Dog Eat Dog (2016)

A crew of ex-cons are hired by a Cleveland mafioso to kidnap the baby of a rival mobster.

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Edward Bunker (based on the novel by), Matthew Wilder

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Matthew Cook

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicolas Cage	...	Troy
Willem Dafoe	...	Mad Dog
Christopher Matthew Cook	...	Diesel
Omar J. Dorsey	...	Moon Man
Louisa Krause	...	Zoe
Melissa Bolona	...	Lina
Reynaldo Gallegos	...	Chepe
Chelcie Lynn	...	Sheila (as Chelcie Melton)
Bruce Reizen	...	Maurie
Jeff Hilliard	...	Gun Enthusiast
Ali Wasdovich	...	Melissa
Louis Perez	...	Mike Brennan
Magi Avila	...	Nanny
Tevis R. Marcum	...	White Power Inmate
Todd Emmett	...	Prison Skin Head

Storyline

Carved from a lifetime of experience that runs the gamut from incarceration to liberation, Dog Eat Dog is the story of three men who are all out of prison and now have the task of adapting themselves to civilian life. The California three strikes law looms over them, but what the hell, they're going to do it, and they're going to do it their way. Troy, an aloof mastermind, seeks an uncomplicated, clean life but cannot get away from his hatred for the system. Diesel is on the mob's payroll and his interest in his suburban home and his nagging wife is waning. The loose cannon of the trio, Mad Dog, is possessed by true demons within, which lead him from one situation to the next. One more hit, one more jackpot, and they'll all be satisfied. Troy constructs the perfect crime and they pull it off, but in the aftermath, they keep finding the law surrounding them wherever they go.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | ethnic slur | ex convict | black and white scene | dragged by a car | 

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Taglines:

Grabs you by the lapels and keeps moving, never lagging, never dull.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cane mangia cane

Filming Locations:

Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$184,404

Company Credits

Production Co:

ADME Studios, Blue Budgie Films Limited, Ingenious Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (some scenes)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Schrader said he approached Michael Wincott, Michael Douglas, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum and Rupert Everett for the role of Greco the Greek, but it didn't work out with any of them. In the end, to avoid going over budget, he played the role himself in what will be his acting debut.

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Goofs

When Diesel and Mad Dog are disposing of Brennan's body, we see that the body has its face and head intact, but earlier we saw Mad Dog completely blow Brennan's head off with a shot gun.

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Quotes

Mad Dog: [Face distorting in the mirror]

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Connections

Featured in Film 2017: Episode #45.10 (2016)

User Reviews

Will somebody please feed the dog?...

Initially I had low expectations to "Dog Eat Dog", given the fact that it is another Nicolas Cage movie. And I can't claim to be much fan of him or his one-and-only-expression-in-every-scene. However, having Willem Dafoe on the cast list alongside with Nicolas Cage, well that might actually do salvage the movie.

So I sat down to watch this movie. And I must admit that this movie was not in the least a particularly memorable or entertaining movie. It was every bit as slow-paced and fairly uneventful as it was a confusing mess of jumbled events and stumbling dialogue.

The story is about three ex-cons who get together for a last and final job that will set them up with riches for the rest of their lives. However, things does not turn out as they had planned, in fact things take a turn for the worse quite fast.

Right, well the storyline wasn't original. Nope, not one bit. "Dog Eat Dog" offers nothing to the genre that hasn't already been done, seen or attempted in other similar movies.

And watching Nicolas Cage stumble through this script wasn't particularly helpful to the movie. And however good Willem Dafoe is, then he just didn't manage to lift the movie out of the overwhelming less-than-mediocre shadow that shrouded it.

The dialogue throughout the movie was not impressive, and many a times I found myself with my toes curled up because of the dialogue that was presented by the characters on the screen.

My interest and attention to the movie drifted off a couple of times throughout the course of the movie, because it just seemed like a myriad of multiple chaotic and scrambled scenes shot independently were being put together to form a movie; and that movie became "Dog Eat Dog".

I did manage to stick with the movie to the end. And boy, what an ending. Talk about being cliché and ridiculous. I will not give the ending away, you have to witness that stinker for yourself.

"Dog Eat Dog" came and went without even denting anything. This is the type of movie that you watch if you stumble upon it by sheer random luck; nay, make that random accident. And it is the type of movie that you watch once, then never again.