MINIONS REVIEW - LIFE BEFORE GRU

The Minions is a spin-off film from the incredibly successful Despicable Me franchise. It is a story of little baby sized, yellow gibbering bean-like creatures who, since the time of the dinosaurs and the dawn of man have been after one thing: to find a super evil villain to serve.

Now, throughout the millennia, the minions found it easy to find their evil masters, the trick however was keeping them. This struggle can be seen in the opening sequences where a T-Rex, a big angry caveman and Napoleon all meet disastrous yet hilarious ends. With the minions at a loss for a master to serve they become chronically fatigued until Kevin (above, middle) steps in to save the day with his companions Stuart and Bob. Their mission, to travel and search the world for the evilest master known to man!

The three amigos end up in 1960's New York City to begin their search. Cue references about disgraced President Nixon and rock legend Jimmy Hendrix. They then come across a 'store robbing' suburban family, which results in the three minions travelling to Florida to a Villain Convention. The film's best moments shine when they enter the convention as they come across a scientist name Flux and see the evil-super-villain Scarlet Overkill in action (voiced by Sandra Bullock).

The film did turn a bit wayward though when the action turned to London after the minions traveled there to work for evil temptress Overkill. The stereotyping of the British way of life makes it obvious the film was an American animated production. Although I did chuckle quite often with the over exaggeration of London police and their obsession with tea. In fact there is one clip where one of the 'coppers' is sternly pouring his tea during a high speed chase through London.

All in all though, I thought Minions succeeded. After all this is the film that every child and even a few adults have been waiting for. It is a film completely about the adorable little friends that have took every toy store around the world by storm. The jokes are a bit slap stick at times, which bodes well with kids, but their are subtle jokes that adults will laugh at too; such as the faking of the moon landing.  

The minions themselves are voiced by French co-director of the franchise Pierre Coffin. Therefore when the minions speak, a slight nod to the french language can be heard. There are words such as "le" and "mademoiselle" littered throughout their gibberish speech.

What this film lacked was a sense of self realisation, a characteristic that was strongly present in Despicable Me 1 & 2, but Minions compensates with outright fun and slap stick innocence.

It really tickled me yellow! 7.1/10

Why Boyhood is truly one of the greatest films for a boy born in the early/mid 90s

You know, everyone says seize the moment? I don't know, I'm kind
of thinking it's the other way around. You know, like, the moment
seizes us.

Boyhood is a film that was shot over a period of 39 days in total, but one that spanned over a period of 12 years, making it incredibly unique. Although Richard Linklater's Boyhood was released in British cinemas a year ago in 2014, it has recently been spouted out again and again on Sky movies, which is pretty much what happens once Sky premieres a new film. However, as I (like many others do) flicked through certain scenes of Boyhood, I realised the little hidden gems in the background and certain scenes that I missed when I watched it in the cinema.

When lead character Mason (Ellar Coltrane) has one of his first scenes, you can spot a distinctive Dragon Ball Z poster on his wall. Now to some people this may seem a futile spot, but I'm now 24 years old and I can relate to this because Dragon Ball Z around the time when this scene is set (maybe late 1999 or 2000) was most 6-14 year old's favourite program! This I feel is a really good Easter egg and one that was brilliantly/subtly added.

It isn't just Easter eggs that I found really interesting about Boyhood. Although the film title seems to imply it will centre around Mason, it also delves into the lives of his mother played by Patricia Arquette. Her story in the film is about her struggle to raise Mason and his sister whilst repeatedly wrestling with failed relationships, one in particular is one of which she is a recipient of physical and mental abuse by an alcoholic husband and step father to Mason. 

Again I can relate to this because my parents have been divorced since before I can remember. So when I was young, my parents being separated and myself being introduced to my dad's new girlfriends was the norm. Although my parents never received any physical abuse, one in-particular girlfriend-turned-wife was in fact a manipulative and stereotypical evil Disney step mother, but that's a story for my autobiography when I become a famous film reviewer... haha!

 Finally another great edition was the build up to the 2008 Presidential Election. Although I live in the UK, I will always remember seeing how positive the majority of America was feeling about the more increasing possibility that the President 2008 onward would be one of black ethnicity. There is a scene where Mason is about 12 years old and he is helping his dad (Ethan Hawke) put up Obama signs in people's gardens. Additionally President Barack Obama exclusively told People Magazine that Boyhood was his favourite film of 2014. 

Another political nod by Director Richard Linklater is early on in the film when the timeline must be around 2003, Mason's father takes him and his sister bowling and tells them about the unjust Iraq war and how it had nothing to do with 9/11. This is important because it shows after all the discourse that President Bush and the US media fed to the American public and the Western world about terrorism and fear, some people still stood strong and challenged this rhetoric.

Richard Linklater putting up pro-Obama
 sign for a scene in Boyhood.

What's truly great about Boyhood is that you are not watching the characters, you are watching with the characters, at least that's how I felt. Their surroundings in a particular scene make you relate and remember that time in your own life and that's where Director Linklater has triumphed whether it was deliberate or not.

In short, it is a real human film that will go down as a personal great and one I highly recommend to watch if you've not already done so.