Despicable Me 2 - Review

      Well hello, haven't I been great at this lately? So I said a couple of weeks ago that I had writer's block, plus a distinct lack of motivation to actually force myself to write anything at all. That really peaked last week, so I decided to just give myself some space by not blogging last week. (The Friday before I just straight up forgot to post and was busy the whole weekend.) Anyway, I went to see Despicable Me 2 on Friday, it was very spontaneous and probably made more fun because I was with two of my best friends, who are pretty much as mentally juvenile as me.

http://www.filmofilia.com/despicable-me-2-promo-clip-150630/

       As with The World's End and Monster's University, I included a trailer for Despicable Me 2 here, but I will include another one, being as there are so many and they're all really cute.

      Despicable Me 2 was released in the UK on the 28th of June this year, and opens with a top secret Arctic research base being stolen by a giant magnet. Cut to: Gru's mansion hosting a birthday party for Agnes - probably the cutest kid in any film ever. There is fancy dress, there are minions, there is a costume change which tugs at the hearts strings. There are evil minions, there are cupcakes, there is a Cinco de Mayo party complete with a tortilla hat with guacamole in the rim. 

      The film stars Steve Carell and Russell Brand, as did the prequel, with the addition of Kristen Wiig as Lucy and Benjamin Bratt as the mysterious 'Eduardo'.

       The film is colourful, vibrant, has a very different and engaging storyline and some new characters which compliment the familiar characters perfectly. The minions are just as adorable and get up to even more shenanigans. This clip isn't included, but if you haven't seen it, you need to - and if you have, well you should just watch it again:

           

                                

        Ahem. So, I read on a few social media sites etc. that some people felt like a sequel wasn't needed, or they should have just made a film with the minions (which apparently they are considering, but I didn't actually read that anywhere credible so they might not be at all) but in relation to a sequel not being necessary - it did have some good character development, and personally, I found that it was a nice extension to the narrative in the first film. As to the film only being of the minions - who wouldn't miss the sarcastic quips from Gru, and perhaps, even more than that, just how cute Agnes is? Every character in that film contributes and a second film was a smart move. I think a third film of all of them might feel a bit contrived, so perhaps in that instance, maybe the best scenario would just be a minion film. Honestly though, I can only the minions being in shorts, rather than a feature film. (I wouldn't mind being wring at all though)

        Anyway; I don't really have any negative points about this film, in fact one of the big positive things about this film is that the villain isn't as teeth grindingly irritating as Vector. I don't know if I enjoyed it the whole pandas, but that was definitely affected by the stupid woman just in front of me who was texting on her iPhone the whole time. I'm excited for this film to come out on DVD so I can watch it again. For now, I think I want to give this four stars, but perhaps when I watch it again I'll add an editor's note or something to say that actually, without someone sending pointless, distracting texts and looking up directions, the film is worth more.

Oops, added half a panda.

           So, once again - I'm sorry for being away for three posts, I'll be back on Friday to tell stories. Thanks for sticking around (or for dropping in on the off-chance I'd pulled my finger out) and thanks, as ever, for reading.

                                               Laura - xoxoxoxox

The Films of Summer 2013 - Mini Reviews.

        Hey there! Today, I'm sort of winging the post a bit, fear not - it's still a review! However, I've seen nothing new, I've read a book or two, but I've already gushed about how much I adore James Herbert, so I don't suppose those would be of much interest to you. So, I love films, but am not likely to see a new one for a couple of weeks, so I thought, with so many coming out recently and in the near future, I'd put up a few trailers, and then review those. Then, when I see the actual film and review that, I can refer back to these mini reviews and say whether or not the trailer did the film justice. 

           Before we begin, all of the videos I'll be putting on here are from YouTube: I do not own any rights to them and do not gain anything for actually posting them or talking about them, apart from a warm fuzzy feeling inside when the post gets viewed. So, without further ado...

       300: Rise of an Empire - I didn't realise until I watched this trailer a week or so ago that I remember very little about its prequel. However, I have to say that this looks pretty great. I love an action movie and I know I loved 300, even if I don't remember a lot of it. I'm likely to go and see this, but I'll have to rewatch the first one before hand.

        

         The Hangover: Part 3 - I had my reservations about this, I really did. I wondered if there was even a point to making a third part of something that had two very similar prequels, how they'd go about not repeating the same jokes that were in the other two. However, I saw the full trailer when I went to see Star Trek, and I was actually really pleasantly surprised. It seems like they've got a different kind of storyline but still have some genuinely funny jokes. I only hope that they haven't put all of the funny bits in the trailer, making the actual film a let down.

        Scary Movie 5 - I know this has been out for ages, it came out in April. But I can't get over how terrible it looks. I know the acting in the Scary Movie franchise has always been overstated and that's not my issue with it. My issue is that they should have stopped at two, three at a push. There is no need for this, and parodying Inception goes against the grain a little for me, being as it's not a horror movie. You can make reference to Scary Movie 1 having references to The Usual Suspects, but really, that was just a nod, and was done quite tastefully. I won't pay to see this film, it's likely to be the kind of thing I go on a Twitter rant about rather than review on here, although I may, now I've mentioned it on here.

    

          The World's End - I can't wait for this. I really like the other Simon Pegg/Nick Frost films. I love the British humour, the sarcasm, the way it goes from being a relatable film about a group of guys going on a pub crawl, to including what look like robots/aliens/cyborgs. I love the nod to the fence jumping in Hot Fuzz, I love Martin Freeman, and I love that Mark Heap (Green Wing, Saturday Night Dinner) is in it, if only for a little while. I will definitely see this film, and I'm certain I will love it for all of its quirky charm and humour.

         The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug - Yes, yes, yes. I am excited about this, I love the Lord of the Rings films so much, and I loved the first part of this trilogy too, so I'm so excited for this instalment. Initially, people were questioning whether there needed to be three Hobbit films when there was only one book, when LOTR is a trilogy, taken from a trilogy. My argument - there is a lot of content that was not included in the LOTR films, and if Peter Jackson had included every damn song that the hobbits sing throughout, there would have likely been nine films instead of three. Also, if there is enough material to warrant three films, then I say go for it. How rushed would The Hobbit have been if all of this had been in it as well? You'd never get to know the characters and empathise with their plight, and it would be really confusing as there would be way too many people and too much jumping around. Let's not forget that this is Tolkien. Anyway, I think this trailer is great, and I can't wait for this film.

          Despicable Me 2 - This looks so cute, I love the minions and thought the first film was great. It's a film which is engaging for kids and funny to adults. I think there's a longer trailer out there somewhere, which has more to do with Gru and the girls, but this was one of the best ones I could find on YouTube. It's very, very likely that I'll go and see this film when it comes out.

         Monster's University - The prequel/sequel to Monster's Inc. looks great. I like that some of the monsters other than Mike and Sully from the original are present - it gives it a really nice dynamic. Also, the fact that Mike and Sully do not immediately get along and are rivals is particularly nice, as there is room for some really great character development. I have to say, the part which depicts their halls experience reminds me so much of my first year at university, just socialising and generally causing havoc. Again, this is a film which can be enjoyed by the whole family, at any age group. I'm hoping to go and see this with my dad, as I saw the first one with him when it came out all those years ago.

                                Overall, I give the films of summer 2013 4 pandas. 

          And that's it from me for now. Thursday will be a creative piece as per usual, it may be a bit later in the day, however, as I have a busy busy day planned! Have a great week! I'll see you on Thursday.

      

                                   Thanks for reading! Laura

                                                                  xoxoxoxox