The LTLF Film Thread (sponsored by FBS!)

[T.B.T.]

Watched the two Kingsman films last night and tonight.

Thought they were fucking brilliant

I’ve loved the first Kingsman films too.

The third one was rather different. I liked it but not as much. It didn’t seem to have the same tongue-in-cheek element that was so refreshing in the two previous. Taron Egerton and Colin Firth are both amazing.

 

[Col]

I thought the first Kingsman was the best one. Elton John was surprisingly funny in the second!

 

[Viktor]

I’ve loved the first Kingsman films too.

The third one was rather different. I liked it but not as much. It didn’t seem to have the same tongue-in-cheek element that was so refreshing in the two previous. Taron Egerton and Colin Firth are both amazing.

I thought about staying up to watch the third one last night but I decided against it when I saw it looked like a prequel. It's next week's watch sorted at least

I googled it after and those rumour sites suggest that another one with Eggsy will start filming soon, but I'm not sure how trustworthy they are. Got me fingers crossed though!

 

[FBS]

Unplugging​

To revive their marriage and reconnect, a couple takes a self-prescribed digital detox weekend to a remote mountain town. What starts as a perfect weekend getaway without technology quickly spirals out of control.

You can see why this film exists. It wants to shine a light on the fact that most of us are so addicted to our phones or tablets or whatever technology we use that we aren’t seeing the destruction it is doing to our own lives and those around us. Of course, a comedy is never going to do a deep dive into anything like that sort of psychoanalytical processes. Instead, Unplugging sort of pokes and prodes a little bit as to saying “Hey, you’re on your phone too much. Enjoy your surroundings and pick your head up.” But then the film doesn’t really do it with any great gusto either. Early on, we see Jeanine is addicted to technology because that is the way she is wired due to her work. Her husband has the epiphany to unplug and go off grid for a weekend. So really the film is mainly pushing the narrative that it is the female, the workaholic female that is addicted to technology. Not the husband. Not the teenager daughter they have. But the 40-something woman. It’s a strange angle to come at. And it’s one that doesn’t really work either. It all feels very forced to have Jeanine be the main focus when in fact Dan, the husband, is just as bad early on in the film. Once in the middle of nowhere you know exactly what is going to happen for the rest of the film. There is no great surprises when they can’t get a phone reception and then things start to go a bit weird and away from the actual premise of technology detox into a survival comedy. It’s a change and a half for the film and one that is probably the best part of the film because both Eva Longoria, who plays Jeanine, and Matt Walsh, who plays Dan, actually get to do some comedy, some slapstick comedy at that. It’s just a shame the film leaves it so late in the day.

The finale third of the film is pretty good and I did laugh several times. But the rest of the film seems to be trying to hammer home a point about addition to technology and actually failing at it. Of course, it isn’t lost on me that we are watching this film about technology addiction via a digital streaming service via our tablets or mobile apps. The film really isn’t the best, but there are some funny moments.

 

[FBS]

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande​

Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow, is yearning for some adventure, human connection and some sex… good sex.

This film looks & feels very much like a play. It mainly has two people in a hotel room throughout it’s runtime. Yet, there is something very not play-like about how the film is. I think that’s down to its human nature aspect of things, in that we enjoy watching Nancy and/or Leo not in the throws of sex but rather in the wider discussions that they have about life and love and being over the hill once you pass 42-years-old (That’s what Nancy says in the film). Yes, this is an intimate film but it is dealing with some very big subjects. It’s focussing on Nancy’s want to have sex with someone who isn’t her husband (he passed away many years ago), yet she is nervous because it is so out of her comfort zone. There are times when you feel for Nancy because she is so afraid of taking that next step. There are times where Nancy makes you angry because she is holding herself back. And there are times when you feel that connection with everything Nancy is saying about losing sight of what she, and humans in general, need – which is pleasure. No matter what sort of pleasure, humans need pleasure to make us feel happy and fulfilled. Nancy feels like she hasn’t really experienced that. So this film is hitting some high notes when it comes to talking about pleasurable things.

Its also treading into the waters of sex workers. Leo Grande is a sex worker. Which could be a sticky subject to focus on. Yet, writer Katy Brand and director Sophie Hyde do it from a sort of fun and entertaining view point, yet very much rooted in the real world. Leo is a very confident young man, but not too confident. He isn’t afraid to say he is a sex worker and that he enjoys what he does. However, as Nancy starts to peel back the layers of Leo we start to uncover some dark secrets he has. So while the first half of the film is a buoyant upbeat comedy about sex and sexual repression. The second half is about not lying to yourself and to others. To finding who you truly are. Once again, this film is asking, and answering, some big questions on a couple of big subjects.

I think both Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack are absolutely brilliant in the lead roles. They make such an entertaining duo. Thompson’s skittish Nancy is the polar opposite to the supremely confident Leo. Yet, that’s what makes this duo so engaging to watch. Opposites attract as they say.

So here we have a film about pleasure and how women of a certain age and beyond are seen as over the hill and can do without pleasure. Yet, this film is saying No! everyone needs pleasure no matter your age. It’s a hugely entertaining and fun movie with a very emotional message at the heart of it.

 

[Alf-engelos Mindminackers]

Yo, @FBS, have you seen this bad boy? And if so what are your thoughts on it?

 

[FBS]

Yo, @FBS, have you seen this bad boy? And if so what are your thoughts on it?

Never heard of it. Clearly not been re-assessed over the years since Hammil became a known face/voice.

You seen it?

Sent from my SM-G996B using Tapatalk

 

[FBS]

The Black Phone​

After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer’s previous victims.

The director, Scott Derrickson, has worked most of his film career in horror. Possibly his best film was Sinister back in 2012. If you were a fan of that film then I think you are going to like The Black Phone as it feels very much like a sort of sister movie. It’s not full-blown horror, it’s more the sense of unease and general creepiness that makes this film, and most of Derrickson’s previous films, have that slightly eerie edge to them. This film is set in the late 1970s and very much plays on the fear and paranoia that was around at that time. Not just nationally with things like serial killers making the front pages of the news, but also locally with those scare stories that many of us heard about the local bogeyman or something similar. So this film ramps up that tension from back in the day and does a really fine job of making it slowly creep into the film. So rather than this be a straight-up horror, it’s very much dealing with paranoia and the themes of dread and fear. It is smartly done from that angle.

The genuine scares come from The Grabber, as he is known here, as we only see him occasionally at first and when he does finally snatch Finney it is done in such a way that it genuinely made me scared. It never felt anything less than very real. From then on the film keeps The Grabber are arms-length for a lot of the film. He sort of appears every so often in a variety of truly horrifying masks that even the guys behind The League of Gentlemen would be proud of. What really go to me was the disconnected phone being used as an instrument of communication. So the film is very much playing in the supernatural realm here. Those first few times when it rings and there is no-one on the other end and then… finally… someone answers back to Finney. Scary stuff. But not gruesome scary, just chilling scary.

So if you are coming to this for some jump scares and being frightened about what is in the basement/upstairs in the attic, then I think you’ll be disappointed because it doesn’t do those things. Instead it plays on very real, very genuine fears of children being snatched straight off the street, and it does this during a time period when paranoia was at an all-time high. It’s a clever little horror/thriller.

 

[FBS]

Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest​

Kim Cannon Arm is determined to beat the world record for playing an arcade game non-stop. He has set his sights on playing Gyruss, the 1980s arcade game, for 100 hours.

This film confused me a bit as I thought it was a documentary for a long time. In fact, it is a scripted comedy drama shot very much like a documentary. It mixes real-life arcade history and game pioneers with the story at hand. It is an interesting and thought-provoking piece of filmmaking in that regard.

But what is the actual story like? Well, it is pretty fun. We meet Kim Cannon Arm, a wire-y, older man who just loves hanging out at the arcade and playing games. He has a bunch of friends who do the same and they seem the very definition of classic arcade nerds (in a positive way). There is lots of chatter about breaking the record and they even talk about the real world title holder Billy Mitchell. Lots of jokes and then some strategic planning for how they can keep Cannon Arm standing for 100 hours. I loved the ideas they threw about including making him continuously walk on a slow-moving running machine (it was decline). The guys really put a lot into the ideas and then devising the plan on how to best utilise their confirmed ideas.

So the whole film is building and building and building. While at the same time you get to know Cannon Arm a bit better. We see his life, not that there is much to it. We also see his influences as well. There is even a history section for the arcade games that he grew up with. It is quite the well-rounded character description that the film offers.

Of course, everyone is waiting for the start of the world record attempt. I won’t say how it goes because that would spoil it. I will say this: I still thought it was a genuine documentary even towards the end and I was getting pumped up at the excitement of the attempt.

I enjoyed this film, even if it did fox me by being a faux documentary that looks and feels like a real documentary. Certainly one for the gamers, and also probably for those that like a bit of something with human emotion rippling through.

 

[FBS]

The Survivor​

During World War II, Harry Haft was a boxer who fought against his peers in concentration camps. Years later, and haunted by his memories, he tries to use fighting boxing legends as a way to find his love.

Excuse the pun here: This film packs a heck of a punch. However, not in the way you would expect a boxing film to. Yes, the boxing matches between Haft and some of the iconic boxers are heavy hitting scenes. And yes, the boxing matches in the concentration camps are horrible to watch, just plain horrible. Yet, the real punches thrown here are the struggles of Haft having to deal with his memories of what he did, actually was forced to do, in those camps to some of his fellow prisoners of war. This is where the film is absolutely brilliant and absolutely heart-breaking as well. We watch as Haft tries to deal with these memories all by himself. There was no talking about mental health back in the 1950s and 1960s, especially not amongst men and especially not amongst big, burly men who could look like they could hold their own. So we see Haft struggling internally with these demons every single day. He does find the love of a woman who tries to help him but he is closed off to her from all of that. He just will not open up. So this film has a lot to say about physical and emotional scares that are left on a person long after the events and those who perpetrated them have disappeared from this world. The film is very much an advocate for getting help no matter what your situation is or your standing in society. It’s such an important story in that regard regardless of the boxing.

However, the boxing is tough in the film especially the scenes in the concentration camp. Those really turned my stomach. But I’m pleased they were kept in because they give you a greater sense of what Haft was going through at the time and then years later. The reason this film is so emotionally raw is because of the sensational performance by Ben Foster as Harry Haft. Yes, it will invoke memories of De Niro in Raging Bull with the weight loss and then the weight gain. But this is an altogether different performance. This is one of having a steely exterior but a very soft interior, yet that cannot be shown. Foster pours everything into this performance. He really is one of, if not THE, most underrated actors of this generation. He is sensational here.

This is the type of film that someone like Sidney Lumet would have made back in the 70s. A touching drama about toxic masculinity and it’s increasing expectations on a boxer like Harry Haft. A classic film made in the modern era. Simply excellent from start to finish.

 

[Alf-engelos Mindminackers]

Had a night out with the wench watching Maverick last night. Most enjoyable modern film I've seen in ages.


Topgun: Maverick

The Good

- This has some truly great action. There wasn't one single second where CGI or any such bollocks took me out of it, it was just some really creative and exciting balls-to-the-wall stuff. They strike a superb balance of mixing highly improbable moments with enough reasonably possible ones to hit that really sweet spot between fantastical fantasy and believable reality.

SPOILER = A Bit More About the How The End Mission Is More Realistic Than You May Think: "That whole mission at the end, every segment of that mission is things that I do routinely and what pilots do routinely in F-18s on a regular basis," says former senior instructor Dave Berke. "This includes the low-level ingress (to avoid radar), the high-G pop, the really high climb acceleration, the rolling on your back, the high-G turn, etc. Berke says that rolling the plane on its back to transfer from nose up to nose down is a necessary maneuver to avoid a high dose of negative g-force, which, unlike positive g-force, the body cannot be trained to tolerate. /SPOILER END

- To extend the above point, they make a really top job of emphasizing the effect that partaking in some of these maneuvers has on the body physically. This adds a whole other layer of weight and tension to the action scenes, and makes you feel them even more.

- From around the mid-point of the film the whole thing is pretty fantastic. A really tightly packed and well woven feel-good action film which just gets better and better as it progresses, hitting it's highest point at the very end. You will come away from this with a buzz on and wanting to boot up Afterburner 2 on your Megadrive. The ways it nostalgically nods back to the first film towards the end both fits great and is fairly clever too.

- It's got a brill soundtrack and score. Not only do we get some classic tunes from bygone eras, but the score itself is used incredibly well throughout to great emotional effect. They do frontload the classic movie tunes though, but that said it's only noticeable when analyzing not watching.

- And it hits all the right emotional notes too, managing to find a great balance of them being impactful yet not too soppy either. It knows it's a disposable popcorn movie, and it doesn't forget that the feel-good factor needs a blend of seriousness and silly elements to work here.

- The SJW agenda is as thin as I've seen in a modern movie for ages. No political angles ever feel rammed down your throat.

The Bad

- The start of the first act is a bit flat and, unsurprisingly, feels a bit too recycled. It's still OK but the dialogue isn't particularly great and, whilst some of that dialogue is clearly needed to setup later scenes, watching those scenes in isolation can feel a bit lacking.

- The bar scene where we meet at the new Topguns is limp. They have the right idea, egos jostling for attention and social rank, but it's not particularly well executed with some of the banter a bit "I am rubber, you are glue".

- The romance feels lame. It kinda needed to be in there to give Maverick some weight to his situation, but the way it's handled isn't particularly interesting.

- A fair few of the supporting cast lean towards caricatures of what they represent, and feel a bit plastic at times. When the action is occurring it's forgotten, but their dialogue scenes can feel a touch too cartoony.

The Fanny
I didn't expect much as it's a testosterone fueled film like the first was, but - whilst still shaggable - the women we do get are a bit plain and not very memorable either. It doesn't really affect the film, but if they'd have had some genuine hotties here then I would probably have really fell in love with the thing.

Overall
It's dumb fun and as good as modern Hollywood gets. It did take a while to get going and the secondary elements are a bit mediocre at times, but they absolutely nail what the core of such a film is meant to be about, and from the mid-point onwards it's a masterclass in delivering well-paced rollercoaster action and emotions which leave you on a high. Definitely a film to watch at the cinema too.

4/5

 

[Alf-engelos Mindminackers]

Never heard of it. Clearly not been re-assessed over the years since Hammil became a known face/voice.

You seen it?

Sent from my SM-G996B using Tapatalk

Not yet dude, but I'll be partaking as soon as I can get a hold of it though I'm trying to de-condition the wife from all the cookie-cutter, processed crap the likes of Disney are churning out now, so I'm doing that with B-movies from previous decades and lesser known films, so this will fit in nicely.

 

[Rosie]

Hi. Has anyone seen the recent version of Dune, but also read the book(s)?

I have bought the Blu-ray reduced in Asda, and was wondering whether it’s a ‘read the book then watch the film’ or ‘it doesn’t really matter’ scenario. I admit to having tried and failed to get into the book, and have given up on a couple of occasions, but I’m prepared to give it another go - it’s a ‘sci-fi classic’, why don’t I ‘get’ it? Or should I just watch the film and save some weeks of my life by not trying to get my head around the book?

Any advice gratefully received!

 

[Strummer]

Hi. Has anyone seen the recent version of Dune, but also read the book(s)?

I have bought the Blu-ray reduced in Asda, and was wondering whether it’s a ‘read the book then watch the film’ or ‘it doesn’t really matter’ scenario. I admit to having tried and failed to get into the book, and have given up on a couple of occasions, but I’m prepared to give it another go - it’s a ‘sci-fi classic’, why don’t I ‘get’ it? Or should I just watch the film and save some weeks of my life by not trying to get my head around the book?

Any advice gratefully received!

I have read all the books: the new film is effectively the first half of the first book (just titled „Dune“).

You don’t have to have read the books, but you will enjoy the film more if you have read (at least) the first book as then you’ll understand the political subterfuge that weaves through the plot, and know who the characters are.

 

[Rosie]

I have read all the books: the new film is effectively the first half of the first book (just titled „Dune“).

You don’t have to have read the books, but you will enjoy the film more if you have read (at least) the first book as then you’ll understand the political subterfuge that weaves through the plot, and know who the characters are.

Hi. Thanks for this - I am usually a book first person, because I enjoy seeing if the director comes up with something similar to what I have imagined whilst reading. I hope that I will appreciate Dune more now that I am way, way older than I was last time I picked it up - those 5* reviews on Amazon can’t all be false! The Kindle edition is now loaded and ready - 99p, bargain!

Thanks again.

 

[Blinkin]

Hi. Has anyone seen the recent version of Dune, but also read the book(s)?

I have bought the Blu-ray reduced in Asda, and was wondering whether it’s a ‘read the book then watch the film’ or ‘it doesn’t really matter’ scenario. I admit to having tried and failed to get into the book, and have given up on a couple of occasions, but I’m prepared to give it another go - it’s a ‘sci-fi classic’, why don’t I ‘get’ it? Or should I just watch the film and save some weeks of my life by not trying to get my head around the book?

Any advice gratefully received!

As @Strummer says you will get more out of the movie by reading the books. Their are just subtle nuances and quirks of the characters that are hard to put on the screen and some good parts that they simply can't fit into a movie also. All the ones by Frank Herbert are class. Now the ones that his son co-wrote with another guy I didn't have much fun with, but maybe you will if you get to to them.

I've also told people before that I think reading the Game of Thrones books before watching the show displays imo at least that the books are better(Imo).

 

[Rosie]

As @Strummer says you will get more out of the movie by reading the books. Their are just subtle nuances and quirks of the characters that are hard to put on the screen and some good parts that they simply can't fit into a movie also. All the ones by Frank Herbert are class. Now the ones that his son co-wrote with another guy I didn't have much fun with, but maybe you will if you get to to them.

Hi. Thanks for your insight. I agree - part of the fun seeing a film based on a book is how the director has to adapt it to get hundreds of pages on screen in a couple of hours of runtime. One that really worked for me was Ridley Scott’s The Martian, which I absolutely loved both on screen and Andy Weir’s book. I thought Scott’s use of the cameras/Mark’s daily ‘journal’ was a brilliant solution to how you film someone’s internal monologue! I’ve got Andy Weir’s Artemis lined up on my to-be-read list, and hopefully that will be filmed one day. I love his style of writing and humour.

I've also told people before that I think reading the Game of Thrones books before watching the show displays imo at least that the books are better(Imo).

Now, Game of Thrones. That whole phenomenon completely passed me by, so I think I’m going to have to set aside some months of my retirement (in about 15 years!) to get started on the series!

 

[Strummer]

Hi. Thanks for your insight. I agree - part of the fun seeing a film based on a book is how the director has to adapt it to get hundreds of pages on screen in a couple of hours of runtime. One that really worked for me was Ridley Scott’s The Martian, which I absolutely loved both on screen and Andy Weir’s book. I thought Scott’s use of the cameras/Mark’s daily ‘journal’ was a brilliant solution to how you film someone’s internal monologue! I’ve got Andy Weir’s Artemis lined up on my to-be-read list, and hopefully that will be filmed one day. I love his style of writing and humour.

Now, Game of Thrones. That whole phenomenon completely passed me by, so I think I’m going to have to set aside some months of my retirement (in about 15 years!) to get started on the series!

Artemis, I didn’t enjoy as much as I enjoyed The Martian (I also thought Sir Ridley‘s adaptation for the screen was brilliant).

However I thought Project Hail Mary, Weir‘s third book, was excellent.

 

[Trents]

Artemis, I didn’t enjoy as much as I enjoyed The Martian (I also thought Sir Ridley‘s adaptation for the screen was brilliant).

However I thought Project Hail Mary, Weir‘s third book, was excellent.

Yes the Martian is as good an adaption as I can think of. I would certainly advise the book as a read though, especially if interested in a lot of the geeky sciencey workings and reasonings behind a lot of what is going on. Stuff they wouldn't have time to flesh out in the film.

 

[Blinkin]

Artemis, I didn’t enjoy as much as I enjoyed The Martian (I also thought Sir Ridley‘s adaptation for the screen was brilliant).

However I thought Project Hail Mary, Weir‘s third book, was excellent.

Deffo have to enjoy hard science or just science in general to like his books and I'm do like those things so like his books; all three are very well written.

Favorite science based authors of all time though are Poul Anderson and Ben Bova.

 

[Rosie]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I now have Project Hail Mary also waiting on my Kindle. Looking at the bumph on Amazon, it sounds intriguing and if it has anything like the same ‘feel’ as the Martian it’ll be right up my street.

 

[FBS]

Minions: The Rise of Gru​

The untold story of Gru and his dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain.

Minions really do rule the world. They are literally everywhere. I’m sure everyone owns at least one thing that has a Minion on it. You just can’t escape them. But where did them come from? That’s the question answered in The Rise of Gru. And I’m going to give a little spoiler here (I know e don’t usually do them but it doesn’t stop this scene being any less funny when you see it): Gru takes in the Minions as his henchmen because they simply turn up. That’s it they turn up and he lets them in because he needs some henchmen. I howled with laughed when that happened. But to be fair, I laughed consistently all the way through this anyway. It’s a really funny comedy that makes each joke count and when you laugh at the joke the next joke is spaced just far enough apart so you don’t miss the next one. It’s clever writing to keep the jokes that spaced apart without letting the energy drop.

So this film is a sequel to a prequel and a spin-off. Yeah, get your head around that. It’s also an origins story. So we meet Gru, who is eleven and three quarters, and he dreams of nothing but being the best supervillain. He worships a group known as the Vicious 6. He wants to be their leader but doesn’t make the cut. He then sets about forming his own alliance with the leader of the Vicious 6 who has been ousted in a coup. And you thought this film was just a basic comedy. Nooooo, there is a lot of sort of James Bond type stuff going on here. There is a secondary story about Stuart, Kevin and Bob who separate from Gru on a road trip and they learn Kung-Fu in-order to help their mini-boss (That’s what they call Gru. Which he hates) fight against the vicious 6. But then there is even more stuff just going on with other Minions and also with Gru. Basically the film is a non-stop entertainment ride that will have you laughing constantly. It’s incredibly colourful and the soundtrack is fantastic (The film is set in the 1970s so lots of funk and disco).

This film has the Minions get to do their thing while also helping Gru and there is a great Gru story at the centre of it that just overflows with hilarity. For my money, this is the best film in the franchise.

 

[FBS]

Morbius​

Biochemist Michael Morbius tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease, but he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism instead.

Here is another extension of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Only this time it is done via Sony Pictures who own the rights to a handful of Marvel properties including Spider-Man. So this film has a slightly different look & feel about it that the usual Marvel fare. The problem is that the look & feel is utterly dreadful here. The film is desperately trying to aim at an older market that the usual Marvel stuff. It’s trying to be darker and more gritty. It certainly is darker because I could hardly see anything half the time. It’s a film that is bathed in darkness, and not in a good way either. But the main problem with the film is that it lacks any killer punch. Michael Morbius just isn’t an interesting character here. He comes across as self-absorbed and unengaging and then that affects the entire film because you don’t really want to root for the guy because he is so uninteresting. You also don’t want to root for him when he turns into Morbius because ultimately Morbius is a bad guy. He is a villain with the Marvel universe. But this film tries to play him off as the good guy of the piece. Well, actually they still try to play him off as a bad guy but just not as bad as his arch rival, and long-time friend, Milo. So the film has two bad guys going at each other and you are meant to be on Morbius’s side more than the other one. To be honest, I literally didn’t care about either of them. They are both secondary characters in their own movie.

I think possibly another issue is that this film runs for only 104 minutes and in that time it is trying to do some many things in terms of setting out who Morbius who, where he fits in the MCU and what he is likely to do in the future alongside having his own storyline here. The film is too rushed all the way through. It’s like watching a film on fast forward. It also feels like an origin film that solely exists so they can shoehorn Morbius into a big MCU multi-character film in the future. It’s not its own beast if you will. It’s a desperate movie trying to find the characters place in the wider landscape and completely forgetting that it needs to find the character’s self before anything.

All in all, a pretty pointless film. If you want a proper comic book vampire movie then re-watch Blade. That’s the high watermark for not just comic book vampire movies but also within the MCU. That’s a brilliant film. Morbius isn’t.

 

[FBS]

Pompo The Cinephile​

A famous movie producer gives her young production assistant a chance to direct his first film.

Very much this film is in my wheelhouse. A film about making a film. That’s my type of film. Add to it that this is an Anime film out of Japan and it sort of ticks an extra box for me as I love a bit of Anime. So this film is rather nerdy/geeky shall we say. It’s very much an eye-catching piece because the colours in the film are very vivid and bright. Even the scenes in the boardroom or in the dark editing suite are still colourful. It’s a movie that is happy to bright & bold.

The storytelling is entertaining. The movie producer/director (for she does also direct some films) is a livewire. She is constantly on the move making all sorts of films. She never sits still. Once one movie is released then she onto the next project. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her buzz around the place. Which is the opposite to her young production assistant who is quiet, unassuming and works at a bit of a slow pace. He just isn’t sure of himself either. So when he is offering the directing job it brings with it the highs of being asked, but also the lows of is he able to do it. Which I thought was rather interesting to include because the film, while the focus is about film, its also about being the best you can be and taking those chances because you never know if you will succeed or not. It’s a story about talent rising to the top. Regardless of self-doubt, when they put their minds to something then they believe they can achieve it. It is a very positive message to have.

Just to go back to the main idea of a big producer giving a young assistant a shot at producing. Well, as expected this is lifted directly from real life because through the decades many producers/directors have given those who have worked for them a shot at actually directing a movie. Possibly most famously has been Roger Corman, the king of the B-movies, give directing opportunities to people like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. So the story is actually playing on real actions.

As an Anime goes, this isn’t the most stand-out of them. However, as a film lovers… or should that be cinephile’s movie goes then this is a lovely piece of work.

 

[Rosie]

Minions: The Rise of Gru​

The untold story of Gru and his dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain.

Minions really do rule the world. They are literally everywhere. I’m sure everyone owns at least one thing that has a Minion on it. You just can’t escape them. But where did them come from? That’s the question answered in The Rise of Gru. And I’m going to give a little spoiler here (I know e don’t usually do them but it doesn’t stop this scene being any less funny when you see it): Gru takes in the Minions as his henchmen because they simply turn up. That’s it they turn up and he lets them in because he needs some henchmen. I howled with laughed when that happened. But to be fair, I laughed consistently all the way through this anyway. It’s a really funny comedy that makes each joke count and when you laugh at the joke the next joke is spaced just far enough apart so you don’t miss the next one. It’s clever writing to keep the jokes that spaced apart without letting the energy drop.

So this film is a sequel to a prequel and a spin-off. Yeah, get your head around that. It’s also an origins story. So we meet Gru, who is eleven and three quarters, and he dreams of nothing but being the best supervillain. He worships a group known as the Vicious 6. He wants to be their leader but doesn’t make the cut. He then sets about forming his own alliance with the leader of the Vicious 6 who has been ousted in a coup. And you thought this film was just a basic comedy. Nooooo, there is a lot of sort of James Bond type stuff going on here. There is a secondary story about Stuart, Kevin and Bob who separate from Gru on a road trip and they learn Kung-Fu in-order to help their mini-boss (That’s what they call Gru. Which he hates) fight against the vicious 6. But then there is even more stuff just going on with other Minions and also with Gru. Basically the film is a non-stop entertainment ride that will have you laughing constantly. It’s incredibly colourful and the soundtrack is fantastic (The film is set in the 1970s so lots of funk and disco).

This film has the Minions get to do their thing while also helping Gru and there is a great Gru story at the centre of it that just overflows with hilarity. For my money, this is the best film in the franchise.

I am SO glad you have posted this! I can’t wait for Tuesday (first weekday off so I can go and see it) and I’m glad to know that it’s a good film. I am not in the target age group - miss that by a couple of decades! I’m also a sucker for the merchandising - stick a minion on something and I’m there!

Looking forward to seeing it.