Trivia Round-Up: July 2015

We're over half-way through the Summer Blockbuster season already! I'm actually doing really well this year and haven't missed a single one, yet! Here's hoping I can keep the momentum going. Anyway, as usual, here's a round-up of some fun trivia from the films we've reviewed this month.

WALL.E (2008)

The survival of both the Twinkie and the cockroach perpetuates the urban myth that even should the world end, both will survive indefinitely.

Jurassic World (2015)

For the season two Parks and Recreation DVD (2010), Chris Pratt made a behind the scenes video. In the video he reads a fake text from Steven Spielberg about being cast in Jurassic Park 4. Pratt actually was cast as the lead in the 4th Jurassic Park film (2015).

There's a bajillion pages of trivia for this film, but I loved this!

Minions (2015)

The British Royal Crown seen being worn by Bob during his 'coronation' scene can briefly be seen in Despicable Me when the Minions are all offering up treasures to help fund Gru's attempt to steal the moon.

What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

Weirdly enough, I couldn't find any trivia on this!

Ant-Man (2015)
Paul Rudd stated in an interview with New York Times columnist Tom Riddle that he purchased a massive ant farm and watched how the ants worked together. He was so inspired by them that he decided to keep the farm after the filming was complete.
Paul, dude, don't get talking to anyone called Tom Riddle...nothing good can come from that...

Tammy (2014)
There is only 24 years difference in age between Melissa McCarthy (Tammy) and Susan Sarandon (Tammy's grandmother, Pearl). Furthermore, there is only 11 years difference between McCarthy and Allison Janney, who plays her mother.

Before I Go to Sleep (2014)
Differs from the novel where Christine's diary is in the form of a journal / notebook, whereas in the film it is a camera.
There is only limited trivia for this movie, none of which were particularly interesting!

Paddington (2014)
When Paddington is waiting at the train station, he is sitting in front of the Lost & Found. The sign is faulty, and the "Found" is not lit. When Mrs. Brown comes back to speak to him, the "Found" lights up.
There was a lot of trivia for this, but this just made me smile :-)

Chappie (2015)
The scouts' rabbit ear antennae are inspired by the character Briareos from Masamune Shirow's manga Appleseed, of which Neill Blomkamp is a fan.

Casablanca (1942)
Back in the early-to-mid 2000s, Madonna wanted to remake Casablanca with her playing IIsa Lund and Ashton Kutcher in the role of Rick Blaine. Madonna pitched the idea to every studio but was unanimously rejected by every studio with one studio executive telling her "That film is deemed untouchable". The project has since been scrapped by Madonna. 
Probably not the best trivia in the world but it made me and Allie laugh out loud so had to include it!

 

Christmas in July Blogathon

Originally written for and posted by Drew at Drew's Movie Reviews. Original post can be viewed here.

Today is a wonderful day, everyone. No, I’m not talking about the beautiful July weather right now. It’s Christmas! Or more specifically, it’s Christmas in July, which is just as good! I love this time of the year even more than Summer. Don’t you just love wrapping yourself up in a blanket, lighting some festive-smelling candles, and curling up on the sofa with a good movie?

I’m the worst for reminding people how close Christmas is (I normally start in April) but I have it on good authority that it is completely okay to talk about the C word today! Err, Christmas, that is. 

See, I have proof and everything. Drew has invited us all to celebrate early with a post. For mine, I’d like to share the Christmas movies that I’ll be watching this year. We’ve all got one of these lists, surely? Those movies that become a tradition to watch each year. Well, here are mine!

Love Actually (2003) is the first movie I turn to. It has such a brilliant cast, and never fails to make me laugh and cry within minutes of each other. It’s set in the run up to Christmas, and shows several different storylines that all tie into each other in the end. Plus, that scene with Keira Knightley and Andrew Lincoln with the cardboard signs is the sweetest thing ever!

Jingle All the Way (1996) is a movie I was introduced to when I had just started dating my now fiance. It’s his family’s traditional Christmas movie and since watching it at their house 7 years ago, I’ve watched it every year since. This doesn’t really happen anymore, but it’s about one parent’s mad dash on Christmas Eve to buy the sell-out toy of the year for his son. Thanks to Jingle All the Way, I can name all the reindeer!

Christmas Vacation (1989) follows on from my love of National Lampoon’s Vacation. Featuring Chevy Chase, it’s a hilarious tale of Clark Griswold’s experience of that festive time when his whole family come over to visit. No matter your age, there’s definitely something to relate to here.

I’m not sure if this should count, but Shrek the Halls (2007) was a half-hour TV short that my family still has recorded on their TV box. At the time, my littlest brother was Shrek obsessed, but even now we get together and watch it. It’s kind of sad, because we know all the words by heart, but it’s such a funny little short!

I watched Bad Santa (2003) for the first time last year as part of our 12 Days of Christmas blog series, but I fell head over heels in love with it. Billy Bob Thornton is the best bad santa ever, and this is probably the only Christmas movie I’ve watched which is strictly not for children! It only took 1 viewing for me to know that this will be added to my list every year.

Oh! I almost forgot, Drew also wanted to know who we would like to meet under the mistletoe. This is such a difficult choice! Normally I would try to choose between my usual favourites Ryan Reynolds, Chris Pine or Benedict Cumberbatch, but right now I’m going to make a wish to meet my current crush, Chris Pratt!

Drew, thank you for letting me gush about how much I love Christmas and it’s festive movies in July of all times. Now, to sing Christmas carols for the rest of the day till I get told off…

Blind Spot: Casablanca (1942)

My Dad was thrilled when I told him I had included this in the Blind Spot list and he has asked me every time he has seen me if I have seen it yet.  After mine and Allie's movie night last week I just sent him a text saying 'Here's looking at you kid', I think I made his day as this is by far and away his favourite film of all time and in fairness I can see why.

 

In the city of Casablanca in unoccupied Africa during World War II, Rick Blane (Humphrey Bogart) gets a surprise when his ex Girlfriend, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) turns up in his bar with her husband (Paul Henreid) in tow.  It's down to Rick to decide if he will save his one time love and her husband or take the selfish road and keep Ilsa for himself.

Admittedly, I spent a lot of the movie trying to work out the politics of it all, who was good, who was bad, who is from what country.  About half way through, I gave up.  I had no idea who were the good and the bad guys (in regards to the War, I know who I was rooting for in the story!) and once I stopped over thinking it, I bloody loved the movie.  Everyone knows I'm a sucker for a romance and this is the ultimate romantic film, its obvious from the start that Rick and Ilsa still love each other and you are desperate for them to admit it from the second she walks into the bar.

I wasn't planning on enjoying this, I have yet to really enjoy a black and white movie, I think my mind had been brainwashed by high action super hero movies and left no wanting for only 'story-based' films rather than the visuals being the priority.  It was quite obviously that this was mostly filmed on a sound stage but that didn't take anything away from my experience, as I expected it would.  This is also the first film I have seen with Humphrey Bogart, but I think I am going to have to make a list and start ticking them off.  He's not what I would call 'classically' good looking but he has such a charm and confidence that he instantly becomes attractive!!

I can't wait to watch this again and try to get my head around the back story, but mostly to watch the ending again.....

Review: Chappie (2015)

Although Orange Wednesdays are over, the cinemas are still playing games with each other, and so thankfully (for me) my local is still allowing 2-4-1 tickets every Wednesday during March. I don’t even have to pester a friend for a code, huzzah! My excitement for Chappie stalled a fair amount after reading so many negative reviews, but I always like to save judgement until I’ve seen the film myself. We got to the cinema a little early, and if you follow us on Twitter you’ll have seen my fiance wasn’t great company while we waited.

Took the fiancé to the cinema. Great pre-film conversation right here...not! - A pic.twitter.com/cuIQIp2Lll
— Jenna and Allie (@FlickChicksBlog) March 11, 2015

I was gutted when I missed this as the cinema because I loved District 9 and the trailer really reminded me of it.  I ended up only seeing it last week in the end.

Despite what the trailers made me think, Chappie (Sharlto Copley) is a damaged police robot, created by Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) and stolen by gangsters Ninja and Yolandi (played by themselves - who even are these two?! Apparently a South African rap duo?!). Deon has cleverly created software giving Chappie his own consciousness, and once switched on, he’s comparable to a highly impressionable child.   What did the trailers make you think?  This was not at all what I expected but I can't put my finger on why, I don't know what I was expecting!!

Chappie is the life and soul of this film. It has a fairly slow start during the storytelling of Chappie’s origins, but his reveal is great. He’s likeable before he even comes to life, a Scout Robot who seems to be cursed, always coming back from the field damaged. His one orange ear (antennae) and ‘Reject’ sticker make him instantly recognisable. For a robot, he’s highly expressive, and so hats off to the robotics/animation team behind that.  Chappie was by far the highlight, he was so lovely and made me smile whenever he was on camera, Sharlto Copley was fantastic playing the defect robot with the perfect level of charm and innocence.

One thing I liked about the film, which I imagine is a criticism in others’ eyes, it that you’re never sure who the real bad guy is. At the outset, it’s the gangsters Ninja and Yolandi, living a life of crime and stealing Chappie to help them with a heist. Without spoiling the story for you, they don’t appear to be the bad guys towards the end. The real rotten character is Vincent, (Hugh Jackman), who will literally stop at nothing to see his own work get the credit he feels it deserves. I really don’t like Hugh Jackman as a baddie! He’s just too much of a nice guy usually… and that mullet!!

Fully agree with Allie, its so confusing, you never know whose side to be on.  Instinctively, you want to side with Deon but he just seems like a bit of a wet lettuce who just lets everyone walk all over him.  Then there is the rap duo who are astonishingly irritating, initially, they are a breath of fresh air after Deon's blandness but Yolandi's high pitched squeal and Ninja's shouted are just too much to bear, I nearly turned the whole thing off at one point. 

Granted, Chappie doesn’t have a huge social/political agenda like District 9 did, but I think it still spreads an important message about how impressionable children are. Chappie knows and understands that crime and murder are wrong, and yet he can still be taught to steal and kill, just by the way he’s told how.  I did enjoying seeing how they got round his promise to not hurt people, it was really clever - my favourite moment in the film was probably when he trashed 'daddy's stolen car' instead of getting the driver out!!

There’s plenty of humour in this film too, largely thanks to Chappie himself. His excitement over rubber chickens, riding in the car, or just the way he repeatedly tells the gangsters, ‘Chappie can’t do heist. Heist is a crimes’ just made me smile again and again. I love him!

I’m scared that this might be another Green Lantern situation here for me, judging by the reviews I’ve read so far, but I hand on heart loved Chappie, and despite its flaws, I want to see it again soon.

Honestly, I loved Chappie and the ending was pretty clever (although convenient) but the story didn't keep me entertained.  I fell asleep twice trying to watch it.  I am gutted it wasn't as good as District 9 but it just wasn't up to par.  It would have been a 5 but Chappie brought it back....

Mini reviews: Tammy (2014), Before i go to sleep (2014) and Paddington (2014)

Tammy (2014)

Now I know this has been reviewed on the blog previously by Allie but I only watched it yesterday so I couldn't add to that one.  So I will be brief - basic concept - Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) loses her job, Husband and home in the space of a few hours and so embarks on a cross country road trip with her Grandmother (Susan Sarandon).

Not the best writing I have come across but it's light-hearted, easy to watch and entertaining (I was however doing housework at the same time so I may not have thought the same if it had my full attention).  There were some pretty good laugh out loud moments, mostly when Tammy was in a strop and that was mostly because she reminded me of me in a strop and when she decided to hold up a fast food joint with two fast food joint bags.  Completely ridiculous but I found it hilarious!

It's not Oscar winning material but its funny and entertaining (and I even cried a little bit near the end).

Before I go to sleep (2014)

This should have been called While I am asleep...which is what I nearly was throughout the whole thing.  What an utterly boring pile of rubbish.

Christine (Nicole Kidman) has a brain injury which means she forgets everything when she falls asleep.  She starts to distrust her husband, Ben (Colin Firth) and starts making a video diary to find out the truth about her life. 

I read the book of this because it had been recommended to me and I was utterly disappointed with that, I remember everyone raving about the ending (which I figured out about half way through) and how they had no idea it was coming.  I had to drag myself through the second half of the book and I think I only finished it because I was on holiday and the film was just as bad.  It was boring and even less interesting than the book, I spent the whole time in the cinema willing it to be over already or at least for the person behind me to stop kicking my chair so I could at least have a nap!

Paddington (2014)

The live action version of the much loved Paddington cartoon, following the arrival of Paddington in London from Peru and the story of how he found a family to love him (and not find it utterly insane that a bear could talk!).

I loved the cartoon when I was younger so I was worried this might fall below my expectations, but I was wrong.  I loved it, it was entertaining from the beginning to the end and the action scenes and bright colours kept my 2 year old niece engrossed throughout (which is an achievement in itself!).  The story was lovely and Nicole Kidman was great as the mean lady trying to put Paddington in her museum.

Definitely worth a go yourself, especially if you have kids.

Review: Ant-Man (2015)

Boom! Another summer blockbuster released and watched! I’m on fire this year, well on track to get my Showcase Blockbuster card fully stamped, and the free popcorn, drink and tickets will be mine! I had a full college-gang meet up for Ant-Man, meaning we took up almost a whole row at the back of the cinema. Thankfully we got in early enough so got our seats before the screen filled up!  Strangely enough, me and my Dad went on the same night but only took up 2 sad seat...those 2 sad seats were in the IMAX though....

Ant-Man is Marvel’s latest offering, and perhaps a bigger risk than Guardians of the Galaxy was last year. After watching The Avengers save the world and the Guardians of the Galaxy save...the galaxy(?!), how good could a superhero flick about a man the size of an ant be?! That's what have been wondering for the last few months. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a recently released criminal trying to stay clean for the sake of his daughter. After being set up by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to steal the Ant-Man costume, Scott embarks on a new mission to keep the Yellowjacket developed by Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) safe from the wrong hands.  I, however, had every faith that this would be a hit, I knew it was a risk for Marvel but as with Guardians, the bigger the risk the bigger the reward!

Ant-Man was like a breath of fresh air to the superhero phenomenon. As buff as Scott was, he wasn’t there to beat up an army of bad guys to save the damsel in distress. He was a criminal simply trying to do the right thing for his family. The moral boundaries were iffy at best, and the main ‘bad guy’ was an ordinary, albeit extremely intelligent, guy, rather than an alien/monster/robot hellbent on destroying mankind.  I loved that for most of the movie Scott was the anti-hero, had no real interest in actually saving the world more interested in his own gains from being Ant-Man, getting his family to believe in him and visitation rights to his daughter, Cassie.

Some will most likely disagree with me, but I thought the first half an hour or so was very slow. There was enough comedy and smart one-liners to keep it interesting, and we got a lot of character development in that time which was necessary, but compared with the last half an hour, it paled in comparison. Luis (Michael Pena) was my absolute favourite character in that first part though, the way he explained his story was just hilarious and just as funny the second time he did it. I want to see more of this guy, he’s amazing!  Wasn't he amazing, he literally had me in stitches, everything he said set me into fits of giggles - I think I missed a chunk of the movie laughing long after his scene had finished!

The action scenes were so cleverly shot while Scott was in tiny Ant-Man form, but would have been nothing if it weren’t for the moments in between where we got to see what that action really looked like. We all must have looked like nutters laughing out loud at a little Thomas the Tank toy flop onto its side (this was by far my favourite bit of the trailer but was upstaged in the actual movie by the end of that scene!). I also loved the fact that Scott had to rely on his little army of ants to help him in his heist, they were fully part of his team.  I liked this a little bit less, I was itching all the way through the film, every time a hair touched my arm I thought there was an army of ants on me... *judders* - now I'm itching again just thinking about it!!  One thing I did really love was how reminiscent it was of Honey I shrunk the kid, which was one of my favourite films growing up (and the best part of Disney Hollywood Studios!!), Scott was calling his sidekick Antony but in my head he was Anty!

You know what! It's funny you mentioned Honey I Shrunk the Kids! I read earlier that Ant-Man has been in the making for about 20 years now, and it's original planned release was scrapped because Honey I Shrunk the Kids had just come out and everyone thought the two were too similar.

I knew I was going to enjoy this but I didn't realise quite how much.  I usually find the origin superhero films a little bit boring at the beginning but Paul Rudd's wit kept the whole thing ticking along (and also saved a few of those soppy moments that make you cringe a little bit...).  The action was great and the shifts between being Ant sized and human sized made every fight scene different from anything else in the Marvel universe so far. 

Question:  Did anyone else not realise Hayley Atwell was actually playing Peggy Carter until the link with the Avengers later on in the movie?! Or am I just a complete dunce!!  I couldn't understand why they had aged her up until I realised who she was, character-wise! doh!

Are we getting an Ant-Man 2? I really hope so! That mid-credits scene got me excited although I was expecting it to happen. At the very least I guess we’ll see Scott return for the next Avengers movie! Oh, and did anyone else get a little scared they’d missed Stan Lee? I was so relieved in the end!  I elbowed my Dad so hard in the ribs when I finally saw him he yelped in pain!! oops!

Loved loved loved it, hope there is an Ant-Man 2 but in the meantime hopefully we'll see Scott Lang elsewhere in the MCU.

Lessons I learnt from my favourite childhood movies....

Look who's talking (1989)
Kissing makes babies....

I don't know who the target demographic was for this movie but it had talking babies so I loved it as a kid but it did leave some unspoken confusion about how babies were made for a while, I wasn't sure whether to believe the movie or the pop up book my mom brought me :-/

The Goonies (1985)
Go on adventures....

What this actually taught me was to go off on my own with other small people like me and have an adventure...what I learnt from that is that children should NOT go on adventures without letting their parents know - that was one angry group of parents (and we never had to jewels to keep them sweet, rookie mistake!)

Free Willy (1993)
Not all animals want to be your friend....

...in fact most don't.  Shamu at SeaWorld specifically does not want to be my friend...life is not a movie, Orca whales are bloody scary!

Overboard (1987)
You don't have to be blood to be family....

My Niece Brogan is not really my Niece, she is my best friend's daughter.  I would give Brogan the world if I could (and she knows it!) and I would go to the ends of the Earth to make sure she is happy - but we're not blood related!

House Arrest (1996)
You may be desperate to be out of your parents 'evil' clutches but it's not all sweetness and light without them..

Having recently moved out of my Dad's house, I am suddenly very aware of how much he actually did.... am I the only one who thought there was washing up fairies?!  Plus you have to cook everything.....yourself....  It also turns out:
1) you don't know everything
2) parents can't have moved everything you have lost in the house because you live alone and you still lose things!
3) you secretly wish you could live with them again but would never admit it!

The Little Mermaid (1989)
Do leave everything you know and love behind, for a man.....

I should have known life wasn't like a Disney movie but I had to give it a go anyway.  Find a lovely horrid, mean and controlling guy who makes you feel so loved controlled that you spend the rest of your life happily ever after desperately trying to rebuild life long friendships and convince your family you won't disappear again - yeah thanks for that one Walt!

Childhood Films Blogathon

The lovely Caz at Let’s Go To The Movies is hosting her second Blogathon this summer, all to do with our favourite Childhood Films. There are rules of course, and here they are in Caz’s own words:

The Rules

Ok so instead of saying a film can only be wrote about once, I have decided to leave that open. You can indeed write about just one film if you want. But let’s make it more interesting and pick a few films. At least 3 and at the most 25, you can do it in list format and rank them. Or just simply write your blog post around them, try to explain why they were your favourites and if you still enjoy them to this day – as I am sure some of this would have changed!

Dates

Look to have your entry submitted over the weekend of Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July 2015 – this gives you a month to get involved!

I’m quite a nostalgic person so I’ve rambled on a fair amount about some of my earliest childhood films, but I thought that for this blogathon I could tell you about some of my most watched films as a child.

My Mum claims that I made her watch Beauty and the Beast (1991) with me once a day every day for about a whole year, but considering the fact that it’s her favourite Disney movie, I question the truth in that. I remember finding some parts quite scary, but I loved the music and the songs, and I still do to this day. In fact, I wonder if my fiance will let us play Tale as Old as Time at the wedding…

One film I remember watching a lot is Homeward Bound (1993) although I remember barely anything about it now. Was there a sad part at the end? I’m feeling a little emotional and I’m not sure why. Talking animals must have captivated my imagination, but I am sorely tempted to rewatch this now to see if I enjoy it just as much now.

At the top of the ‘watched too many times’ list is A Bug’s Life (1998). I had the sticker book for this film, and I’m pretty sure I completed it too. That must have cost my parents a fortune. at a time when I had started collecting Pokemon cards too. Anyway, I loved the moment where all the ants slowly stand up against Hopper, and OH MY GOODNESS I just realised that Kevin Spacey voiced him. Holy moly, I need to rewatch this!

This is weird, Labyrinth (1986) was released before I was born and yet I remember watching it a lot. This must be my Mum’s influence once again! It starts with a young girl being made to look after her baby brother, doesn’t it? I think I remember having dreams about summoning a goblin to take away my baby brother, ha! #sorrynotsorry

Review: What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

My IMDB Watchlist grows day by day as I explore the blogs that we follow and discover new films that I’d like to try. That’s the complete opposite of a complaint, but the only problem is I forget why certain films even end up getting on that list! On Sunday night, I needed something simple and lighthearted to watch to chill myself out, and although I’d forgotten everything about it, What We Did on Our Holiday sounded exactly what I needed.  I watched this ages ago and completely forgot to write about it, in fact when I saw this in our draft list, I actually thought I may have written this donkeys years ago and forgotten about it!!  I need to start making lists!!

This films tells the story of a real family holiday, without the Hollywood treatment. Doug (David Tennant) and Abi (Rosamund Pike) are taking their 3 children with them to Scotland to see their Grandad Gordie (Billy Connolly) for his Birthday, which they suspect may well be his last due his illness with cancer. As they pack their car and prepare for the drive from London, they explain the need for the children to keep their secret safe from the rest of the family.

Never before has a film won me over so quickly. I’ve been enjoying BBC films more and more with every one I see, but I can relate to these children so much it’s crazy. Let’s start with the youngest, Jess. She can be found trying to pack her pet rocks into her family bag, and gets flustered when her Dad won’t let her take them on the journey. I used to obsessively collect anything when I was younger, from stones to erasers, and still do now, although it’s Funko Pop figures now! Mickey has a wildly vivid imagination, and watches for too many programmes about vikings. He knows all about them, even how they deal with their fallen, and even believes that Odin watches over him.

I'm not so easily sold on BBC movies (or British movies for that matter) so it takes a lot for me to enjoy one but this really did get me.  Although, I kept expected something more to happen and it didn't.  This didn't take away from the overall film once I came to the realisation that it was one of those films (that I seem to talk about a lot of late) where nothing much happens but you enjoy it nonetheless.

I couldn't relate to the kids in the same way that Allie did but I recognised similarities between the kids and some of my younger family members.  I loved Gordie, in fact I generally love Billy Connolly but he was great in this.  I loved how the character brought the best out in the kids rather than constantly trying to get them to keep secrets or stop doing this or that.  

I might not have loved vikings as much as Mickey, but I had a wild imagination just as he did, and would often be found on the playground at school inventing all sorts of new games for my friends and I to play. Finally, Lottie keeps a notebook with her at all times. She writes down everything from lists to the things that upset her, especially when it comes to her parents arguing. I’ve been there, too. 

It’s no wonder then, that I got so engrossed in this. It’s hilarious, and I don’t know how much was scripted with the children but some of their lines had me crying with laughter. It was also wonderful to see Rosamund Pike again, who I fell in love with in Gone Girl, and she’s slightly less crazy in this!

I don’t have children of my own (yet?) but I would say this is a must watch for any family. It’ll make you laugh just as much as it will make you misty-eyed, and if you can keep an open mind for the second half of the film, you’ll love it just as much as I did.

Review: Minions (2015)

Back in 2010, Universal Pictures gave us an animated film that many never expected to love as much as they did. Three years later we were given a sequel, which failed to wow but certainly reminded us just how much we love Despicable Me. Fast forward to the present day and Gru’s minions are everywhere. They’re on pajamas, sweets, bedspreads, and now they even have their own film. I got the pleasure of watching Minions the way I think it should, with a kid by my side. Who said babysitting your brother had to be boring?

Minions is a prequel of sorts to Despicable Me, and tells us the story of how the minions came to be, and what they did before they found Gru. The story itself focuses on three main Minions, Kevin, Stuart and Bob, as they leave the rest of their pack (group? What’s the collective term for minions anyway? swarm? gaggle?) and try to find a new boss. Their journey leads them to Villain Con in Orlando, where they meet Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock) and do everything they can to impress her.

The start of the film was painfully slow, and although the narration was needed, it felt like I was being read a children’s story and I felt quite bored.  I loved the beginning, although I had seen a lot of it in the trailer but I still loved the story telling and the narration. Once the minions arrived in Orlando though, the pace picked back up and the rest of the film was enjoyable.  I  did however get a bit bored in the middle but luckily my 2 year old niece didn't "Aunty Jenna, loooooooooooook" *points frantically at the screen* It did suffer I thought from the age-old issue of all the funniest moments being in the trailer.

There were two main things I loved about Minions. One was of course the little yellow cuties themselves, but with them being the main characters this time, we got to hear a lot more of their own language, which derives from languages from all over the world (and Bananas), which now makes sense after the introduction to the film. There are moments where I was begging for subtitles, but for the most part you can tell what the little guys are trying to say. I think its more about the body language and the actions to understand what they are saying, I still love the scene with Stuart and the yellow fire hydrant...."Ello papagena...."

What got the most laughs from me was the British stereotyping. I feel like I should be mildly offended? Like I want to assure people that our policemen do not drink and drive (tea from china cups that is) and we don’t all cry ‘blimey!’ when we’re distressed! We do drink a lot of tea though...I type this whilst drinking tea so it must be true, ha!  I too am drinking tea but not driving at the same time but it does explain why the UK area of Epcot in Florida looks the way it does!

I loved this film (excusing the brief boredom around the middle), but I only ever remotely enjoyed Despicable Me 2 because of these little guys, the rest was a waste of time.  I thought it was as good as Despicable Me and really made me laugh out loud and made my niece squeal with delight (which always makes my day!).

Minions wasn’t as good as good as the original Despicable Me, although the ending made me squeal with glee (I won’t spoil it) and I’d rank it on par with Despicable Me 2. It’s a good film, don’t get me wrong, but I think Minions appeals to a much younger audience.  Maybe I have a lower mental age than you?! 

Review: Jurassic World (2015)

After reading more blog posts than I can count about Jurassic World, I was starting to feel like the only person in the world. Thankfully, I finally found the time to get out to the cinema and me, my fiance, and a surprisingly full cinema screen finally got to witness what we’d been waiting for for so long.  Similar experience but without the reviews, I was seeing everyone tweet about and Facebook about seeing this but hadn't seen it myself (felt like a fraudulent movie blogger when people kept asking me if I'd seen it and I hadn't!!).  Finally got to see it (in 3D) a few weekends ago...

You’ve got to know the story here, but for the sake of continuity I’ll tell you anyway. Jurassic World takes place 22 years after Jurassic Park, where seemingly, no one has learnt their lesson and the Park is now bigger and better than ever. Behind the scenes, researchers and scientists have finished developing a new, genetically engineered dinosaur called the indonom..y...something or other. It’s bigger, scarier, and more dangerous than anything they’ve created before. What could possibly go wrong? Ha!!

The slow start introduces us to our main characters. We have Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) who runs the park, and most definitely does not have time to look after her two nephews Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray (Ty Simpkins) who have come to visit, presumably whilst their parents sort out their divorce. Owen (Chris Pratt) seems to be the chief dinosaur handler, and the smartest person in the room. Er, park.

Honestly, I got everything I could have wanted from Mercedes World. Sorry, Jurassic Converse. Wait, what? Okay, product placement is everywhere, I know, but most of the time it goes straight over my head. That’s the point, right? All these brands being pushed into my subconscious. Jurassic Pandora goes one step too far by ramming brands down our throats. From Chris Pratt making my knees weak, slowly drinking from a glass bottle of Coca-Cola to the most ridiculous close up shots of the brothers’ branded shoes, product placement is everywhere here. I may actually start a drinking game based around this.  How did I not even notice this?!  I am casting my mind back through the whole film in the hopes that i can imagine one product placement but nothing... I have to see this again now so I can keep my eyes peeled! Seriously? Maybe it was the caffeine but it really put me off the film itself!

Back to the point though, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Sure, the start was a little slow but once the pace was set, it just kept going. It was exciting, and I found myself hiding behind my box of popcorn during some of the jumpy moments. I’m not sure I agree with the 12A rating, but it’s replaced the standard 12 so there’s nothing else it could have been given!  Do you not think it would have been a bit gory to be anything less?!  There was quite a lot of blood! I meant it should be higher, not lower! :D

I have to admit, although I was looking forward to this, I tried not to have too many expectations. I enjoyed Jurassic Park 3 but it was no where near as good as the original so I didn't want to get my hopes up....BUT....BUT....this was amazing.  It was extremely close to being as good as the original (if it wasn't for Bryce Dallas-Howard's character) and I was fully engrossed from the very beginning.  I don't usually watch live action movies in 3D because I generally think they use it for cheap thrills but the quality of the 3D in this was brilliant, the feel of souring over the vast landscapes of the Jurassic World park and through various wooded landscapes chasing the tail of a lose Raptor.  There was nothing flying directly at the screen or cheap thrills to make you jump and I loved that!

My biggest niggle with this was Bryce Dallas-Howard, I have never been her biggest fan in anything I have seen her in but i'm 100% if it was a dislike of her characters or her directly. Either way, this was no different, workaholic Claire is arrogant and rude and a really unpleasant character that all of a sudden we are meant to believe 'gives a crap' about anyone after allowing the situation to happen in the first place for her own validation.  Also, her hair.  Am I the only one who noticed that she didn't have a hair out of the place for the first half of the movie and then all of a sudden the style changed to perfectly styled curls...how?! why?! what were hair and make up thinking?! - I think this may have bothered me a bit too much! I think I was too busy creating my product placement bingo game to notice this, ha!

Just for laughs, they had to throw in a hilarious scene where Claire was running full speed (in stillettos) while been chased by a T-rex, which miraculously never caught up with her......

Ok so I spent most of this review ranting but I loved it, cant wait to see it again (and spot some product placement) and get another eyeful of Chris Pratt.....

I fully realise this is the most off topic review I may have ever written, so to conclude, this was pretty brilliant on the big screen, although I’m not sure if I’ll love it as much after multiple viewings.