Review: Minions

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★

It’s tough to successfully pull off a spinoff film of secondary characters from an already popular movie franchise. The cute and loveable Minions from the “Despicable Me” films seem like a prime candidate for their own standalone film since they’re arguably the most loved part of the films, especially with the kids. No kid walks around quoting Gru, but even full grown adults walk around quoting – or at least attempting to – quote the Minions. Their own film “Minions” does succeed at standing on its own, and there’s really no other word to describe the film other than cute.

“Minions” shows us where these little creatures came from. They’ve been on the planet since the dawn of time. If you’ve seen the trailer, they’ve already covered the entire back-story so let’s skip that part. The Minions find themselves without a boss to serve, and without a boss they don’t know what to do. One Minion, Kevin, gets the bright idea to go out searching for a new boss in order to save all the Minions. He is accompanied on his journey by two other Minions, Stuart and Bob. They set out and end up in New York in the late 1960s.

Once there, they set out to find a boss. They fall into the favor of the world’s greatest super villain Scarlett Overkill (Sandra Bullock) and her husband  Herb (Jon Hamm). Scarlett wants to be Queen of England and tasks the Minions with stealing the Queen’s crown. If they can get her the crown, she’ll reward them by allowing all the other Minions to come and work for her. If they fail, well, she’ll just have to destroy them. And since Minions are involved, we all know that shenanigans and hilarity ensue.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about “Minions” and I don’t take any real issue with anything in the film. It’s definitely a kid’s movie, first and foremost. Some movies, like the first two “Despicable Me” films, tend to be sprinkled with some adult humor to keep the parents laughing. That type of humor is missing from “Minions.” Director Pierre Coffin (creator of the Minions and “Despicable Me,” who also provides the voices for all the Minions) knows who in his audience loves the Minions and has made this film just for them.

A parent accompanying their kids to this film could find his or herself a little bored with the film, especially if they’re the type who finds the Minions annoying. But how can anyone hate the Minions? They’re the best part of “Despicable Me” and take center stage in this film. There’s just enough plot to move the story forward. It never falls victim to too much dead time or filler. It’s easy to follow so the adults to know what’s happening, but not so dense that the youngest viewers in the audience loose track or find themselves bored.

“Minions” doesn’t try to portray these guys any differently than in their early films. They’re the Minions. They have their own movie. And it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to be. If you love them, there’s nothing to dislike here. It’s a much simpler and more lighthearted story than “Despicable Me,” but this one’s for the kids. All they want to do is laugh every time a Minion opens his mouth to say something. “Minions” is 90 minutes of just that.

Review: Gravity

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★★

With so many movies opening every year – and an increasing amount of those films being remakes, reboots, sequels and franchise installments – its easy to see why so many people have become disillusioned with the state of cinema. The creative minds are migrating to television, and the studios are too hung up on the business side of filmmaking. What makes money these days? Comic book heroes, sequels to films that performed well during their initial run and remakes of films that weren’t even worthy of the celluloid on which they were originally filmed.

Yet, no one seems to embrace original ideas when they come around. That’s because original ideas don’t always appear that original in advertisements. Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón knows this. When it came time for him to make his latest film, “Gravity”, he needed to innovate in order to give audiences something they really have never seen before. The end product is something spectacular and truly original that will forever change filmmaking and the entire movie going experience.

In “Gravity”, astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is on his final mission into space to assist in the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. Making her first trip into orbit is biomedical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock). While working on the Hubble, they’re alerted by Mission Control in Houston that the Russians have test fired and anti-satellite missile into space. While the missile does what its intended to do, the debris from the satellite sets off a chain reaction of destruction, destroying everything around it. A debris field forms and starts racing around the earth.

The space shuttle is hit with debris and it’s destroyed leaving Kowalski and Stone stranded in orbit with no ride home. Not only that, but all communication satellites have been destroyed leaving no contact between Houston and the astronauts. Stone is left tumbling for several minutes until Kowalski finds her. He tethers them together and using his Manned Maneuvering Unit thruster pack, they make their way to the International Space Station hoping to use the Soyuz capsule on board in an effort to return home. Kowalski estimates they only have 90 minutes before the debris field completes its orbit of earth and comes back around to them.

What director Alfonso Cuarón has accomplished with “Gravity” is nothing short of spectacular. With this one film, Cuarón has single handily done away with the old confines of cinema, and has shown us how many endless possibilities this art has. In this current age, when films continue to rehash old ideas or are nothing more than franchise installments, “Gravity” comes along and puts all other filmmakers and studios on watch. It is the most innovative film to come along in years.

This is hardly Cuarón’s first time showing his innovative skillset; he was also the director of the 2006 sci-fi masterpiece “Children of Men” which showcased numerous sequences of long single-take shots. The shots last several minutes during highly choreographed action scenes. They’re not all done in one take, but everything is seamlessly integrated using the cameras, the film editing and CGI to make it look like one solid shot.

This has become Cuarón’s signature style. Not only does he bring that style into “Gravity”, he improves on it. There has been much study given to the initial shots in films, and the first shot in “Gravity” will be discussed and studied for years. By the time Cuarón makes his first cut, almost twenty minutes of screen time has ticked by and the second act has begun. It will also be the first time you’ve taken a breath since the film started.

This is the most visually striking and beautifully photographed film in this age of digital and 3D movies. There are more than enough movies opening these days that are unnecessarily presented in 3D. “Gravity” uses the possibilities of 3D technology to enhance the experience. There hasn’t been a better looking film since 3D became a big part of the movie going experience.

While a lot of the photography comes from visual effects, there is still a great deal of actual cinematography, courtesy of Emmanuel Lubezki who has worked with Cuarón before. Lubezki’s photography is integrated with massive amounts of visual effects. Combine that with the 3D and you truly feel that you’re not just watching this film, you’re right up there with them. This isn’t just a film; it’s an experience.

Cuarón wrote this film with his eldest son Jonás. While there may be a need to suspend your disbelief, this isn’t a film that’s supposed to be technically accurate. The screenplay is more about survival and trying to make it home. We’ve seen that particular story line numerous times before. Originality doesn’t come just from the storyline, but it also comes from setting. It would be terrifying to be stranded in any isolated area, but outer space? That’s unimaginable, except for Cuarón.

The tension created by this screenplay is unmatched. It’s only 90 minutes, yet its one tense moment after another for the entire duration. Even if you have a hard time empathizing with astronauts (since, lets be honest, how many of us have been – or will ever go – into space), the film still carries enough tension that could cause you to gnaw your fingernails right off.

Bullock is sensational in this role. It’s a film she does largely by herself and at times with very little dialogue. She shows us her fear and her isolation by the look in her eyes and her body language. She’s had many great roles in her career, but this might be her best. The screenplay gives us a little of her character’s backstory which helps to make her more relatable. That’s an attempt to bring out empathy toward characters in a profession and a setting none of us will ever see. Even without that backstory, Bullock still sells her character to the audience and pulls off this very challenging roll with great ease.

“Gravity” is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s a film that demands to be seen in 3D and on the largest screen possible. It transcends a typical movie going experience and takes you on a breathless and pulse pounding journey you’re sure to never forget. How “Gravity” will change filmmaking remains to be seen, but Cuarón has made sure something will be changing. 

Review: The Heat

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★

Its been way too long since we’ve had a good buddy cop movie. The “Lethal Weapon” series was great, and I – for one – miss those movies. We need another one, but that is unlikely to happen. Several different movies have tried to follow this formula, and most have failed. When I first saw the trailers for “The Heat” back in January (when it was originally slated to be released in April), I rolled my eyes and thought I knew exactly how this movie was going to play out. Knowing the formula to buddy cop movies, I was correct that I knew how it begin and end. Where I was wrong was just how good “The Heat” would actually be.

Sandra Bullock plays FBI Special Agent Sarah Asburn, a by the book agent who none of her colleagues like. She’s arrogant and a showoff. Suddenly, there’s a supervisor position open in her office that she thinks is right for her. Her boss Agent Hale (Demian Bichir) isn’t so sure since people despise her so much. She assigns her a case in Boston. If she can solve it, they’ll talk about the promotion.

Asburn is off to Boston where she meets up with Agent Levy (Marlon Wayans) who refers her to the local police department to look into some additional information. There, she meets Detective Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy). Mullins is quite the opposite of Asburn. Whereas Asburn is very by the books and follows all the teachings from the Academy, Mullins just wings it. She uses her brash personality to intimidate everyone she meets.

Asburn can’t work with Mullins; she’s the Oscar to her Felix. She tries to get Hale to force her out of the investigation, but Hale thinks Mullins can be a valued asset to the Bureau. She disagrees, but Hale insists that her willingness to work with a local cop will look really good when she tries to apply for the promotion.

The rest of “The Heat” follows that basic blueprint of a typical buddy-cop film like the “Lethal Weapon” movies. Even though it follows this formula, it doesn’t feel very generic; it feels like a true original, something that is completely lacking in the current studio system.

Director Paul Fieg is very familiar with getting great comedic performances out his talent. He’s a seasoned television director, having directed multiple episodes of “Arrested Development”, “Nurse Jackie” and “The Office” in addition to creating the cult-hit show “Freaks & Geeks”. He’s also responsible for one of the best all-around comedies in recent years, “Bridesmaids” (where he directed McCarthy to her first Oscar nomination).

With “The Heat”, Fieg continues to polish his skills as one of the finest comedic talents behind the camera. He’s able to bring out great performances by his two leading actresses. Both have come from different types of comedy backgrounds, and they’ve been molded to fit exactly what the script has required them to be. Bullock and McCarthy weren’t just cast because they’re box office draws; they were cast because they were the two best actresses out there that could have pulled these rolls off.

“The Heat” is the first screenplay by writer Katie Dippold, a former staff writer for “MADtv” and current writer for “Parks and Recreation”. Her first attempt at writing a feature film is a great success. It is full of joke after joke. I probably missed half of them because everyone was laughing so hard that the follow up lines were drowned out by laughter. And its not just slapstick humor. There are plenty of jokes related to the situation, and everything is derived right from the plot.

Her two main characters are two people we actually like because they’re real. Each comes with several layers of different back-story, which allows us to develop empathy toward them. Empathy is why Riggs and Murtaugh in “Lethal Weapon” are so easy to root for. Character depth is severely lacking in most Hollywood films these days (they sure don’t make ‘em like they used to), but Dippold has turned that problem right around. Asburn and Mullins are not only interesting characters, they’re exciting and easy to cheer for.

There are a few gaping plot holes present that I’m surprised got through to the finished product. A seasoned television writer like Dippold should have caught some of them. Giving them away would mean to give away some spoilers, so I won’t be doing that. The final act of the film felt rushed. The first and second acts were built so well, but they appear to have frantically raced to resolve the main plot points before the picture hit the two-hour mark. This leaves subplots unresolved, something I cannot stand.

But gripes aside, there won’t be a funnier movie this summer than “The Heat”. I was very skeptical going in to this film after seeing the trailer for several months. It looked like “Miss Congeniality” trying to solve crimes with the “Identify Thief”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. There is so much to like about this film. Its crude and vulgar with two hours of non-stop laughs. I really hope that this is the start of new, much needed series of buddy cop films.