Ed's Review Dot Com

Illumination Entertainment,

Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan, Pierre Coffin

In this prequel to the Despicable Me films, we go back to the very beginning of time to see the creation of the minions. Since prehistoric times, the Minions have sought to help the most despicable criminals of the time, whether it be a T-rex or the Abominable Snowman, but it never seemed to work out for them until they met Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock). She has some great plans to use the Minions to help her become the baddest bad guy of all times.

This documentary feature shows how the minions got started. It’s a very cute movie, and I found I really enjoyed this film much more than the actual Despicable Me films. At least much more than the second one. I think because my favorite parts of the main films were the Minions to begin with. This movie introduces us to three special minions who are chosen to go out into the world and find a new bad guy to support. We get to meet Kevin, Stuart, and Bob, three special guys each with their own talents and personalities. I think this is what made this movie so enjoyable. They have a special bond, and are really funny. There’s a lot of things in this film that made it a lot of fun to watch. Sandra Bullock’s character is a bit over the top, but not as insane perhaps as Dru. Basically I was totally entertained by this movie, and I thought it was very well done. Certainly the story was interesting and very much fun. The kids will love it, but the adults in the group should have fun as well. I think they did an excellent job on this film, and I recommend it as one of the better animated films of the summer.

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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Chernin Entertainment, Dune Entertainment,

Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Taran Killam, Kaitlin Olson, Thomas F. Wilson, Michael Rapaport, Bill Burr, Demián Bichir, Tony Hale

Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is an uptight FBI agent who is sent to Boston to track down a ruthless drug lord. While there, she is partnered with Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) a loud mouthed, reckless, and crude Boston cop. The two are like oil and water as they team up to go after the bad guys while really irritating the heck out of each other in this extremely funny “buddy cop” movie.

I was impressed with how funny this movie really was. I didn’t expect too much when watching a movie like this, and expected it to be a bit on the corny side, but it actually was very funny. The situations as well as the jokes were really good, and this movie had a lot of heart. These two really worked well together, and they played off each other masterfully. The script is really fresh. The movie was filmed in Boston, and the location added a lot to the enjoyment of the movie. It’s fast paced, very clever, and great fun. This is one of the best roles Sandra has played in a long while, and Melissa can be overwhelming sometimes, but she was very good in this movie.

The only downside for some people is that there is a lot of foul language in the movie. This can be annoying to people who don’t appreciate that language, but it is funny. Otherwise, it’s a pretty non-offensive film. The R rating is probably mostly due to the language. If you are in the mood for a really good side splitting comedy, this is certainly a good one. I recommend it, aside from the constant stream of expletives, mostly from Ms. McCarthy.

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Warner Bros., Esperanto Filmoj, Heyday Films,

Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer who has signed on to the space program to continue her work when her grant was cut. She is partnered with Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) who is an old timer, with lots of experience as an astronaut, and an attitude to boot. Alone with a third engineer, they are working to repair an experiment on the Hubbel Space Telescope when they are struck by space debris and knocked free of the satellite and flying untethered freely through space.

This is an absolutely stunning movie. One of the reviewers said that anyone could have played the roles of Ryan and Matt and it would still be a great movie. That was my thoughts exactly too, as I watched this film in 3D. But we’re lucky that they spent the money to get Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, since that only makes it even better. But there is absolutely no arguing that the view is the absolute star of this film. There’s a lot of suspense, and, frankly speaking, some far out ideas of how to move the plot forward, which is all well and good, but it’s certainly the views of the various space vehicles, sunrise and sunset from space, and the views of the Earth that are stunningly beautiful. I was blown away by the simplicity and the beauty of this movie, and it was a surreal experience to see it on a big screen in 3-D.

I remember as a small boy, sitting in the Buhl Planetarium on the North Side of Pittsburgh, watching the stars projected on the screen way above our heads. This was a memory that has stayed with me for 50 years. This film is the same kind of feeling. You don’t have to keep up with the dialog, as there isn’t a lot. Mostly poor Ryan talking to herself to keep her sanity. When Matt asks her what she likes the most about her first trip into space, her reply is simply, “The Silence”. The absolute silence of outer space is awesome. But simple scenes of these two flying across the sky with billions of stars in the sky is simply breath taking. This is certainly a special experience, and one that I’m really glad I didn’t miss. I really loved it, and will not soon forget the feeling of seeing this on a big screen in spectacular 3D. I would highly recommend watching this on a big screen if at all possible. It was a wonderful film.

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Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures,

Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, James Gandolfini, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, Max von Sydow, Zoe Caldwell, Stephen McKinley Henderson

Oskar Schell(Thomas Horn) is a very talented little boy. He’s an amateur inventor and is very smart, and very close to his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) who tells him stories of interesting adventures. One of his stories is about a mysterious 6th borough of New York that disappeared. Oskar’s Dad was killed in the 9-11 disaster and Oskar begins a downward spiral as he struggles to deal with the loss. But when he finds a mysterious key, he is certain there is a message that his Dad left for him, and he sets out on a quest to solve the mystery and find the secret message his Dad left for him. In the process he meets a lot of interesting people and is not only touched by them, but leaves his mark on them as well in this tale of loss and sorrow following one of our nation’s most horrible and tragic events.

This is a fairly unusual film. I felt it could have been a lot better, but I do have to give credit to the filmmakers for trying to do a film about this historical event, as there have not been much written about the aftermath of the tragedy. I was definitely anxious to see this DVD, but I was quite a bit disappointed. I am not sure what the biggest problem was. It should have been really emotional and touching, but it wasn’t. The characters were flat and one dimensional. There wasn’t a lot of heart, and I don’t feel like it really touched me. The ending didn’t make any sense at all to me, and I don’t want to say anything that will give it away, but when the mystery is “solved” I had no idea what they were talking about. I’m just not sure what the message or meaning of this film was supposed to be. I liked the story of Oskar trying to deal with the loss of his father, but then it spun off on this tangent that seemed to keep Oskar busy but didn’t seem to take the audience anywhere. I didn’t hate this, but I just didn’t feel much at all about it. When it was over, I just sort of shrugged my shoulders and said, “Oh well”. It’s not a story that stayed with me, nor did I think much more about it. Disappointing effort.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog