Tag Archives: Minions

Minions & Monsters – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Whether you like this film or not will depend on whether you think the Minions are charming or the death rattle of the end of Western Civilisation.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are several mid-credit scenes.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Minions & Monsters Review Introduction

Over the years, I have been a strong proponent of how much I do enjoy the Despicable Me universe, even if Despicable Me 4 did start to show its age. Part of that is the chaotic energy that is infectious, the bright colours, and a heavy helping of quality slapstick comedy. It doesn’t hurt that I don’t have kids, so I only have to watch them once. But can a spin-off of a spin-off have the power to work? This is what we will look at today.

So, to set the scene, we open as a new museum is opening in Hollywood, looking back at some of the greats of cinema history, for example George Lucas (George Lucas). But the tour group was perplexed to see a statue of two Minions sitting in the exhibition. Well, the tour guide (Allison Janney) said, it is time to get an education about the history of Hollywood. The Minions have one goal: to find a big bad to work for, but one of the Minions, James (Pierre Coffin), had more of a creative side. When they end up in Hollywood, James finds his moment working with Max (Christoph Waltz), a noted film director. But to make James’ magnum opus, they needed a monster, and well, the Minions might have the evil spell book to pull that off.

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Despicable Me 4 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Look, the kids started laughing with the title card and stopped with the end credits, and I am not sure that anything more than that truly matters in the grand scheme of things.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid credit sequences but you don’t need to stay for them.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Minions in a pool.

Despicable Me 4 Review –

Well, it is time to get the banana papayas out because it is Minions time. Look, I have generally liked these films because there is an almost charm to the slapstick comedy that permeates every frame. Also, while my mother is not a fan of this, I don’t have any kids, so I only have to watch this film once—my deepest sympathies to those well into the double-digit viewings. But now we are six films deep into this world, can there be any more fun to be found? Well, that is what we will find out today.   

So to set the scene, Gru (Steve Carell) is still working for the Anti-Villain League, and this time, his mark is Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), a heavily ‘French’ accented villain and former classmate of Gru. Indeed, Gru takes him down in the middle of their class reunion. Things are also looking up at home, where he and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) have welcomed a new child into the family, Gru Jr. But when Maxime escapes and threatens to ‘cockroach-ize’ the baby, well, the whole family has to go undercover to keep safe. You better hope your new neighbours are not secret supervillain fans.

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Minions: The Rise of Gru – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it might not hit as hard as its predecessors, it was still a joy to be back in this world.     

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

Gru and the Minions in the one bed.

Minions: The Rise of Gru Review –

This may be due to my never having children, much to my mother’s chagrin, but I have always liked the Despicable Me films. Gru (Steve Carell) discovering who he is through the prism of his daughter’s love and then becoming a better person for it. Well, that is some compelling stuff. Heck, I even like those quirky little minions always up to mischief. I think I was the only one who laughed at their cameo in Mortal Engines. I am sure that would have changed if I had been subjected to them time after time. But coming in here, I thought that Despicable Me 3 might have started to show the limits of this story, and I wondered could a prequel help?

So to set the scene, it is 1976, and a very different set of villains torment the globe, which the film wastes no time showing as we see Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson) race through town, evading the authorities at every turn. In the lair of The Vicious 6, she reveals to their leader Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin) a map to an ancient stone pendent of power. Well, one trip to Asia later, one betrayal, and one Bond-inspired title sequence later, there is now a free spot open in The Vicious 6, and a young Gru wants in.

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