Dog Eat Dog (2008) User Reviews

Terrific portrait of Cali's underworld

[apoloduvalis · 8/10 · 16 April 2008]

This is an accurate while though portrait of crime underworld in Cali (second biggest Colombian city), plenty of a dark sense of humor and local culture elements such as witchery, drug traffic, poverty, and a very interesting atmosphere of salsa and African American music.

It is remarkable the photography direction, specially the coloring and texture of all movie, which emphasizes the feeling of permanent heat (Cali is a tropical place). Oh, and the FX work is very convincing. If you have a lot of gunshots, you will need a lot of fake blood, right? Well, in this film every gun fire sequence is very well played without making you get out of focus of main plot.

Main characters are played in a very convincing way with a very local taste, but in the end of the film you get the feeling of having witnessed events that could happen at the darkest corners of any city in the world.

Columbian Tarantino

[johno-21 · 7/10 · 17 January 2009]

I recently saw this at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival. This was Columbia's official submission for consideration in Best Foreign film to the Academy Awards. This is also the debut film of writer/director Carlos Moreno and he offers up a dark crime drama mixed with dark comedy in this film set in infamous drug cartel city of Cali. victor (Marlon Moreno) and Eusedio (Oscar Borda) are two low level criminals, one who has stolen a bag of his bosses drug money and the other who has killed the bosses godson. The consequences of their actions drive the darkly witty plot with lots of twists, turns and gruesome killings. It's a fast paced script from director Moreno along with Alonso Torres and colorful cinematography by Juan Carlos Gil. Still it's a typical blood and guts mob movie about greed and betrayal but it does have several interesting characters and some strange comedy like a Quentin Tarantino might have. I would give it a 7.0 out of 10.

I've seen this movie with others titles before!!

[spinoff75 · 8/10 · 4 May 2009]

Whoa, whoa!!! Stop the horses... Saying that "Perro Come Perro" is kind of Tarantino's or Ritchie's work might have, it's the biggest lie on earth. I'm from Colombia too, but... sincerely: leave aside the stupid patriotism. I've seen this movie with other titles before... it's nothing new, but it's not bad at all... The only point it's worth to enhance is the direction of Carlos Moreno... it's methodical and creative. The screenplay has a lot of clichés and flaws, the worst one is the Adela situation... that's a popular joke turn into a movie... the violence it's free of charge and I'm not talking about the chainsaw scene... this is not so graphic like the one in Scarface, man... the actors, I don't know... either of them don't bring it out for a nomination of anything. Anyone could have done that parts the same way and nobody sees the difference. The music is good, Superlitio sounds strong and cool in the soundtrack... At the end, with Perro Come Perro, you can go to the movies to hang out and eat some popcorn.

Not that bad

[dlonfa · 7/10 · 2 September 2009]

I don't think this movie is a rip off of No country for old men or of The Departed, i do agree with the fact that this movie is not the South American "Amores Perros", nor do i think that is the movie that will launch Colombian film industry to success. I think that's exaggerated. I do think some actors overact like "El Orejon" (Blas Jaramillo). Nonetheless i don't believe like others that this is a bad movie, on the contrary i think that looking and comparing it with other Colombian films it's probably one of the best. I don't think the intention of the writer/director was for us to empathize with the characters, like somebody said it's more a movie of atmospheres and i think that is the way the story plot is narrated rather than the story itself. Is more the form and structure than the content; the story turns around two main characters: Luna Negra (Oscar Borda) and Peñaranda (Marlon Moreno), and around the way the sensationalist journal "El Caleño" retakes an element of the plot and presents it to the public as something that has already happened but that the characters who read it don't even suspect that they are involved in it one way or the other, sometimes neither those the viewer. This is something that goes unnoticed for many viewers of the film. And the other element is the man who's always calling to the motel room asking for a woman who isn't there, we believe this is just some kind of joke but it has a consequence in the end. Another interesting thing are the two main characters, one which is cursed by a voodoo sorceress which uses a picture of him in a glass with a millipedes that crushes the picture as a symbol of what's going to happen to him. You can see how the character's condition deteriorates throughout the film, the nightmares, the hallucinations, the vision of his victim drowning in the sewer, and the way his little donut-like anti-stress object is dragged mysteriously by the sewer. The other character, Peñaranda, is the "street-dog" who thinks his more clever than the "mobster-pedigree-dog" and who thinks he's going to get along untouched with his plan. The end of the film is somewhat predictable, a way of saying that crime doesn't pay

Colombia made a hell of a good movie!

[alshwenbear1 · 7/10 · 24 October 2014]

A few hours ago, I was talking with two female acquaintances about violence in movies, and how difficult it is for them to cope with this issue.

Truthfully, after watching this film, I felt some of the emotions and feelings they described,why? the violence in "Dog Eat Dog" is intense but I am not talking about the physical violence, I am not talking about the blood and gore, but the mental and psychological turbulence that the characters have to endure, and with them, us the viewers. It is like watching Reservoir Dogs for the first time, but darker,with elements of black magic, that can be understand by the Latin culture, in a different way than Hollywood standards.

Because of the atmosphere created in this mentally- violent story, I felt proud of understanding two languages,because even though I am not from Colombia, I was able to sync with the angst and desperation of these bad guys, even though I found them despicable, all of them! each in a different way. And still I found myself wishing for the bad guy, (as I did for Bruce Willis in "Pulp Fiction") to find his way out of the mud.

I did not find comedy in this movie, "Sierra" is not funny in any way, he is just the classic bully, sarcastic and brutal with a smile on his face. As a crime story it fills with meanness, nastiness and despair, and unlike "Bummer" (2003) , there is no, loyalty or camaraderie, or honor, it is a cold world where money means everything to the extent of chopping another human being into pieces.

I found it even "Hitchcock style" building up, getting into your nerves and making you feel the heat of their city, and like in 'The Plague Dogs" (1982), you feel like all hope should be abandoned and discarded.

As I have said in my reviews, I have seen it all and hardly get impressed by a movie, unless it's one of those rare gems as "Cold Blooded" (2012) or this time "Perro come perro".

I really recommend this one, but if you are not really into movies as a form of art, better stick yourself to "Transformers" or "I Frankenstein'" or "Sin City" because they are easy to digest and comprehend, I said this because I think you may be really unhappy not catching up about who was "Adela", that is easily identified in the movie "...vos como te llamas?" The rest is to put two and two together.

Little gem

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 30 January 2009]

This is a dirty little Columbian thriller, that has many things going for it. It's mature, it's violent (suits the genre/the story) and it's as gritty and crazy as it can get. In all the positive ways that there are.

The crazy part might put some people off, of course. I won't get into details, but it's pretty out there. But that also makes this movie unique in my eyes. It's not only a simple story, it has these other things going for it. It also is pretty violent and not for the faint hearted. Acted and edited great, the story is confusing at times, but still worth watching, especially if you're fed up with same ol' stories!

Is Adela there...?

[loogenhausen · 7/10 · 30 November 2011]

This sun-baked slice of nihilism from Colombia is a very interesting watch indeed. Although there's plenty of yelling and gun-waving, there's also a very ominous feeling about the whole show. Marlon Moreno definitely has presence as the lead, Victor, who must deal with family problems and tries to solve it by stealing money from a dead lackey belonging to his big boss, a snarlingly fun Blas Jaramillo. Holed up in a hotel room with fellow gangster Eusebio (Oscar Borda) Victor waits for the order to find and kill whoever stole the money (himself) and keeps receiving crazy phone calls from a half-mad man looking for a woman named Adela. If this all sounds like fun to you, it is. On top of all that, Eusebio may or may not be "cursed" by a dead man or just going bugnuts crazy. Yes, there's something for everyone here. The only drawback I can think of is it feels a tad too short and a few of the lead characters aren't fleshed out enough to truly care for them when the screws are really put to them. There's plenty of style, however, and you'll being humming the title theme long after it's over.

a knock-out

[chetosco · 10/10 · 15 December 2010]

The most amazing about this marvel is that you will hardly find any information about Carlos Moreno in Internet. The directing of this Colombian gangster drama is impeccable. As cruel and cynical as Tarantino's and Rodrigues' artificial works, it's based on real Cali life. And it's deeply moralistic, despite all its cruelty. The movie boasts with at least four brilliant acting performances, each of them worth festivals' laurels. Charismatic Marlon Moreno acts unforgettably with glances and silent pauses, being responsible for the dramatic tension throughout the movie. Multifaced Alvaro Rodriguez deserves the Best Supporting Actor award at any festival. But the truly brilliant is Blas Jaramillo ("El Orejón"), a theatrical actor from Bogotá, who wasn't able to see the final cut, having left this world because of pancreatitis and peritonitis in his 39.

No dog-suffering scenes.

A clear messags: Stay away from this lifestyle.

[isaaug · 6/10 · 10 May 2021]

Colombia's film/television productions are widely criticized for their thematic fixation and romantization on our dark past of drug lords and hitmen, yet this film achieves what it wants. It's far from a romantic portrayal of the lives of drug dealers and hitmen; it's a red flag, a huge banner that says STAY AWAY. We follow our characters through their descent into death's inescapable grip, one bad decision after the other. Haunted by guilt, witchcraft, anger, remorse, the script is solid enough to create memorable characters that we start caring about, although at points the narrative loses its focus. There are several interesting narrative tools that leave you pleasantly surprised, such as the persistent telephone calls asking about "Adela". Some characters lack foundation, the only memorable and relatable ones are Víctor and Benítez. The editing's pretty off, there are certain very unnecesary cuts at times and the color grading makes it seem like an American portrayal of Mexico. The soundtrack's outstanding and most of the acting is well-achueced. Overall, a good movie.

Another commonplace empty "sicario" movie.

[Atreyu · 5/10 · 4 May 2008]

"Perro come perro", a.k.a. "Dog Eat Dog", has been announced as a groundbreaking feature film in Colombian cinema, mainly for being a participant in Sundance Festival 2008. I even got to read a review saying that it would be the next "Amores Perros" of South America and that it marked a new period for Colombian cinema. As an openminded person who loves cinema, I was very much persuaded of seeing the film for the positive reviews: I definitely expected a whole lot more of what I got to see on the screen. Those propagandistic reviews are the motivation behind this personal commentary.

PCP is seriously flawed in many ways. We may start on the overacting of most of the cast. Now then, if it hadn't been for the superficial way in which the themes were dealt with, the spectators could have empathised with at least something; but there's no space for empathy to happen. On the contrary, the supposed seriousness of the main characters' problems is ludicrous.

The plot in itself is quite straightforward: it's a film based more on atmospheres than on actions. If the movie fails to portray a plausible atmosphere is because of its overdirecting. Without any relevant plot twists and several obvious elements, it tries to appeal in any available form to the audience, even resulting in ridiculous comic relief situations. The soundtrack (original music) and title sequence seem like made for another kind of movie. The 'over the top' post-production (colour correction, editing, sound design) only makes us too aware of the directorial efforts to be innovative. Let's face it: if you're going to do "another" Colombian-violence related-gangster film, try at least not to step on the abundant clichés available for the genre. Instead we get to see a handful of badly used cinematic resources within a weak story.

Besides the flaws aforementioned, what I least liked is its thematic emptiness. There are so many pointless situations!! This is made especially annoying with some exaggerated gratuitous violence scenes. All in all, I never got the point of the film (not the story, which is far too simple). What I mean is that it doesn't really say anything new or interesting about the topic, nor it has a cinematic proposal that would rescue the film from being a commonplace empty gangster-sicario movie, as what it really is.

The Latin American Pulp Fiction!

[felipe-torres-parra · 10/10 · 18 May 2008]

This movie is great. It uses violence as a simple vehicle to tell a very smart story completely filled of amazing dark humor and full of cultural references. The "Sierra" character could not be funnier and the soundtrack is full of a very cool Latin vibe (I love the title song "Perro come Perro" by local band Superlitio). I hope they did a good job with the subtitles for the non-Spanish speaking market (I will have to wait for the DVD to check it out by myself) but I guarantee an amazing experience if you speak Spanish and count Pulp fiction and Reservoir dogs between your favorite movies. I do and I definitely had a blast.

It's crap, like for real

[Bass9987 · 1/10 · 7 May 2008]

I'm from Colombia, and this movie is one of the worst things I've ever seen. Reasons 1. Rip off of No Country for old men: A guy who tries to steal money from a criminal. 2. Rip off of The Departed: A guy who pretends to be something that he's not, the money and the ending. 3. The performances are awful, a bad guy who spits like everywhere, a man who yells at everything that moves. 4. Yes, people curse, but all the time? 5. Rip off of The Sopranos: Duh! Mobsters who kill for fun, that's NOT being the mobster, watch an episode of The Sopranos and that's the portrait of the REAL mafia. 6. The Cinematography, bad colors, bad lighting. 7. It's very illogical, the actions don't go according to the personality of the characters. 8. It's so flat, zero character development. 9. It's too long, it doesn't add anything new. 10. Do they have to explain and justify by talking every little thing that they do? THIS MOVIE HAS NO SUBTEXT!

Interesting movie

[vjulien · 8/10 · 26 March 2012]

Carlos Moreno did a great job with Dog Eat Dog and I think that you can not compare this film with Tarantino's or Guy Ritchie's.

The film is violent but not too much (I think the movies of Tarantino are way more violent) and the violence is used for a specific purpose: to inform us of what happens in Colombia. The realization is interesting as he uses different means to show various point of view. This allows to highlight the actors and the universe of Colombian criminals. This very realistic movie exposes the omnipresence of violence in Colombia.

On the other hand, the plot is a little bit weak, or let's say simple, but the performances of the actors and, especially, Marlon Moreno (Victor Peñaranda) are very convincing.

A great crime film!

[bigbosspaez2000 · 9/10 · 14 July 2008]

When the ending titles of "Perro come perro" came out, movies like "The Long Good Friday", "Once upon a time in America" and "Cidade de deus" came to my mind. This film is made with the same artistry, the same dark humor and specially with the same approach to criminal life.

Great character development, accomplished cinematography and a clear understanding of the Cali underworld are some of the qualities this movie brings to the viewer.

This movie is for Cali what "Snatch" was for London and it works so well.

Of course there are some flaws, but this movie is such and acomplishment that you can let them go.

A breath of fresh air for Colombian Cinema and the "Dago-Formula" that comes every year.

My deepest congratulations to the crew of "PCP", you've made a mark in Colombian Cinema History.

Lame.

[xfiler7 · 4/10 · 3 January 2011]

Plot was weak, and illogical. I don't wanna spoil it too much, cause there ain't much to spoil. Major plot points (money stealing scene, witch) either contradict what happens later or are extremely inadequately explained. So you're not quite sure what's going on until the end of the movie. Then you are outraged to discover how simple it all was, and you were strung along for nothing. Some pivotal characters only show up at the beginning and end, so you had better remember every face! Voodoo witch was a pointless, confusing subplot. Main character had exactly one facial expression and except for being a jerk, had no other moods and was never developed. Don't waste your time with this junk.