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026

JULY 2015

JB Hi-Fi

www.jbhifi.com.au

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

visit

www.stack.net.au

REVIEWS

CINEMA

RELEASED:

Now Showing

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:

PG

RATING KEY:

Wow!

Good

Not bad

Meh Woof!

MAGIC MIKE XXL

Our favourite bear’s recent nuptials descend into a nightmare when Ted tries

for a kid, only to find out he may indeed not be classified as a ‘real person’ in

the eyes of the law. Only a dope smoking lawyer can help him now! Yes, the

ultimate swear bear is back, but can he live up to his antics when Hollywood’s

most hated and loved stick-poker, Seth MacFarlane, is clearly having trouble

extending his machine gun humour into feature-length offerings? The simple

answer is yes, and um, no. The genius of

Ted

was MacFarlane simply waxing

lyrical via a fluffy, porn-obsessed stoner child’s toy. When on fire, this can be

gut-wrenchingly funny. And here, witnessing Ted throwing full cups of sperm,

debating on his Thunderbuddy’s obscure porn collection or driving a car like

a ratbag, it’s a full steam laugh-athon. That MacFarlane all but inserts fade-

to-black commercial breaks, and the film hits mountainous lulls amongst the

frivolity, suggests this could have been an amazing TV series unto itself. Hey,

who knows – your move, funny man. Oh yes, there’s a plot involving numerous

lawyers, Morgan Freeman, Roger from

Mad Men,

and the return of the Tiffany-

loving ‘Donnie’ – all culminating at New York’s Comic-Con. But don’t let that

interfere too much with the fart, boob, porn, n-word, Bill Cosby and Robin

Williams gags, and you’ll certainly have a solid giggle.

Chris Murray

RELEASED:

Now Showing

DIRECTOR:

Seth MacFarlane

CAST:

Mark Wahlberg,

Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried

RATING:

MA15+

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:

MA15+

TED 2

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