm not sure why they were in it - the robots were a lot smarter than them and they sure were better actors. Oh and there's this really cute Chihuahua named Mojo who wears lots of bling. (Man, did I say "cute Chihuahua" out loud?) So, for action and adventure, I give this movie 3-1/2 paws up. For fabulous acting - paws down.
 
Until next time,
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – December 2007

Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell always makes my tail wag because he is SO silly. I'm just not sure why he thought he should wear those tight clothes...he needs a lite kibble if he's going to wear Spandex. So that was GROSS but he jumped around a lot and fell down a lot and when he was throwing that other guy around in the air I really had the Rottie wiggle butt dance going. There was lots of action and lots of running around but I'm not sure I get this whole figure skating thing. You certainly wouldn't see any self-respecting Rottie skidding around on an ice rink. 
 
But the movie did teach a very good lesson. Sometimes, our worst enemies can turn out to be our best friends. So now I gotta go give Bernie a slurp...we had an disagreement yesterday about a stuffie toy.   I give this movie 3 paws!
 
Until next time,
Shalom

_____________________________________________________________________________________

LOS ANGELES – November 2007

My name is Shalom and I am a television/movie addict. Yes, I admit it. Put a DVD in the player and I can watch TV for hours. Give me a really shoot 'em up episode of Law and Order and I am one happy Rottweiler. And don't even let me get started on animation. LOVED HAPPY FEET!  Wasn't that just the BEST animated movie ever?   
 
So I'll be reviewing movies for you in this e letter. Just keep in mind that some of these movies are a tad "old".  After all, I'm not allowed IN a movie theater so I have to depend on rentals. So my first review will be brief....
 
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, RENT BLADE. OH BOY - vampires, guns, car chases, crazy people running all over the place.  This was a great movie. I was on the edge of my couch for over 2 hours. Wesley Snipes was fantastic. I can't wait to get the sequel. I bet he gets all those bad vampires and doesn't let them call up La Magra to take over the human race. WARNING - may be too violent for puppies.
 
Until next time,
Shalom