One in a 'Minion'

The latest Minions story board holds the same themes of course: team work and family spirit as well as 'good' vs relatively 'evil'. Friends work together as one to overcome obstacles and to save the day. Such are the themes of most animated films geared towards audiences of all ages but with a specifically younger audience in mind, relaying the message of good overcoming a likable enough evil, a 'not too scary evil' that is.

I say 'a not too scary evil' because the personalities say for example of Scarlet and Mr Despicable, although overwhelming loud and able to street fight; flying high and dropping low unharmed, are still likable because of their adorable sense of humour and because of other redeeming traits such as affection towards a select few for instance. In the case of Scarlet, her affection is for her 'baby' as she calls him, referring to her husband, as my 5 year old niece aptly pointed out to me.
Scarlet's hubby is her redeeming relationship since she obviously cares for him and he for her. He is grungy, cool, a sassy new age hippy and lovable himself despite being a 'baddy'.

The setting is versatile and colourful; New York, India, Australia, and with the usual props we grew fond of along side the Minions characters: the jeans outfits, the unusual extravagant weapons and the very colourful background scenery.

These genre descriptions all seem to be quite fitting of any animated feature film with the differences between films being a variation in the characters presented and their portrayal.

So what exactly makes the Minions special? Is it their yellow colour and high pitched voices reminiscent of C Beebies and their lovable cuddly personalities? And if so why do these vocal tones and colours make them close to our hearts? Instinctively perhaps the brighter the colours the higher the voice pitch, the cleaner and clearer the characters in terms of their bright outlook and sunny personalities; happy and fun, emotionally positive, rather than the dark and evil characters projected usually with the deep low voices of the lower realms.

But what makes the minions stand out perhaps more than all of  this, is their particular universal language which unites them and us in its 'a small world after all' way. The lingo seems to be a melange of English, French, Italian and 'Espagnol' -as my young nephew pointed out ('they are speaking 'Espagnol'' he says in his usual adorable way). This mosaic of languages reinforces the idea that the world is one, the masses, the people are all the same everywhere. Despite our differences we are all united in our little yellow uniform shapes and jeans wearing forms (metaphorically of course); human beings one and all looking for friendship and a 'niche' to belong to.

But the messages in the film are not just about similarities and differences.
Some of the humour is hidden adult humour (watch out for a few short background scenes -flashing fast- of adult messages hidden in how fast they appear in the background but overt otherwise in that they are obvious) and the messages too are for the more mature in that they are about social class, equality and unison.

The queen's crown as well as the sword in the stone are symbols of royalty and nobility but they are all made accessible (including the queen herself) to the minions as masses. The minion can be a a knight noble and crowned, and the queen can have a drink in the pub with the rest of us.Such is the social message of unity presented here.

This is a noble ideology in itself for both young learning minds and old cynical ones, but taking this a minion step further, or a million steps further in fact, we can also see the concept of a minion as a follower to a boss or a leader being questioned here: the minions look for a leader but they also lead themselves and they have a choice whom to follow. There is almost a political dimension as well as a social one here.

We as people in this big mass of life may be different to one another in some ways, unique too in others, but we are similar in that the different languages we require to communicate and our sex be it female or male as well as our skin colour matter not at all; even our voices can be heard in a similar fashion. What is important are the choices we make, whom we chose to follow and what ideals we select.

We can all be leaders at different times of our lives just like the minions, but it is also absolutely fine to be a follower too and to be a minion as long as we follow the right path for each of us individually.
One a in a million can also be one in a minion. It's two sides of the same coin of human nature.

Keep Calm and Minion!

'Elementary my dear Watson'

We have known him over the years as Sherlock Holmes in his films, Sherlock in the latest TV series, as Holmes full stop or by the famous titles of his notorious books or familiar villains such as Moriarty, and he is back now a few years older as Mr Holmes.

The title of the lately released adaptation of our beloved hero hints straight off at this genius character as viewed perhaps from the perspective of a stranger or through the eyes of a younger protagonist. The Mr., being a formal appellation of respect, puts a little distance between Holmes and us as spectators as well as between him and other characters in the film.
This indeed becomes clear when we perceive that the young boy playing the role of the housekeeper's son is in fact his most avid admiring spectator as well as becoming the catalyst for Holmes's memory throughout the film; as they get closer, the boy becomes his right hand and perhaps even another young Sherlock himself in future?

We have seen Sherlock in all his age phases and this latest phase almost seals his fate as he 'misplaces' his memory but tries to regain his humanity in an attempt to redeem himself before he leaves this world.

The 'Holmes formula' remains nevertheless the same; (despite the difference between the take on Sherlock in this film and the previous takes on him in previous films) Holmes here may have an ageing mind and regretful heart but the successful formula of subtle intelligent clues and brilliant deductions is resilient, with Sherlock's genius remaining intact despite his gaps in memory and struggles with old age.

The setting is both in Japan and England, with an attractive contrast of both scenery and characters. The scenes are also alluringly contrasting: a combination of beautiful long shots and emotional close ups of Holmes's extraordinary expressions.

These emotional close ups highlight his unique personality and his long lasting character traits despite his age: he remains logical, stubborn, witty and nonchalant as well as confident and astute, albeit softened in his crude honesty by the ravages of time and regret. His essence is the same but he realises that human nature requires more heart than mind sometimes and that certain truths are better embellished for the sake of goodness and empathy.
Therefore the main difference in the ageing Holmes is that he tries to put his heart above his head finally and this is the truly surprising element of the film.

This brings the theme of realism to the forefront -rather than fiction- and it is spelled out to us clearly in the form of the contrast between what Watson wrote in terms of fiction and what Sherlock remembers and sees as his reality.
The props are still there: the hat, the smoking, the needle the fine tuned violin sound track (especially during the credits) but they are also different, less pronounced, making him more real and less of a caricature; a more viable and believable persona to the audience.

I am not sure if this is a good idea (ie toning down the props) in the long run since Sherlock is such an extraordinary mind that we may wish to coat him in images of gigantic props and unrealistic visual effects if only to set him apart from the rest. But this is of course a matter of opinion.

The story line and plot are simple enough but the flashbacks make them complex and more intriguing and there is certainly a mystery to be unravelled. This is achieved quite cleverly and smoothly with the right amount of twists and props such as bees and wasps and gloves, perfume and magical musical instruments, as well as an 'over played' or 'over acted' foreign music teacher.

The cast is aptly chosen and Ian McKellen stands out with superb facial expressions aided by witty, wise dialogue (although I must say I struggled with the technical sound of dialogue and understanding the words clearly at times).
The interaction between him and his young 'protege' of sorts is endearing and we see a possible future Sherlock in the making. The dialogue between mother/housekeeper her son and Sherlock is engrossing and subtle, hinting at the relationships between them without being in your face spelled out, and this is always a good thing in my opinion; subtle dialogue draws the characters' traits for us without our conscious knowledge and the characters' emotions form in our minds a skeletal plan of their interactions.

The script is high end and one example of its well finished calibre is when the doctor responds to Holmes's Japanese herbal memory remedy by saying: 'its the side effects I am worried about', what are they responds Holmes, 'Hope' replies the doctor.
Referring to hope as a negative side effect in the face of age and mortality is very much a Sherlock fitting stroke of dialogue genius because of its inherent logic and at the same time because it surprises us by transforming an abstract emotional concept (here: hope) into a physical side effect.

The story unwinds very cleverly with the bees and wasps figuring in and out of the plot to aid the story line from beginning to end.
' That's not a bee it's a wasp, says Holmes..They are entirely two different things'. Said by Sherlock at the beginning to a young boy about to disturb a wasp on a train window, this statement sets both the plot line for later on in the story as well as reminds us of Sherlock's own abilities and his logical mind despite of its failings with age.

Many emotional scenes throughout the film, with the final one bringing forth a sense of soulful happiness and of a humble contented Sherlock; an image of him which we don't usually attribute to Watson's long time seemingly cold and arrogant friend.

It's not so elementary for Holmes this time, he learns from Watson's empathy and has a complex inner emotional battle to fight to get to a desired and peaceful end result.

'Techno-saurs'

Spielberg's Jurassic legacy continues with the latest release of the enhanced Park into a Dinosaur world; a supposed wonderland of delights of dino rides and gimmicks for children and adults of all ages, but is it Alice's rabbit hole we are drawn into when entering this world where teenagers grow up and children or adults bond and learn about each other and themselves, or is this yet another dimension of Hollywood's money printing money making dollar factory?

These continuous productions of action adventure genre films seem to be very profitable for the big screen despite the costs involved and we wonder what exactly about this formula still works or even in fact works better in time.

The film presents a simulation of reality within a simulation in order to make it believable this time since theme and genre and story remain the same. We are no longer surprised by the original idea of a dino on screen nor by the story lines or action scenes, so what is it that makes us go back for more?

A family is in danger again, they are chased by scary dino types with monstrous teeth and have to resolve their problems by coming together to survive.
But this time it's a ride, a simulation of the scary world, it is not supposed to be real because it is seemingly controlled by humans from the start and this appeals to us because we are not taken for a simple audience and we are in on it so to speak, we are agreeing to this simulation both on and off the screen for entertainment value.

The plot is viable because the morality of genetic creation and mutation is questioned and this appeals to human nature because of ethical questions. The plot thickens when Nature does not allow control and when simulation does not work for humans after all because the mutated dinosaurs become real and take on a life of their own.

The danger seems to be the same in this sequel as in the previous ones but the main alluring difference being that it is now better than ever in 3D and the digital effects and graphics are very technologically advanced.
Film makers are in fact acknowledging that as intelligent viewers we are in on it too and we are not supposed to believe it is real but to enjoy its entertainment value.

One more thing as Colombo would say, there may be no mystery to the story to be resolved here but the emphasis is on the fact that nature is homogeneous; that all animals are essentially wild and free, they cannot be tamed or captured without consequences and are all similar to one another as a species in this.
This is portrayed in one of the establishing scenes when an a close up of a seemingly big animal's paw then proves to be the paw of a small bird when the camera goes to long shot. The message here is being reinforced: ethically we should not try to create or control nature or it will all backfire badly on us because Nature's power it in it's 'uniqueness' and 'oneness'.

Look out for those big birds scenes definitely not a sesame street scene and almost reminiscent of Hitchcock's 'The Birds' in it's style although not in content of course.

The film offers lots of variety in terms of action entertainment: the dinosaurs or 'dino-mutations' are big and small, water proof, land proof as well as air born.

The cast chemistry is good with Pratt making a couple of very sassy scenes even sassier, playing the tough guy with a heart of gold (the protector).

High heels are not practical whilst running from 3D humongous teeth but they do look good nevertheless and emphasise the female/male chemistry between the two 'human' love birds throughout the movie.
Heels here being another reminder perhaps from the movie makers that they know that we know that they know that it's just a movie repeat but we do go see it anyway right?

Definitely NOT just another spy movie

Suffice it to say that any spy film tends to repeat the same themes in it's genre: action, adventure and one hero with wit and charm who surpasses expectations and saves the day as well as the ten damsels in distress who all fall in love with his handsomeness.

The latest comedy take on spy films, in the form of 'Spy', does perhaps fall into the usual trap of  repeated story lines but it also comes with an excellent cast of professionals including Jude Law, alongside some surprisingly very funny performances from unexpected appearances of usually non comic-type cast actors.

The movie is held together by an excellent script as well as a list of very talented performers.

The laughs are numerous and consistent and they include both action scenes with funny twists as well as very comic dialogues. It is a combo of situation and character humour and a formula that works.

The movie of course has the usual plot of good guys and bad guys fighting each other till the end, with the added bonus of making the shy behind the scenes wall flowers surprisingly able to turn the tables on the stereotypically high and mighty characters- although the latter tough guys usually take over, in this case they are clumsy and in aid of assistance from the office 'geeks'.

All of the characters are written as equally funny but my personal favourite has to be Aldo from Rome, an outrageously rude crude womaniser who nevertheless is somehow lovable despite being a total caricature, and this is perhaps because of his extreme sincerity.

Without giving too much of the story away, I would say that what makes the humour very good is the contrast within the characters themselves- multi-faceted eccentric personalities, as well as the raw honestly of the scenes exposing their faults and blunders.

The interaction between characters- from different cultures, which also gives diversity and colour to the humour- is superbly executed with huge physical and mental chemistry between all of them.

The action scenes and stunts are entertaining enough and please do watch out for one particular motorcycle scene where 'miss pink eye' (you will know who I mean once you watch the film) gets literally stuck in the mud. Keep an eye out here for an instant swap from high heeled shoes to flats when the camera closes in on her feet for a mere second or two.
It was slow enough to be spotted by the naked eye and this made me wonder why in an otherwise spotless film this was done. Was it perhaps on purpose for comic value and in order to highlight the eccentricities of the usually serious type spy films where we are led to believe that the actors are the stunt men when in fact we know perfectly well as intelligent viewers that this is almost never the case.
There are a few exceptions to this of course, when actors do take on the stunts themselves.

Apparently, for instance, Tom Cruise has lately attempted to 'hang' from a plane wing and this is supposedly a real shot of him in the still to be released sequel to his first Mission Impossible.

Watch this space! LITERALLY!

Mr Cruise, are you for real with this, I mean hanging from a plane! Seriously? Has the life of a famous actor become so dreary as to require further excitement we wonder.

Fauna

Noah's theme worked well at cinemas because the story is an epic one with big nature scenes and historic roots. A little like Moses on his mountain, Noah takes us back to the lone hero who changes the world. It is a genre well before the village genre and not so popular at the moment with all the new Sci Fi films taking over but it still works because of its big screen cinematic value; seeing nature on the big screen is still very enjoyable.

This story was adapted for very young children in the animation Two by Two, where the animals or fauna take the lead.

Animal stories always do well with children of all ages because they are spontaneous, basic beings with simple needs and infinite possibilities.
They communicate differently so we are able to imagine them in a very wide variety of interactions and situations and this is exactly what Two by Two does.It stimulates the children's imagination.

It depicts the animals in a fun environment on Noah's arc which is likened to a hotel/cruise ship and makes the story less frightening or final.

The story line is simple: animals escaping from the flood with the added bonus of comic lines and slapstick comic scenes.

The fable is told for and from the point of view of special or unusual animals who seemingly don't fit in with the others but who end up being more special than anyone else.
This here is the main educational value for children: seeing that being different or original is actually very good and to be encouraged and happily discovered and of course that team work is important.

My gorgeous niece and nephew enjoyed it because of the animal characters who were fun and courageous/heroic and I enjoyed the visual both of looking at their innocent awed faces and at the colourful animated scenery on the screen.

Relaxing and Fun! Watch out for the Lion (and his hair), my personal favourite!

Back to Basics

High concept films are always a favourite of the Hollywood scene mainly because they are always very popular concepts but also because Hollywood has the necessary facilities, man power, budget and space to make high concept films work really really well.

One such concept is Man Vs Nature in a city life setting. With natural calamities such as hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves and earthquakes, the plot is always very similar in that the emphasis is on conflict and survival.

Nature certainly gives the team a few challenges in San Andreas, starring the Rock in one of his favourite types of films it seems; i.e:  the action adventure film genre. (Journey to the Centre of the Earth for example).

He is very well suited to such roles as the defender of the people with his bulging muscles and inner teddy bear.
The story is familiar: a family with the main characters having their own conflicts to resolve, accompanied by supporting sub-plots. The conflict as always in such natural calamity films is resolved through working together for the common goal of survival. The good become better and the cowards show their true colours under duress. It's reminiscent of Dante's Peak, Titanic and other such films in terms of re hashed story lines.

The conflict resolutions and endings are predictable here but the emotions are powerful and empathy/sympathy is easily drawn out with such plots involving family 'get togethers' and saving the world.

The entertainment value in the film presents itself in the form of rolling falling buildings, explosions, fire and smoke, high water waves, rushed scenes of escape and bright scenes of survival.
The edginess comes from resolving problems as they pile up on our heroes and we are involved as spectators in thinking hard to see what the solutions might be at every calamitous turn.

One original scene at the start of the film involves a hanging high floor door opening as it where to nothingness once the quake starts and once the floors ground and ceiling and all topple to the ground along with the sceptics who refuse to trust the heroes, and who decide instead to go their separate ways into the abyss, instead of following the protagonists to advised safety.
Trust is key in the film and comes up a lot; whom to trust and whether to follow your instincts despite what your head tells you to do.

The emotion climaxes when an old painful memory and a past loss is almost relived by the family and when another member of the family is under the same risks as one already lost. This amplifies the emotions and keeps us at the edge of our seats even if we may guess the ending.

I recommend this film in 3 D as the highlights are the special effects during the action scenes as well as the graphics and the escape stunts which are all well edited.

No gaps in filming and the devil is in the detail so to speak as we see things in small detail from all angles: from above, below, sideways, centre frame most of the time or from a bird's eye view perspective quite often. Things, objects come at us at incredible speed to add to the believable value of fiction filming.

Man Versus Nature brings us back to basics. What matters are people, family survival, character and most of all Love. What matters less are objects even whole cities which are made but can be remade.
Moses had the mountains, villages had a few wooden saloons and cities or future cities can be brought back to essentials too when Nature reminds people of how far they have gone but also of what's important and of how fragile city structures and the abstracts really are.

Basically, basics are where it's at and people make cities, not the other way round. Nature Rules!
(I am tempted to do a Rolling Stones gesture here with both face and hands to emphasise that scary as it may be Nature Rocks!)

Disney-Land

Although the first few moments of this film disappointed slightly with a stretched out generic monologue type narrative between Clooney and his co-star in the newly released Tomorrow Land, the film picks up pace and does not disappoint in terms of creativity and original story line.

True enough that looking at the previews one would expect more special effects and stunts but the gimmicks and props are impressive nevertheless in terms of imaginative ideas to move the story along in a futuristic setting.

The trend recently has certainly been a look at our planet and at finding alternative ideas for its survival- rather than searching for other places to live should this planet meet its demise.
This film like many of it's recent futuristic movie 'mates' falls into this category; a cross between the back to the future type setting and the matrix ideology of finding the real world and saving it, but with a likeness to the soon to be released Scifi genre films which are being advertised at the moment.

What surprises is that Disney has come a long way from dark fables and feel good fairy tales in terms of imaginative plots and props. Clooney stars as the cynical but likable man-child and plays an intelligent role in a very convincing way, whilst the youngsters and child actors in the film take precedence as the voices and hopes of a brighter future and a more unified world set against its own self destruction.

The set seems simple enough but the props and original gimmicks make it imaginative and fun.
The story is simple but effective moving towards a happy ending with some morals along the way; man made technology can backfire but self fulfilling prophecies of doom can be changed with brave hope and team work.

The machines are not as deadly as the ones one would see in say in Robocop or Star Wars or even the automated world of Jurassic Park; they are more ambiguous and friendly with the message being that we reap what we sow as humans and we should look to positives rather than negatives because belief creates reality. This reality can be either hallucinated or created from our minds and thoughts and so what is perceived is in fact very relative.

The messages may be geared towards a growing pains audience and the young adults generation, which is very much within Disney's ideology from its conception, but the originality of the script and story line is imaginative and does not disappoint.

All in all an entertaining feel good film with minor stunts and major tricks.

The small world ride is a reminder of Disney Land of course and the film is cheeky in that it advertises itself at the same time as its Disney ideologies.

'It is a small world after all, so let's make it a good one', is the 'reality' being promoted here.
If all we think happy thoughts enough times we make happiness happen,

Wouldn't that be dreamy!..