Minions (6/10): Fun for kids so mission accomplished.

“Work for me, and all this will be yours: respect, power, and…Banana”

Young children will absolutely fall in love with the lovely and insane minions, the humor, and the colorful animation, but unfortunately adults will find their wacky antics to wear off quickly as they become repetitive and tedious. At least that was my experience with this film which I ended up mildly enjoying. It did succeed in keeping the kids completely entertained, unlike with Inside Out where most of the younger kids began to get distracted and run around the movie theater. However it takes animated films like this to really appreciate what Pixar did with the insightful and original Inside Out. Pierre Coffin who co-directed both Despicable Me films with Chris Renaud, now teams up with Kyle Balda (who directed The Lorax with Renaud) for this spinoff centering on the colorful characters who were the highlight of the Despicable Me franchise. It’s hard to resist their cute antics and for that reason most of the jokes work in this film, but there isn’t anything else to the familiar slapstick humor. Coffin is the true hero here as he not only directs, but voices all of the minions and no matter how many times you hear them say “banana” it is funny every time. As uneven as the film might be, there are a number of memorable scenes that will stick with you and help you endure the 90 minute runtime. Unfortunately the funniest scenes are all included in the trailers, but it is still a fun ride nonetheless.

The plot centers on the origins of the Minions who have evolved through the dawn of time and have always followed the most despicable masters (including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Dracula, and Napoleon). Ironically they are always the cause for their masters’s demise (which can be seen in the trailers). With no master left to follow, the Minions settle in a cave and struggle with depression for decades, until one of them, Kevin, decides to go in search of an evil boss. Along with Bob and Stuart, the trio embark on a journey to America in 1968 where they encounter Scarlet Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock) and her inventor husband Herb (Jon Hamm) who are the world’s most despicable villains. Scarlett offers them the opportunity to work for her if they manage to steal the Queen of England’s crown. Kevin, Bob, and Stuart accept the mission with the intention of saving the fate of their brothers and finally being able to serve a worthy master.   

There is no doubt that Minions will be a financial success and it will attract young audiences to the movies. Adults will be glad their children will be distracted for a couple of hours and everyone will return home happy. Other than entertaining your kids for a few hours, Minions doesn’t have anything new to offer. There will be plenty of laughs and the characters will sell a lot of toys, but there is nothing else to it. I still had a better time with this film than I did with Home, which surprisingly had done very well in the box office, but neither of these films come close to the emotional appeal of more intelligently crafted animated films such as Inside Out, which continues to prove that the rest of the animation studios are far behind from producing the quality that Pixar brings to their projects.   

My Review: Million Dollar Arm (6/10)

"We might have to tweak that a little."

It had been a while since Disney had produced a sports movie but if you sat for the opening 10 minutes of Million Dollar Arm you could tell that the formula hasn't changed much for the genre over time. Everything about this film is predictable as it follows pretty much every cliché possible. Director, Craig Gillespie doesn't bother to change the successful formula  here so you see pretty much everything coming, but somehow Million Dollar Arm is still an enjoyable film that manages to pull at your heartstrings thanks to a solid cast. Gillespie's Lars and the Real Girl is perhaps still my favorite film of his and I wish he would have played a bit with the genre conventions like he did with the horror genre in Fright Night. I expected a lot more from the screenplay considering Thomas McCarthy's past works were superb (I am a huge fan of his previous screenplays for Win Win and The Visitor). Perhaps he didn't have the same creative liberties considering this was a Disney production and they are known for controlling various aspects of the process. The film was based on true events so the audience was already expecting an inspirational tale and it accomplishes it. There are several funny scenes that elevate the film and the scenes in Mumbai stand out as the movie shows the difference between both cultures. The portrayal of Indians is stereotypical but the humor works nonetheless and it's the highlight of the film. So despite being painfully predictable at times and a bit overlong, the scenes in India and the comedic performances were enough to turn this into an enjoyable experience. I may be a bit biased considering I love sports although I'm not a huge baseball fan, but it is nowhere near being this year's Moneyball. Disney's Remember the Titans continues to be their best sports drama. 

A lot of the success of the film relies on how much you like Jon Hamm, and I thought he gave a solid performance considering his character isn't entirely likable. He is very flawed as this sports agent who seems to be interested in looking out for his agency. Hamm pulls it off and I ended up routing for him. Hamm may not be the most engaging presence of the film, but he leaves that to the supporting cast who all give delightful performances. The Indians, Suraj Sharma (Pi from Life of Pi) and Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire), play the future baseball prospects who are recruited from the reality TV show that Hamm's character created in India. They are the people who we are routing for as an audience and they achieve the purpose. They bring the emotional aspect of the film. For the comedy, Gillespie recruited Alan Arkin and Bill Paxton who are always a sure bet. Without being exceptional they still managed to be funny. The funniest scenes however come from newcomer, Pitobash Tripathy, who was a fresh addition to an otherwise predictable film. Lake Bell is the only female character present in the film and she delivers a solid performance as well. Her chemistry with Jon Hamm also lifted this film from being a mediocre movie.

My Review: Bridesmaids (9/10)

¨You`re like the maid of dishonor¨

Bridesmaids isn’t your ordinary chick flick, and I wouldn’t necessary call it the female version of The Hangover either, because this movie works very well for a male audience as well. Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo managed to write one of the funniest scripts of the year in my opinion. I hadn’t laughed so hard in a movie for quite some time. This is definitely the best comedy I`ve seen all year. Kristen Wiig not only co-wrote the script, but she also played the main character of the film; and she was absolutely hilarious. Mumolo also had a small cameo as one of the passengers in the plane that sat next to Wiig. After watching Bridesmaids all I can say is that I hope that these two actresses continue to work together because they managed to deliver a lot of laughs and it’s a movie that both male and female audiences will enjoy. It is probably the best SNL film I`ve seen in a long time. This is a really smart comedy which at times reminded of Tina Fey`s work in Mean Girls. Paul Feig was also the right choice as the director, although he was mostly known for directing TV series like The Office, Nurse Jackie, and Arrested Development. Judd Apatow`s name is also attached to this film as one of the producers and that is always a good sign because Apatow is usually synonym to a funny comedy. This is my favorite comedy of the year so far.

Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) have been best friends all their lives; they`ve shared the best of times and the worst of times together. Lillian seems to be going through a great point in her life and she has a healthy relationship with Dougie (Tim Heidecker), while Annie is pretty much at a low point after losing all her money in a bakery business that went bankrupt. She also has an unhealthy relationship with Ted (Jon Hamm) who only calls her for sex and then basically kicks her out of the house. Dougie asks Lillian to marry him, and of course Lillian asks Annie to be her maid of honor. Annie decides she is going to give Lillian the best wedding ever, but things don’t turn out as expected. Lillian introduces her other bridesmaids to Annie and she finds a rivalry with Lillian`s new wealthy friend named Helen (Rose Byrne) who seems just perfect. Helen seems sweet and nice, and Annie becomes jealous of their friendship. The other bridesmaids: Becca (Ellie Kemper), Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), and Megan (Melissa McCarthy) all seem to love Helen`s ideas as well. As everyone begins to favor Helen; and things continue to go bad for Annie she becomes more and more jealous and pretty soon this might affect her friendship with Lillian. As a side story Annie is pulled over by a cop named Nathan (Chris O`Dowd) who ends up being a neighbor of Annie`s and soon they begin a nice friendship that can turn things around for Annie if she doesn’t blow it likes she`s done so many times before.

The movie began a little slow for me and I didn’t have as much fun with it until the bridesmaids show up and the rivalry begins. I really loved Melissa McCarthy`s (star of the TV series Mike and Molly) performance; she was truly hilarious and stole every scene she was in. Wiig also is great in the lead role and she had good chemistry with her SNL co-star Maya Rudolph. There are also very memorable and laugh out loud scenes like the one in which the bridesmaids go try on their clothes, or when they all get on a plane together to fly to Vegas. There are really great moments in the movie and I had a great time with it. I laughed really hard and loved most performances from the cast. Guys shouldn’t doubt on seeing this film because it isn’t an ordinary chick flick, it doesn’t follow those same formulas, it is much more than that and the scenes work in a true comedic fashion. This is a really funny movie and one you won`t want to miss.

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My Review: Sucker Punch (3/10)

¨ Who teaches us what`s real, and how to laugh at lies? Who decides why we live, and what we'll die to defend? Who trains us, and who holds the key to set us free? It's you. You have all the weapons you need. Now fight! ¨

Zach Snyder has adapted various graphic novels into films in the past and I enjoyed his movies very much; I was a big fan of 300 and Watchmen and I thought those movies were terrific. In Sucker Punch Snyder tries something new; he wrote the story instead of adapting another novel, but still tried to give it the same feel and look his other films had. The look of the film is also stylish, full of CGI, and the graphics make us think we are playing a videogame instead of watching a movie. This style worked for me in the past because Snyder`s stories were interesting. In Sucker Punch I just couldn’t get into the story, I didn’t like any of the characters, and thought the plot was just ridiculous. The approach was also very hypocritical because the movie tries to preach about female empowerment and girl power, but the entire time the movie is targeted towards a male audience; we have girls fighting in short skirts, and the male characters have little screen time. I can see how this movie might be enjoyed by a young male audience, but it just didn’t work for me. Comparing it to 300 and Watchmen this movie doesn’t even come close, but even before watching Sucker Punch I had lowered my expectations with the trailer. I understood the metaphor and ideas the story was trying to get across, but it was just meaningless with these characters since they weren’t even developed at all. There was not one interesting character, they were all one dimensional. The screenplay was adapted by Snyder himself and Steve Shibuya, but the entire movie relies only on the CGI.

Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is sent to a mental asylum by her stepfather (Gerard Plunkett) after her mother dies and she accidently kills her little sister while trying to protect her from her abusive stepfather. She was aiming at him, but she missed and her little sister suffered the consequences. Baby Doll is institutionalized and in five days the doctor will perform a lobotomy on her so that she forgets everything her stepfather has done. Blue (Oscar Isaac) receives an important amount of money from the stepdad to make sure the doctor signs the ok for the lobotomy. Dr. Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino who also starred in Watchmen with Snyder) never signs the petition because Blue falsifies the signature and so everything is set for within five days when the Doctor (Jon Hamm) comes back. Baby Doll isn’t alone in the asylum. She befriends four other female companions: Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) and her sister, Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung who was recently seen in The Hangover 2). Baby Doll decides to create an alternate reality in order to avoid her pain and guilt. In this fantastical world she becomes a sort of warrior and with the help of a Wise Man (Scott Glenn) she comes up with a plan to escape the mental facility. Along with her four friends they go on a mission to retrieve the five elements they will need in order to escape. In this fantastical world they have to face ninja robots, Nazi zombie`s and different kind of monsters. The lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur as they try to collect the items and break free from the asylum.

The characters are so poorly developed that I really didn’t care whether or not they escaped the institution. Even the fantasy clips in which all the main action and cool effects take place felt more like music videos due to the loud music and videogame style graphic. The movie is empty; simply eye candy and I couldn’t see anything philosophical or deep about it. I really was disappointed with this movie, but I know Zach Snyder will bounce back. He should stick to graphic novels. As for the performances there was nothing remarkable about any of them, but the cast isn’t to blame because the entire movie relied only on the special effects and not on trying to develop the characters. The effects are interesting at some times, but we`ve seen them all before and there is nothing new to Sucker Punch. This will definitely be on my list of worst films of the year; it was a huge disappointment for me. Everyone has the right to make a bad film; even Pixar came short with Cars 2 so I don’t think Zach Snyder should be worrying about how things turned out in Sucker Punch. Some young males might want to check this movie out, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

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My Review: The Town (10/10)

¨I will see you; this side or the other. ¨

Many critics thought that Ben Affleck`s successful directorial debut in Gone Baby Gone could have to do with beginners luck, but he proved them otherwise with The Town because he has made one of the best films of the year once again. He has managed to go two for two now and is beginning to prove he may have a better career as a director than an actor. Affleck has brought us one of the best crime thrillers of the decade; I was completely hooked from the very beginning with the heist and chase scenes as well as with the characters. The movie has several tense scenes that will have you at the edge of your seat, and at the same time very well developed characters with good dialogues thanks to a smart script adapted by Affleck himself and a good performance from the entire cast. The screenplay was adapted from Chuck Hogan`s novel ¨Prince of Thieves¨ and besides Affleck, Aaron Stockard and Peter Craig collaborated with the adaptation. The screenplay was very well adapted although it differs from the novel in the ending. Affleck also stars in this film and he does a pretty good job, but who really steals the show is Jeremy Renner as the secondary character. The rest of the cast also have an above average performance: Blake Lively, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, and the late Pete Postlethwaite all give very memorable performances thanks to the solid material they had to work with. Affleck seems to bring the best out of each actor as a director and he has proven he has a very promising career ahead of himself if he continues at this pace.

As in Affleck`s other film the story takes place once again in Boston. Charlestown is a neighborhood known for producing the most blue collar bank robbers in the world. Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Albert Magloan (Slaine), and Desmond Elden (Owen Burke) have all grown up together in Charlestown and are no exception to the rule. Together they have managed to pull off a series of armored vehicles and bank robberies throughout Boston under Doug`s leadership. They receive tips from a florist owner known as Fergie (Pete Postlethwaite) who has controlled the neighborhood for years. During their latest bank robbery things go wrong and they are forced to take the bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage before letting her go unharmed once they have escaped. Things begin to get complicated once James realizes that Claire lives in their same neighborhood and fears she might have seen something. Doug decides to follow her around to make sure she doesn`t suspect anything and in doing so they begin to develop a friendship. James would much rather get rid of her because he doesn`t want to risk their cover, but Doug has fallen for her and wants to change his life around. Doug will soon discover that getting out of a life of crime will be more difficult than he ever could have imagined. Doug`s other concern is that the FBI is close on their tail and they are receiving a lot of heat from S.A. Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) and his partner Dino (Titus Welliver).

The Town is a very tense and gripping movie that manages to balance well crafted suspenseful crime scenes with well developed characters and a good script that adds some emotional drama to the action sequences. It is hard to avoid comparisons between this movie and Michael Mann`s Heat since every successful crime film can be compared to that one, the best of its genre. Ben Affleck is turning into a great director and is perhaps doing something similar for Boston to what Woody Allen and Spike Lee do for New York. There is no denying Affleck also has talent as a screenwriter since he won an Oscar for his work with Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, and Gone Baby Gone was also a really good adaptation. Crime thrillers are one of my favorite genres in film and it has been awhile since I have enjoyed one as much as I did with The Town. It has great action scenes that feel real and interesting characters. Jeremy Renner is really on a hot streak following up on his Oscar nominated performance for The Hurt Locker. In this movie he is once again the highlight of the film. Blake Lively also gave a terrific performance as an alcoholic and drug addict mother from Charlestown who has a casual relationship with Doug. Her Boston accent was right on the mark. The entire cast was great in this film. I really enjoyed this film and consider it to be one of the best of 2010 along with Inception.

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