Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 81 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms: December 4, 2018
Get it via : Amazon
Sure, you might notice them, guide dogs for the blind. And sure, you might marvel at how well-trained they are. What is easy to forget, though, is that they start as puppies, cute puppies, with various personalities that will hopefully lead them to being great, guide dogs.
“Pick of the Litter” tells the story of five puppies, Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet, and Phil, and their respective journeys to determine if they have what it takes to be the most trusted companion for the blind. It is a story filled with joy, struggle, and touches of sadness, oddly, when the destiny of a few of the puppies ends up that they just get to be dogs.
The documentary takes you through the entire guide dog cycle. It begins with the puppies being born, through the process of foster families who start the initial training and development of the puppies, and into the advanced training the little ones must go through to eventually graduate to their new life as a guide dog. Through the process the dogs, and the foster families, are observed and assessed sometimes with surprising evaluations and heartbreaking realities for the foster families, but the folks at Guide Dogs for the Blind (guidedogs.com) have their goals, to develop the best companions for the blind and find those dogs who might be better as breeding dogs rather than guide dogs, so tough decisions must be made.
| 
The press release read, “David Spade’s first Dramatic Role in the new film thriller, “Warning Shot”… Sure, that was interesting news, and I skimmed over the rest of the press release, but it wasn’t until the opening credits rolled that I blurted, “James Earl Jones? How in the hell did this movie get James Earl Jones?” Guess I missed that name in the release.
| 
Every time I’ve watched a Deadpool movie, I can’t decide if the self-healing superpower would be a good thing, or maybe the worse thing in the world. I suppose if you have the attitude Deadpool has, it’s not that bad, but at the end of the day, after being riddled with bullets or having your body torn in half, might it be better just to die?
You know there is going to be trouble when a movie opens, set years ago in a vintage car, with a guy and a girl alone. One of them says something similar to, “Did you hear something?”
Poor Corey (Chris Marquette). In “Chokeslam” he is what one might classify as a loser, still living with mom, and going nowhere in his job at the deli. Enter a thief, Rocket, (Michael Eklund) hellbent on robbing the deli, only this is also a small town so Corey knows it’s a dude from high school. Wouldn’t you know it, now it is time for them to be best buds.
| 
“I’m Richard Turner. I represent why you should never play cards with strangers.”
| 
There was one point during “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton,” when I just felt like such a schlub. It was during a scene showing Laird training. With his being 53 as I type this, and the footage not looking that old, he was probably about my age now, me being 50, or a little older. There he was, training in the gym, in the water with weights, and just being all healthy and stuff. Laird was able to love life, even with his aches and pains, and here I am struggling to get my ass out of bed most days just to get on a treadmill. I’m sure living in Hawaii kind of helps, but now I’m just making excuses.
| 
Poor Sue (Kelly Vrooman). She was having the most wonderful of nights, and possibly the best reactions to a wedding proposal, ever. Then Victor Crowley had to show up. I don’t believe severed limbs and spraying blood is what she had in mind when she dreamt of being proposed to as a little girl. I suppose at least is was memorable for her!
I’m not a Bob Dylan fan. There, I said it. While I admire the career he has had, for whatever reason his music style just never clicked with me. Not the acoustic Dylan, not the electric Dylan, and hell, I didn’t even know there was a gospel Dylan, until now.
| 
Paul Oremland is a film director. He is also a gay man. He has also slept with a lot of men.