De pura raza

I saved this on my DISH DVR from a showing on one of the free weekends of Showtime sometime within the last couple of years. Since my viewing plans are to cut the cable within the next month, I'm spending most of my free time watching what's been stored on the DVR, Eyes of an Angel being one of the titles.

Movie has a slightly disjointed feel as it jumps back and forth between the Travolta character's trials and tribulations and the dog's journey to rejoin the only family he's ever known. If you're a dog lover as am I, some of the scenes are a bit difficult to watch especially those taking place in the dog fighting arena, but minute for minute, the dog's travails are more interesting than are those of Bobby, the hard luck gambler, played by Travolta.

Casting is questionable, specifically that of Jeffrey DeMunn as Bobby's successful brother. DeMunn is a very capable actor, but no one would ever guess he'd be related to Travolta's Bobby.

In a nutshell, a tired story of a low expectations in life aimless loser and his young daughter. Throw in the dog elements and you get a 3/10 star movie. Not sorry I spent the 90 minutes it took to view, but if the producers were trying to humanize the story into a sentimental canine ride, that's the kind of thing Disney used to excel at with deers and dogs. Not so much with this crew.

I think maybe some folks missed the opening line --- based on a true story. When you realize that this was a docudrama, it's pretty good stuff. I can't say much more without giving away part of the plot. I don't care whether you're a dog person or not. And, I won't spoil it, but I thought the ending was well-deserved! Definitely worth watching. Started out a little slow and I was a little worried about the graphic nature of the movie, but Travolta was good in this indie film, as was Raab in her role. Better than some movies I've paid $8.50 at the theater to watch lately! Interestingly, I find Travolta a better view in indie films than in some of the big budget films that he's been in.

Just watched this on HBO this morning. I had never heard of it before , and was curious. Despite the opportunity for extreme corn, most of the flick is really engaging. It seems like it ought to be a lame Disney movie, with the kid and the injured dog, but it has cussing and violence. I was pleased to see Travolta playing a loser. Usually if he's not the hero, he's a ridiculous melodramatic villain. He's usually too smug for my taste, but in this (Probably a reflection on the state of his career at the time) his character is pathetic for most of the movie. The villains are not original, but I really liked the little girl. For the most part, it is surprisingly good. Until you get to the end. The end of this movie is so completely lame, you will kick yourself for sitting through the whole thing. They really, really dropped the ball with that stupid, illogical, unrealistic ending. Ucccch!!! I would recommend just turning it off right before the dogfight at the end. Imagine something cooler happened instead. Trust me, whatever you can come up with in 30 seconds will be better than the crap these people thought up. I would really be interested in knowing who came up with that ending. Test audiences? Studio people? Travolta? The director? If that was what the writer originally wrote, I will eat my shoe.

good movie. Caught it on cable today and found myself unable to turn the channel. A Travolta movie I didn't recognize made me stop, but then the movie just caught me. Don't rush right out to get this one, but don't miss it if it is on cable. I love dog movies, this one is really nice. The ending, which I won't spoil, was what I had hoped for, but was afraid not to get. Not a 10/10, but 8/10 is what it deserves. Ellie Raab, funny in The Ref, is warm, touching and beliveable in this movie. John Travolta is a single father, hard to like in this film, but belivable.

Not a "great" movie, but nice if you're a dog-lover. The title was "The Tender" in the TV listing for UPN. I had to dig to find it in imdb, looking for movies with John Travolta and Ellie Raab together. In retrospect, the eyes of the dog were the eyes of the angel, as the dog came to the rescue more than once. Lots of good shots of the dog's eyes.