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CINEMA
REVIEWS
MINIONS
From the dawn of time, Minions have wished only to loyally serve
tyranny… but they just keep accidently killing them. We love a simple idea!
The highlight of
Despicable Me
finally get their own feature, but can you
have too much of a good thing? Thankfully the childish humour, seemingly
sucked from the souls of
The Goon Show
and Monty Python, takes on
such a life of its own – the rocket-like pace all but makes up for a nearly
two-hour film of a one-hour idea. Smart then to set the majority of the film
(after a hysterical history lesson) in swinging 1968 London – complete with
stereotypical tea-drinking, bad-toothed and altogether eccentric Poms on
plain display (even The Queen cops a bit of ribbing). With not one stone left
unturned and the fine line of danger and humour danced with immense
confidence,
Minions
’ true success is the little yellow critters themselves.
Voiced brilliantly by director Coffin (in some pseudo African/French hybrid
of nonsense), they are a non-stop bath of tear away innocence and silliness
that’s so naughty and infectious, it can’t but make the most cynical person
guffaw at least once. Overlong running time aside, this will no doubt
become a home release sensation with little ditties here, and be paused
and replayed for many, many years to come.
Chris Murray
INSIDE OUT
Growing up is hard. Watching a film about it, however, is enjoyable.
Inside
Out
takes you inside the mind of twelve-year-old Riley and her (quite literally)
conflicting emotions; Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader),
Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). Disney/Pixar are the only
ones who could have made this work. Superficially,
Inside Out
is “emotions
inside a girl’s head”, but it tugs at the heartstrings in the way the best animated
features do, and you’ll be quickly relating to these cartoon emotions as real
characters. The film also reinforces how crucial emotions are to everyday life.
You let Joy take control, and most of your days are happy. Sadness can turn
even your happiest of memories into ones you never want to relive. Fear will
keep you safe from electrical cords, while Disgust makes sure you stay away
from broccoli pizza. And of course, Anger helps you bring out your inner hot-
head when things don’t quite go your way. Disney/Pixar titles are renowned
for their unique ability to appeal to both younger and older audiences, and this
one fits the bill perfectly. The young ones will love the cute animation, while
adults will appreciate the very real emotional depth. And don’t arrive late – the
opening short,
Lava
, is also worth the price of admission, with a song that will
be stuck in your head for days after.
Alesha Kolbe
RELEASED:
July 2
DIRECTOR:
Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin
CAST:
Sandra Bullock,
Michael Keaton, Jon Hamm
RATING:
PG
RELEASED:
Now Showing
DIRECTOR:
Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen
CAST:
Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black
RATING:
G
RATING KEY:
Wow!
Good
Not bad
Meh Woof!
MAGIC MIKE XXL
Now retired and in fear of his once amazing and world-famous mind eroding
away, Sherlock Holmes decides to pen a memoir reflecting truth rather than
the embellished tales he’s famous for. Yet his housekeeper’s young son has
other ideas. Dripping with visual grandeur and a quiet, rich and deep quality
of pace we seldom see on a big screen, this is a must for fans of classic
BBC fare. McKellen, born to play Holmes as we all know, floats like velvet
on glass in this clever and engaging examination of aging, death, regret and
old dogs learning new tricks, whilst sharing wisdom and prose we hunger for
in the CGI world. As Holmes warms to the inquisitive young Roger (Parker),
he also begins to challenge his own flickering memory of his last ‘case’ that
broke his spirit, and indeed heart. From Japan to esoteric instruments and
the ability to converse with dead memories, we’re led into a journey with
unique sadness and intrigue. An equal metaphor for misunderstood evil
versus innocence via his love of beekeeping (no, really) ensures you could do
far worse than see this powerfully simple slice of filmmaking. You’ll leave the
cinema reflecting with a smile, and perhaps even a tear, that the powers that
be didn’t make enough ‘Holmes’ fixtures with McKellen up front. One can
only hope they get a wriggle on and change this fact.
Chris Murray
RELEASED:
July 23
DIRECTOR:
Bill Condon
CAST:
Ian McKellen, Laura Linney,
Milo Parker
RATING:
CTC
Now running his own custom furniture business, the subdued Mike runs
into his old stripping pals and spontaneously decides to don the thong and
embark on one last road trip to a stripping convention. No, this is really
the plot! Lacking any of the self-referential in-your-face parody or cutting
social commentary evident in Verhoeven’s
Showgirls
, MMXXL’s script
outline appears to have been written on a bar napkin, misplaced, and then
re-written from memory some months later on a small Post-It: “Mike
takes off pants, again.” While this may indeed be a scintillating prospect
to behold for those so inclined, the fact it takes around 120 mins for this
complex ideal to unfold is akin to realising Godot may have been taking
the piss. Of course, as our hero hooks up with his fave melting pot of
mid-life crisis male entertainers, it’s clear we’re on an existential journey
into the secret world of men’s business, right? Channing Tatum is a reliable
and delightful actor with natural comedic talent and an enticing cinematic
presence, and yes, he can move his body. We only hope he got paid
enough here to buy that new house he always wanted. The same people
who go, ‘Whooo!’ for no reason when drunk on a hen’s night will love the
school eisteddfod-esque finale. Whooo!
Chris Murray
RELEASED:
July 9
DIRECTOR:
Gregory Jacobs
CAST:
Channing Tatum, Joe
Manganiello, Matt Bomer
RATING:
R16
MR. HOLMES
