Gru (Steve Carell) is the worlds greatest supervillain, until newcomer Vector (Jason Segel) comes into the scene and steals the world famous pyramids. Gru has to find a way to one up Vector and decides to steal the moon. There is one small complication though. Gru has found himself in possesion of three small orphan girls who all become quite keenly attached to him.
This is the first animated feature from Illumination Entertainment and it hits nowhere near the benchmark Pixar and Dreamworks have set for the genre. Although the film has its funny moments and several celebrity cameo voices it lacked the story and the heart of films from rival studios. The animation, however, is very good and incredibly well though out. What distracted me a little was that a lot of the characters looked as if they were ripped from other places, with Vector looking very much like Mandark from the old Cartoon Network series "Dexter's Laboratory" and the bank owner is the spitting image of the boss from "Dilbert".
Steve Carell forces out an almost passable Russian accent, but you have to figure, if the celebrity voice is un recognisable why bother getting a celebrity in in the first place? Other voice talent includes Russell Brand as the elderly and senile Dr Nefario, Will Arnett from TVs "Arrested Development" as a disgruntled bank worker and most strangely Julie Andrews with an equally forced Russian accent as Gru's Mother. The voice cast stand out for me was a brief cameo by Jack McBrayer from TVs "30 Rock" as an unfair carney.
All in all, the film isn't horrible and will definitely be enjoyed by children and I'm sure parents will like the sentiment that comes in with the orphnn girls and Gru's new parental struggles.
Rating: 3/5
Max
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
It's a normal day in New York City, that is until the Pelham 1:23 train is hijacked by a group of criminals helmed by Ryder (John Travolta). The situation is discovered by transit worker Walter Garber (Denzel Washington). He learns that Ryder is holding the passengers on the train ransom for ten million dollars to be delivered within the hour, if not, people will begin to die.
This is your average ransom thriller. It has been done a million times before and often, quite a bit better than this. The story (based on a book) is quite predictable and the characters are all quite stereotypical, the deranged, psycopathic criminal, the calm, mild-mannered hero and slimeball police and goverment types. That having been said the performances are very good, especially from Travolta who I think plays an excellent bad guy.
There are no major plot twists and the film is very straight-forward and jumps into the plot quicly. It's definitely a bit of a no-brainer, but entertaining enough to hold the audiences attention.
Rating: 2.5/5
Max
This is your average ransom thriller. It has been done a million times before and often, quite a bit better than this. The story (based on a book) is quite predictable and the characters are all quite stereotypical, the deranged, psycopathic criminal, the calm, mild-mannered hero and slimeball police and goverment types. That having been said the performances are very good, especially from Travolta who I think plays an excellent bad guy.
There are no major plot twists and the film is very straight-forward and jumps into the plot quicly. It's definitely a bit of a no-brainer, but entertaining enough to hold the audiences attention.
Rating: 2.5/5
Max
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
Based on the John Marsden novel of the same name, ‘Tomorrow, When the War Began’ is the story of seven Australian teens who decide to go camping for a week in the wilderness of the Aussie bushland. When they return they discover their houses abandoned and all power cut off. They soon find that their entire town has been taken hostage by an invading threatening force and they soon have to take matters into their own hands.
I am a very big fan of the books (there are seven in the series), and as far as film adaptations go this was very close to spot-on. The Australian film industry proves we’re perfectly capable of blowing stuff up just as well as the big budget Hollywood films. The action sequences were pulled off with great expertise and gusto.
I was surprised to see how well a bunch of kids from “Neighbours” and “Home and Away” can make their characters believable in what is essentially an action/war epic. Caitlin Stasey does a fantastic job carrying the film as Ellie. She seems very natural in the role as does Deniz Akdeniz who plays Homer, her criminally inclined, Greek best friend. There were a few weak links in the performances, but whether that was the actors’ fault or the writer’s is anyone’s guess. The dialogue often came across as unnatural and forced, filled with plenty of Australianisms just to remind international viewers of the origin of the film and story.
Overall the film is very entertaining and all fans of the book should go and check it out.
Rating: 3.5/5
Max
I am a very big fan of the books (there are seven in the series), and as far as film adaptations go this was very close to spot-on. The Australian film industry proves we’re perfectly capable of blowing stuff up just as well as the big budget Hollywood films. The action sequences were pulled off with great expertise and gusto.
I was surprised to see how well a bunch of kids from “Neighbours” and “Home and Away” can make their characters believable in what is essentially an action/war epic. Caitlin Stasey does a fantastic job carrying the film as Ellie. She seems very natural in the role as does Deniz Akdeniz who plays Homer, her criminally inclined, Greek best friend. There were a few weak links in the performances, but whether that was the actors’ fault or the writer’s is anyone’s guess. The dialogue often came across as unnatural and forced, filled with plenty of Australianisms just to remind international viewers of the origin of the film and story.
Overall the film is very entertaining and all fans of the book should go and check it out.
Rating: 3.5/5
Max
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Pagemaster (1994)
Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin) is a paranoid twelve year old. He is obsessed with accident statistics and is too afraid to even climb the ladder to his own treehouse. After a particularly nasty storm he is driven to shelter in the library, where he is sucked into an animated world run by the Pagemaster (Christopher Lloyd). He is accompanied by three enchanted books, Adventure (Patrick Stewart), Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg) and Horror (Frank Welker) to overcome his fears.
I loved this movie when I was a kid and its been a good ten or so years since I saw it last. The same as most of my favourite childhood films, it was no where near as clever or funny as it was when I was a child, but some of the charm is still there.
Overall it's a story about friendship and conquering fears and that message comes across quite nicely, despite the story being predictable and quite often rushing to get to the next story.
Rating: 2.5/5
Max
I loved this movie when I was a kid and its been a good ten or so years since I saw it last. The same as most of my favourite childhood films, it was no where near as clever or funny as it was when I was a child, but some of the charm is still there.
Overall it's a story about friendship and conquering fears and that message comes across quite nicely, despite the story being predictable and quite often rushing to get to the next story.
Rating: 2.5/5
Max
Monday, August 23, 2010
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) is a writer, he has written five novels, several stories and countless articles. The problem is he has never been published. He lives at home with his son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara). Kyle is a loud arrogant brat who is a loser at school, where Lance also happens to teach an unpopular poetry class. Lance is in a discreet relationship with the high schools art teacher Clare (Alexi Gilmore). Although he tries incredibly hard, Lance just can't relate to his son, or get a break as a writer, that is, until an unexpected turn of events flips his misfortune into the chance hes been looking for.
Robin Williams has been attached to a string of really poor films recently, such as Old Dogs, RV and License to Wed, and although he is trying to shake off his "family movie" image this too was a rather poor film. None of the characters are likable, the situations are far from believeable and the writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait (of Police Academy fame) pulls out every tired cliche he can think of.
The films one redeeming feature is it quite well depicts how easy it can be to distort and manipulate peoples views and create mass hysteria.
Rating: 2/5
Max
Robin Williams has been attached to a string of really poor films recently, such as Old Dogs, RV and License to Wed, and although he is trying to shake off his "family movie" image this too was a rather poor film. None of the characters are likable, the situations are far from believeable and the writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait (of Police Academy fame) pulls out every tired cliche he can think of.
The films one redeeming feature is it quite well depicts how easy it can be to distort and manipulate peoples views and create mass hysteria.
Rating: 2/5
Max
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Blind Side (2009)
The Blind Side is based on the remarkable true story of American football player Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) who was homeless, ripplingly shy and traumatized until he was taken in by the caring Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her family. They accept him as one of the family and enrol him in school, where he learns to play football.
This is the film that won Sandra Bullock her academy award for best actress. She is absolutely superb in portraying the strong willed mother who fights for the boy she very quickly takes on as her son. Relative newcomer Quinton Aaron is also very beleivable in his role. Kathy Bates is fantastic as the tutor brought in to raise Michaels grades in order for him to qualify for a scholarship.
The film is wonderfully made and is so honestly performed. There is something incredibly genuine about everything in this story. It was very easy to like.
Rating: 4/5
Max
This is the film that won Sandra Bullock her academy award for best actress. She is absolutely superb in portraying the strong willed mother who fights for the boy she very quickly takes on as her son. Relative newcomer Quinton Aaron is also very beleivable in his role. Kathy Bates is fantastic as the tutor brought in to raise Michaels grades in order for him to qualify for a scholarship.
The film is wonderfully made and is so honestly performed. There is something incredibly genuine about everything in this story. It was very easy to like.
Rating: 4/5
Max
Date Night (2010)
Phil and Claire Foster (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) are going through the motions in their happy, albeit boring married life. They have two children, steady jobs and go out on a date once a week at the same restaurant. After learning that their close friends are splitting up due to a boring, routine lifestyle, they decide to spice up their date night by going to the classiest restaurant they can find in New York city, despite not having a reservation. In an act of defiance they steal another couples reservation and so begins the rollercoaster ride of mistaken identity, gun fire and government blackmail.
I am a huge fan of Steve Carell and Tina Fey and seeing them together in a movie was a joy. They play off eachother sensationally. The film is padded out with several celebrity cameos such as Mark Wahlberg, James Franco and Ray Liotta.
The film,despite being fun, fast and action packed, is very predicatable and lined with some cheap sentiment which can easily be glossed over by audiences, losing interest in the slower moments.
Rating: 3/5
Max
I am a huge fan of Steve Carell and Tina Fey and seeing them together in a movie was a joy. They play off eachother sensationally. The film is padded out with several celebrity cameos such as Mark Wahlberg, James Franco and Ray Liotta.
The film,despite being fun, fast and action packed, is very predicatable and lined with some cheap sentiment which can easily be glossed over by audiences, losing interest in the slower moments.
Rating: 3/5
Max
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