Entertainment Monday: Minions ( 26 October 2015)

The Minions originated from the movie Despicable Me. They are the henchmen for the evil genius known as Gru. The Minions were so popular that they now have their own movie. This movie is their origin story. The Minions are actually centuries old creatures, who have always linked up to alpha leader for survival, usually a villain. They have been henchmen for the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the ancient Egyptians and Dracula. They also have a terrible habit of accidently killing their leader so when it reaches the 1960s, they must find a new evil leader to follow.

source

The Minions who decide to go on the quest are Kevin, Stewart and Bob. They end up in America and decide to be the henchmen of Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock). Scarlet is the most powerful villain in the world and she wants them to steal the British crown so that she can rule. She warns them if they fail, there will be dire consequences. They actually succeed but there still are dire consequences.

source

I’m not infatuated with the Minions like some of my friends. They love the minions and would buy the whole merchandise range if they could. It makes shopping for their Christmas and birthday presents easier for me though. I’m not really a fan of high pitched characters that goof around. I was invited to this movie by a friend who had free tickets.

source

Before you call the fun police, I thought this movie was cute and I liked the origin story of the Minions.  I especially liked Scarlet Overkill for her over the top theatrics; she really lived by her name. I learnt that the Minions speak a gibberish language with a bit of French, English and Spanish thrown in. They are still easy to understand as they point and nod a lot, the other characters confirm what they are saying and they just do whatever they want to do.

I think young children will really enjoy this movie and people who enjoyed the Minions in Despicable Me. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more Minions movies. 

Other film reviews you might enjoy:

• When Marnie was there

Entertainment Monday: Due Date ( 12 October 2015)

*This movie is meant for mature audiences.

I caught a bit of this movie on tv and decided to rent this movie so I could watch the rest of it.  Due Date is in the same vein as Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It is a movie where two opposite people must travel together and everything goes wrong.

source

Robert Downey Jnr plays Peter Highman. He’s a quick tempered, upstanding man who must get home in time to see the birth of his first child. Peter meets Ethan Tremblay( Zach Galifianakis) who is a kindhearted, naïve and ignorant man who has annoying tendencies.  Both the men are heading to Los Angeles but get kicked off the plane after an argument. Both of the men are on the no fly list so must find another way to travel. Peter has no money after leaving his wallet in his luggage on the plane. However, Ethan offers to take him to Los Angeles in a rental car and fund the whole trip.  During the journey, lots of arguments and crazy stuff happens.

This movie has Mature Adult 15+ rating in Australia so I was expecting to see some depravity. However, I thought the crude humor and profanity wasn’t that bad in this film.  There is drug use but it isn’t a stoner film as Peter is against drugs and is a straitlaced person. There is hardly any sexual content in the movie except for one moment of self pleasure. I don’t really like gross out humor so I was glad this film was tamer than the usual fare.

source

I thought that Robert Downey Jnr was perfect as Peter, whose personality was similar to Tony Stark. He played off well to Zach Galifianakis who was both gratingly annoying and sympathetic. The two had good chemistry and it was believable that their characters become friends despite their differences.

source

I thought there weren’t as many hijinks compared to other movies. I think because there wasn’t as much slapstick humor. I still found the movie to be entertaining and funny.  Personally, I didn’t have many laugh out loud moments. What I found the most entertaining was the dialogue between Ethan and Peter.

This movie is good to watch with friends. I think it would be fun to watch Due Date and Planes, Trains and Automobiles for a movie night.

Other reviews that may be of interest:

• Grown Ups 2
• The Hangover