DC League of Super-Pets review

DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS: 

ANIMATED ANIMAL-THEMED SUPERHERO MOVIE OFFERS PLENTY OF FAST-PACED FUN FOR FAMILIES! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Krypto the Superdog and Ace the Bat-Hound in DC League of Super-Pets

 

            The Justice League shows off their new animal sidekicks in DC League of Super-Pets, the new animated feature from Warner Animation Group based on the DC Comics superhero team, Legion of Super-Pets. While I’m not a purist on this particular team, I am familiar with some of the characters as many of them appeared in the animated series, Krypto the Superdog which ran on Cartoon Network in the mid-2000s. 

            I didn’t think Krypto the Superdog was a great show, but it was a cute little cartoon about a dog who happens to have the powers of Superman. Also, I find it amusing that Krypto the Superdog’s voice went from Double D from Ed, Edd n Eddy in the show to The Rock in this movie, but I digress. 

            That’s basically where my backstory with these characters end, so let’s finally talk about the film. I didn’t really have any expectations when it was announced and when I saw the teaser trailer before Space Jam: A New Legacy, I remembered being like “Krypto the Superdog is getting his own movie? Huh”. 

            Then the other trailers and ads came out and it looked fine, it wasn’t trying to be the next Avengers: Endgame or The Dark Knight. It just looked like a fun, light-hearted animated feature about animal superheroes, and a step up from the 2007 film version of Underdog.

            So, how does League of Super-Pets hold up? It’s good. Granted, there is a lot of jokes aimed at little kids in this movie and not every joke (whether kid or adult targeted) lands, but there’s a good chunk of jokes that work (Particularly those that poke fun at the DC lore) as well as some charming characters, appealing voice acting, fast-paced action, colorful animation, and heart to make a parent glad they saw it with their kids. 

            The film follows Krypto the Superdog (voiced by Dwayne Johnson-Fast & Furious franchise, Jumanji 2 and 3, Black Adam), who is the best friend of the Man of Steel himself, Superman (voiced by John Krasinski-The Office, Leatherheads, A Quiet Place). The two of them are practically inseparable as they constantly save the day, play in the park, and watch TV together, everything best pals do.

            But when Superman and the rest of the Justice League are captured by an evil guinea pig with super-intelligence known as Lulu (voiced by Kate McKinnon-Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters (2016), The Spy Who Dumped Me), Krypto will need to assemble a team of his own consisting of a Boxer given the powers of invulnerability and super-strength named Ace (voiced by Kevin Hart-Ride Along 1 and 2, Central Intelligence, Jumanji 2 and 3), a potbellied pig who can change size in scale named PB (voiced by Vanessa Bayer-Saturday Night Live, Trainwreck, Office Christmas Party), a turtle with super speed and a foul mouth (No joke, it’s all bleeped though!) known as Merton (voiced by Natasha Lyonne-American Pie franchise, Detroit Rock City, Blade: Trinity), and a squirrel with electrokinesis named Chip (voiced by Diego Luna-The Book of Life, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, If Beale Street Could Talk) to defeat the guinea pig supervillain and save the Justice League as well as the world from an army of super-powered guinea pigs. 

            The film also features the voices of Keanu Reeves (The Matrix franchise, John Wick franchise, Toy Story 4) as Batman, Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley, Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie) and Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, DuckTales (2017), Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2) as Keith and Mark, Marc Maron (Joker, Respect, The Bad Guys) as Lex Luthor, Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy, Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling) as Lois Lane, Jameela Jamil (How to Build a Girl, Marry Me, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Wonder Woman, Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords, Men in Black 3, The Lego Batman Movie) as Aquaman, John Early (30 Rock, Search Party, Late Night) as The Flash, Daveed Diggs (Wonder, Ferdinand, Soul) as Cyborg, Dascha Polanco (Orange Is the New Black, In the Heights, Samaritan) as Green Lantern, and Maya Erskine (PEN15, Betas, Scoob!) as Mercy Graves. 

            Overall, DC League of Super-Pets is easily the better animated dog movie released in the past few weeks, even though it isn’t a great movie. It’s the kind of film where if you’ve seen the trailers then you know what you’re getting into. 

            For me, I thought it was a very enjoyable animated film with a ton of fun in-jokes related to the DC Universe, compelling characters with equally charismatic voice acting, and some surprisingly effective dramatic moments. I don’t think it ranks among the best self-aware superhero animated films like Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, The Lego Batman Movie, or Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but if you got kids who want to see it then you’ll be glad you watched it with them. 

            The voice acting is top-notch especially from Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, who have collaborated on films numerous times now and this film proves that they work wonderfully together in both animated form and in live-action. Kate McKinnon is the scene-stealer as this crazy guinea pig supervillain, she is incredibly funny in this movie, and you can tell she’s having fun with the role whenever the character opens her mouth…to the point where I think an evil guinea pig with super-intelligence and wears a cape puts most of the live-action DC villains to shame, it’s both hilarious and at times intimidating. 

            The humor is hit-or-miss as the film has a lot of butt, pee and poop, and toilet jokes that are sure to make the little kids snicker, but there’s also a ton of very funny and even clever ones that lovingly satirize the DC lore as well as some well-timed slapstick, and one of the funniest cat characters in an animated feature since Sox from Lightyear.

            Unlike a certain other recent superhero movie this year, Thor: Love and Thunder, this film actually has a strong balance between comedy and drama. Despite being voiced by Mouse from Jumanji, Ace is given a tragic backstory (Much like Batman) and it’s actually quite heartbreaking when you see it play out, Lulu has a somewhat-sympathetic origin as a guinea pig who was experimented on by Lex Luthor and just wanted to return to him, and with the exception of Krypto, all the pets were from an animal shelter who just want to find a home, I was way more emotionally invested in these talking super-animals than anything from Thor and Jane in Love and Thunder.  

            DC League of Super-Pets is an entertaining animated feature that kids, parents, animal lovers, and fans of DCsuperheroes will likely find some enjoyment out of. Ruff-Ruff and Away! 

Nope review

NOPE: 

JORDAN PEELE REINVENTS THE ALIEN INVASION GENRE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

An unidentified flying object is terrorizing a horse ranch in Nope

 

            A mysterious UFO terrorizes a Hollywood horse ranch in Nope, the new film from director, Jordan Peele (Key & Peele, Get Out, Us) following in the footsteps of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Signs, and War of the Worlds. I’ve been a huge fan of Peele’s work as a director with Get Out being among one of the best films I saw in 2017 and Uswas a fascinating and downright unsettling experience I had in a theater. 

            I was pumped for this movie when it was announced, an alien invasion movie from the insane mind that gave us brain transplants as a bizarre form of immortality and creepy doppelgangers obsessed with rabbits and scissors, you bet your ass I’m gonna see it. So, how does Nope stand compared to Peele’s other directing efforts and even works as a producer like BlacKkKlansman and last year’s Candyman? It’s easily Peele’s weakest film, but I was thoroughly invested from start to finish. 

            The film follows OJ (Daniel Kaluuya-Get Out, Black Panther, Judas and the Black Messiah) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer-Akeelah and the Bee, Hustlers, Lightyear), the brother and sister owners of a horse ranch in Hollywood that trains and cares for horses used in movies and television. When their ranch is mysteriously attacked by an unidentified flying object, OJ, Emerald, former child actor turned carnival owner, Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun-The Walking Dead, Okja, Minari), and a Fry’s Electronics tech salesman named Angel Torres (Brandon Perea-The OA, Doom Patrol) become obsessed with trying to capture video footage of the UFO sightings, but there’s a catch…you can’t look up at it. 

            The film also stars Michael Wincott (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Crow, Alien: Resurrection) as Antlers Holst, Wrenn Schmidt (I Saw the Light, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, For All Mankind) as Amber Park, Keith David (The Thing (1982), Platoon, The Princess and the Frog) as Otis Haywood Sr., Donna Mills (Nip/Tuck, General Hospital, Joy) as Bonnie Clayton, Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria) as Nessie, Eddie Jemison (Ocean’s trilogy, The Punisher (2004), iZombie) as Buster, Oz Perkins (Psycho II, Legally Blonde, Secretary) as Fynn Bachman, Terry Notary (Avatar, Planet of the Apes franchise, Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame) as Gordy the Chimpanzee, Andrew Patrick Ralston (Lethal Weapon (TV series), The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Life in Pieces) as Tom Rogan, and Jennifer Lafleur (Billions, Married, Workaholics) as Phyllis Mayberry. 

            Overall, Nope somewhat pales in comparison to Jordan Peele’s previous directing efforts, but it gets a pass for originality and ambition by reinventing the alien invasion genre with almost Spielberg-like results…as well as being a love letter to film. From nods to various Spielberg classics like Close Encounters and E.T. to various easter eggs in the background and references to film and filmmaking, the production design that looks very retro, and a sequence where a cinematographer character uses an IMAX film camera to capture the footage of the UFO (In fact, this movie was also released in IMAX). 

            This movie reminded me a lot of the 2011 J.J. Abrams movie, Super 8 which was basically an homage to Steven Spielberg films and much like this film, revolved around aliens and filmmaking (In this film’s case, capturing footage of the UFO). You can tell Jordan Peele has a lot of love for these types of films and that he’s able to take familiar elements and make something new and one of a kind out of them. 

            Keep in mind, this is NOT a horror film despite the marketing making it seem like one, it’s a sci-fi thriller that does have its creepy and suspenseful moments, but they aren’t as prevalent compared to Peele’s other films. It’s the kind of film that starts off slow and eases the audience into its world and the ideas being explored, but by the end you’re exhilarated. 

            The film has this brilliant concept where you can’t look at the UFO and if you or a large crowd of people looks up at it then it attacks. I have to say, when you see the UFO, it’s pretty damn intimidating especially if you’re watching the movie on the big screen. 

            The characters are extremely likable, especially the brother and sister, OJ and Emerald, Daniel Kaluuya as the quiet and more restrained brother while Keke Palmer is the loud and eccentric sister with a ton of energy and sass to her character. Practically polar opposites of one another and bone of them have excellent chemistry together whenever they’re onscreen. 

            While the film doesn’t quite have as much comedy compared to something like Get Out, Jordan Peele once again does a solid job at blending humor and scares. Most of the comedy revolves around a character literally saying the title of the movie right before something bad happens, you would think something like this would get old really fast, but every time got a good laugh out of me and it’s a legit reaction to seeing a UFO about to beam you up, you just say “Nope!”. 

            For the most part, I really enjoyed this movie but there are some problems with it, particularly the narrative. When the film focuses on the characters and the UFO at the horse ranch, it’s great but the film felt the need to squeeze in sub-plots that either go nowhere or never come back into play in the final act. 

            Basically, there’s two stories going on, the first is the brother and sister at the ranch with the UFO and the second is this plot revolving around a former child star who was on a sitcom and this terrible thing happened onset that traumatized him. The event is constantly flashed back to throughout the film, but it never impacts the main story…then again that sequence gave me both one of the most terrifying scenes and one of the funniest scenes in the movie so I guess I can’t fault it for that. 

            Nope doesn’t quite reach the same level of quality as Get Out or Us, but if you’re looking for a unique take on the alien invasion genre with compelling characters, interesting ideas, and a good mix of comedy and suspense, say “Yep” to this movie. 

Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank review

PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK: 

ANIMATED SAMURAI SPOOF ISN’T THAT “LEGENDARY”, BUT IT’S MOSTLY HARMLESS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND NICKELODEON MOVIES

Hank the samurai in training and his sensei Jimbo in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank

 

            The world of Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles goes to the cats and dogs (I sh*t you not!) in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, the new animated feature from Rob Minkoff (The Lion King, Stuart Little 1 and 2, The Forbidden Kingdom), Chris Bailey (Runaway Brain, Clerks: The Animated Series, Kim Possible), and Mark Koetsier. As previously mentioned, this film is essentially a remake of the 1974 Mel Brooks western spoof, Blazing Saddles except replace everyone with cats and dogs, change the setting from the old west to feudal Japan, and somehow turn an R-rated, extremely risqué, and controversial film into…a movie for children, even to the point where the working title was literally Blazing Samurai! 

            This film has a very interesting production history as it was originally conceived in 2010 by the co-founder of Sony Pictures Animation because of the popular trend of westernizing Asian films at the time. It would have revolved around a black samurai protecting an East Asian village but was changed to cats and dogs to make it more accessible and even had Chris Rock as a potential co-producer on it. 

            The film was finally picked up by Paramount and Nickelodeon in 2022 and changed the title to Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank as a nod to classic samurai/martial-arts films like Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon. The marketing also hid most of the Blazing Saddles references (Which is understandable because how do you market a movie that’s basically Blazing Saddles for Kids?). 

            I didn’t hear about the film until I saw the trailer before Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and it looked fine. It wasn’t an Emoji Movie scenario where I was appalled by its existence, I just thought it looked like a silly animated movie for little kids with nice animation, goofy humor, and a great voice cast. Shortly afterwards, I saw posts on social media about the film’s development and how it was a remake of Blazing Saddles, only to forget about that when I went to go see it. 

            As a movie aimed at children, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is mostly harmless and kids will probably enjoy the colorful animation, cartoony slapstick and fart jokes, and silly voices. If you’ve seen the trailers then you know what you’re getting into and while the concept of a child-friendly Blazing Saddles remake is baffling, surprisingly it isn’t Dead on Arrival. 

            The film follows Hank (voiced by Michael Cera-Superbad, Scott Pilgrim VS the World, The Lego Batman Movie), a bumbling beagle who aspires to be a samurai and finds himself in a town populated by cats called Kakamucho in desperate need of a hero. Hank befriends a tuxedo cat sensei known as Jimbo (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson-Pulp Fiction, The Incredibles 1 and 2, Marvel Cinematic Universe) who reluctantly agrees to train Hank to take on the role as fearsome samurai and team up with the cats to stop an evil warmonger named Ika Chu (voiced by Ricky Gervais-The Office (UK), Ghost Town, The Invention of Lying) from destroying their village…only one problem, the town hates dogs. 

            The film also features the voices of Blazing Saddles director Mel Brooks (Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Hotel Transylvania franchise) as Shogun, George Takei (Star Trek franchise, Kim Possible, Kubo and the Two Strings) as Ohga, Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, Blood Diamond, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Sumo, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Minions: The Rise of Gru) as Yuki, Gabriel Iglesias (Magic Mike 1 and 2, Coco, Ferdinand) as Chuck, Aasif Mandvi (The Siege, Spider-Man 2, Premium Rush) as Ichiro, and newcomers Kylie Kuioka as Emiko and Cathy Shim as Little Mama. 

            Overall, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank is a passable diversion to show your kids with a few funny and clever moments for adults. But as a film inspired by one of the greatest and most influential spoof films of all time, it leaves a lot to be desired. 

            The plot is literally a retelling of Blazing Saddles beat-by-beat except as a samurai film instead of a parody of western movies. A town that’s being taken over by barbarians and an evil villain in charge wants to destroy said town, so he sends in an outsider who was about to be executed into the village to be the samurai (or sheriff), but the townspeople want nothing to do with him and with several jokes and other plot points repeated minus the profanity. 

The characters are also animated caricatures of their Blazing Saddles counterparts, Hank is Sheriff Bart, Jimbo is The Waco Kid, Ika Chu is Hedley LaMarr, Shogun is Gov. William J. Le Petomane (Even right down to the casting of Mel Brooks!), etc. and while that may be distracting to those familiar with the Mel Brooks film, most kids probably won’t make any connections to it and to the film’s credit, the voice acting is spot-on. 

Michael Cera and Samuel L. Jackson are an enjoyable team, Ricky Gervais gets some good laughs as the villain, and the voice cast as a whole does a great job at delivering their lines, even the ones that aren’t very funny. You can tell everyone’s having a fun time making this movie and even if the final product isn’t that great, it’s hard not to appreciate the passion they put into it. 

The jokes are very hit-or-miss, it relies on a lot of modern talk and pop-culture references (And not just for the stuff they’re satirizing!), you got your butt and fart jokes, and a climax that literally takes place on a giant toilet bowl called the Super Bowl (Haha, very funny!), I wouldn’t call these jokes bad, just dumb…but the little kids will probably laugh at them. With that said, there is a handful of jokes that are genuinely funny and reminiscent to Mel Brooks’ style of comedy. 

There’s one scene where the Sumo character wanders into town and knocks over a horse which then knocks over a bunch of other horses, Sumo then turns to another group of horses on the other side, one of them gulps, and knocks itself into the other horses. Another great bit is a joke involving a split screen where the characters literally run around it from one place to the next, that had me laughing on the floor and was a hysterical kid-friendly fourth-wall break. 

Even the dialogue has its moments of genius with one of the highlights being a scene where one of the cats is holding a gun and they’ve never seen one before. One of them asks if it’s dangerous, another cat responds with “Guns don’t kill cats, only cars and curiosity!”, and the cat asks, “What’s a car?”, and the other cat says “Careful, that’s too curious!”, wonderful moment. 

If you got kids who want to see it, they’ll probably have a great time and there are enough moments in it to make the parents glad they saw it with their children. But if you’re looking for something on par with Blazing Saddles or Zootopia, you might want to leave town. 

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON: 

THIS LITTLE TALKING SHELL WILL DELIGHT AND TUG AT YOUR HEARTSTRINGS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

A little shell goes on a big adventure in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

 

            A talking shell goes where no shell has gone before in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a mockumentary film that combines live-action and stop-motion animation, based on the 2010 short film of the same name. While I’ve never seen the original short, I was fascinated by the film when I first saw the trailer and despite not seeing the short, I could tell it was based on one because the whole movie looked like one of those shorts that you’d see at the Oscars except stretched out to feature-length. 

            This also marks A24’s first venture into animation (Not counting the upcoming animated series based on Hazbin Hotel!) who have been on a roll lately in terms of film with releases such as Ex-Machina, Moonlight, Room, The Farewell, The Disaster Artist, Lady Bird, Hereditary, and The Lighthouse being some of the best films I saw in their respective years. Even this year alone with Everything Everywhere All at Once currently as my best film of 2022, so I was intrigued to see this independent studio take on animation…and it’s delightful! 

            Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is one of the most wholesome films I’ve seen in a while, and I don’t mean that as mindless fluff. In a summer where subpar animated features like Lightyear and Minions: The Rise of Gru dominate the box-office, it’s nice to see something in animation that’s very unique and one of a kind with a ton of originality and doesn’t rely on popular animated/family movie tropes. 

            The film follows Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate-Bob’s Burgers, Zootopia, The Secret Life of Pets 1 and 2 who also co-created the short), a one-inch anthropomorphic, talking shell with a googly eye (Which I’m realizing is starting to become a theme in A24 films!) and tiny shoes living with his grandmother, Nanna Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini-Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, Incredibles 2) in an Airbnb home. Their lives are being documented by filmmaker, Dean (Co-creator and the film’s director, Dean Fleischer-Camp) and Marcel quickly becomes an internet sensation when the videos are uploaded to YouTube. 

            After garnering a large online fanbase as well as being interviewed on 60 Minutes (Which happens to be he and his grandmother’s favorite show!), Marcel gains the courage to embark on a life-changing adventure in search for his long-lost family. 

            The film also stars Rosa Salazar (The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Maze Runner 2 and 3, Alita: Battle Angel) as Larissa, Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Kong: Skull Island, Halloween Kills) as Mark, Andy Richter (Madagascar franchise, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Semi-Pro) as Mario, Nathan Fielder (Nathan for You, The Night Before, The Disaster Artist) as Justin, Jessi Klein (Chappelle’s Show, Inside Amy Schumer) as Judy, Peter Bonerz (McGurk: A Dog’s Life, Nobody’s Perfekt, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege) as The Maestro, and Lesley Stahl, Conan O’Brien, and Brian Williams as themselves. 

            Overall, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On takes the cake as the most feel-good movie I’ve seen all year as well as being one of the best films I’ve seen so far in 2022. I was thoroughly delighted and emotionally invested in this film as I was watching it, to the point where I actually want to check out the original YouTube videos that inspired it. 

            I will say, the plot isn’t anything groundbreaking as we’ve heard stories like this before, a character known by very few people becomes an overnight sensation and the whole child finding his missing family premise. However, the film itself is so sweet, so charming, and so thought-provoking that it makes this simple narrative work to its advantage.

            And a lot of that is because Marcel the Shell himself is such an endearing character, he’s adorable, curious, and irresistibly charming with a lot of childlike wonder, not to mention an excellent vocal performance by Jenny Slate. Some of his best scenes involve his relationship with his aging grandmother which is incredibly sweet and the emotional highlights of the film while also having excellent chemistry with the cameraman, Dean. 

            Despite being a movie with a talking shell that’s aimed at kids (to an extent), the themes and subject matter explored are handled in a very mature and realistic way. Themes of isolation, loneliness, dysfunctional relationships, and even death are explored in this film, and I appreciate how they don’t sugar-coat the heavy content for the kids, these are very relatable and relevant things for kids to discuss with their parents and even adults who have felt those emotions before while also taking advice from the titular talking shell to look on the brighter side of things. 

            The animation on the characters is beautiful and even though they’re a little exaggerated and semi-cartoonish, they interact with the live-action world flawlessly. I also love the imagination this film has, especially from the little contraptions the shells made around the house, slices of bread acting like a bed, and how Marcel and Nanna Connie’s garden is literally inside an old wheelbarrow, Marcel gives Arrietty and the Borrowers a run for their money in terms of tiny resources. 

            What more can I say? Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is the kind of film that can put even the biggest sourpusses in the best of moods without shying away from the more poignant moments. It has stunning animation, lovable characters, an intelligent script, and a lot of heart, all the ingredients that make a great film wrapped up in one teeny tiny shell. 

Thor: Love and Thunder review

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER: 

FOURTH THOR ADVENTURE CHOOSES COMEDY OVER STORY AND CHARACTERS WITH POLARIZING RESULTS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** 1/2 out of 4

MARVEL STUDIOS

Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale in Thor: Love and Thunder

 

            The God of Thunder is back for a new adventure in Thor: Love and Thunder, the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first non-Avengers MCU film series to go to #4. Quick thoughts on the other Thor films before we dive into this one. 

            The first Thor movie from 2011, I liked quite a bit though not a perfect movie, but I enjoyed the world building in Asgard, visuals, and Chris Hemsworth’s performance as the titular character has a lot of charm and likability whether in space or on Earth. The second film, Thor: The Dark World I’m not a big fan of, I don’t think it’s terrible or anything, but it was mostly very standard and dull to the point where even after I watch it, I forget about it very quickly. 

            Then the third film, Thor: Ragnarok came along, and I absolutely loved it and it’s among some of my favorite films in the MCU. With its epic size and scale, campy Guardians of the Galaxy-esque tone, rocking soundtrack, exhilarating action, memorable characters, and Cate Blanchett’s delightfully wicked and scenery chewing performance as Hela the Goddess of Death, easily the best Thor film and one of the best in the MCU. 

            Which brings us to this film with Chris Hemsworth (The Cabin in the Woods, Rush, Men in Black: International) reuniting with Thor: Ragnarok director, Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jojo Rabbit) to bring another adventure in Asgard to the screen. It makes sense to collaborate again on a fourth movie especially when Ragnarok was hailed by many as the best Thor film and one of the best MCU films, so can Hemsworth and Waititi recapture the same magic? Not exactly. 

            Thor: Love and Thunder is a relatively entertaining film that does tie some loose ends in Thor’s story arc after the events in Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame, and once again Hemsworth is extremely charismatic as the God of Thunder. However, it feels like a huge step backwards fueled almost entirely on cheap Marvel laughs that sometimes work, but others get annoying very quickly (*cough* GOATS!). 

            After the events of Avengers: Endgame, the film follows Thor (Hemsworth) going on various space adventures with his friends Korg (voiced by Waititi), Miek, and the Guardians of the Galaxy consisting of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt-Parks and Recreation, The Lego Movie 1 and 2, Jurassic World trilogy), Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper-The Hangover trilogy, American Sniper, A Star is Born (2018)), Drax (Dave Bautista-Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, Dune (2021)), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel-The Iron Giant, Fast & Furious franchise, Riddick trilogy), Mantis (Pom Klementieff-Oldboy, Ingrid Goes West, Uncut Gems), and Nebula (Karen Gillan-Doctor Who, Oculus, Jumanji 2 and 3). But when Thor feels a void of emptiness inside himself, he embarks on a spiritual journey to discover who he truly is. 

            While that’s happening, a new villain emerges known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale-American Psycho, The Dark Knight trilogy, Ford v. Ferrari) who possesses a mysterious sword and plots to wipe out all the gods. When Thor flies back into action upon hearing the news about Gorr, he runs into a very familiar face…his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman-Star Wars franchise, V for Vendetta, Black Swan) who now wields Mjolnir and possesses similar powers as him as the Mighty Thor. 

            Thor, Jane, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson-Creed 1 and 2, Westworld, Men in Black: International), Korg, and Miek race across the cosmos to uncover the mystery behind Gorr’s wrath and stop him before it’s too late. 

            The film also stars Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Noah) as Zeus, Jaimie Alexander (Kyle XY, The Last Stand, Blindspot) reprising her role as Lady Sif, Kat Dennings (Charlie Bartlett, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, 2 Broke Girls) reprising her role as Darcy Lewis, and Stellen Skarsgård (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Chernobyl) reprising his role as Dr. Erik Selvig. 

            Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder is the perfect example of a mindless popcorn movie and those looking for some comforting and campy Marvel fluff will likely enjoy a lot of this film. It doesn’t take itself very seriously (Even more so than Thor: Ragnarok!), has a lot of flashy visuals and eye candy, and jokes…lots…and lots… of jokes! 

            The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become infamous with putting a lot of jokes in their movies dating back to the first Avengers movie and just about every film post-Avengers was filled with a lot of gags, one-liners, and catchphrases (I guess like a comic book the more I think about it!) with very divisive results. But where films like the Avengers, Ant-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy movies as well as Thor: Ragnarok had clever writing and strong balances between comedy, action, and drama, this goes full-on comedy and while it isn’t nearly as cringy as something like Batman & Robin, there’s a handful of jokes that sadly don’t stick the landing. 

            I want to say a good half of the jokes got a laugh out of me, particularly the character-based ones because they fit their personalities like a scene where Thor is defining pain (I won’t give the joke away here, but it fits his character). Then you have things like the screaming goats that carry the magic carriage Thor, Jane, Valkyrie, and Korg take on their adventure where it was funny the first time but gets very old and annoying quick, another scene with Thor showing off his mighty backside, and a really bizarre love-triangle between Thor, Stormbreaker, and Mjolnir which made me laugh…but mostly because of how stupid the situation was, it was like the Thor equivalent of the wedding scene from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. 

            With that said, are were a lot of things I enjoyed about Thor: Love and Thunder, the action sequences are a lot of fun, the visuals, the imaginative worlds the heroes travel to (One in particular is a planet where everything is black and white and whenever Thor or Jane shoot lightning, it shows a little bit of color, I called it Sin City Planet as I was watching it!), and the chemistry between the lead actors. I’m one of the few people who didn’t mind Thor and Jane’s romance in the first two movies and Hemsworth and Portman’s charisma are able to make these cheesy rom-com style clichés much more salvageable. 

            Also, Christian Bale is having a ball as Gorr, a villain who manages to be both terrifying and scenery-chewing goofy at the same time. Granted, Cate Blanchett’s Hela from Ragnarok was the stronger villain, I do like how there is a bit of sympathy towards him, and you understand why he feels the need to do what he does. 

            Thor: Love and Thunder is one of the weaker Thor films and plays more like Thor: Ragnarok: The Jane Cutrather than a legit sequel, but fans of the character and MCU will probably find things to enjoy in it. However, if you’re sick to death of Marvel humor, this definitely won’t win you over, if anything it’ll annoy you faster than the magic goats themselves. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru review

MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU: 

SEQUEL TO DESPICABLE ME SPIN-OFF EMBRACES THE SILLINESS OF ITS TITULAR CHARACTERS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Gru and his Minions are back in Minions: The Rise of Gru

 

            The Minions have returned for another animated adventure in Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth installment of Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise and follow-up to the 2015 spin-off prequel, Minions. I thought the Minions’ first solo feature film was fine though definitely inferior to the first two Despicable Me movies, but it had a handful of laughs, enjoyable voice acting, and amusing characters with equally amusing designs, it’s a passable kids’ movie. 

            Did it need to have a sequel? I didn’t think so when it was first announced because the first film ended with the Minions leaving with young Gru and setting up the events of the first Despicable Me movie. Even the main Despicable Me films were starting to decline in quality with 2017’s Despicable Me 3 being a very by the numbers third installment aside from an amazing vocal performance by South Park’s Trey Parker as the film’s villain. 

            Then the trailers started to come out and it looked…fine, but I was still questioning why a Minions sequel needed to exist. It was also a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic as it was originally scheduled to be released in summer 2020 but was pushed back until 2022.

            Now that the film is finally out, I can say that Minions: The Rise of Gru is…surprisingly a very entertaining follow-up and a lot more fun to watch than the first film (The first Minions movie, that is). It isn’t a great movie, nor does it try to be anything deep or meaningful, it’s just a fun, goofy, and completely chaotic animated film that kids will adore, and parents will get some good laughs out of. 

            Set in the 1970s, the film follows young Gru (voiced by Steve Carell-The Office, Anchorman 1 and 2, Foxcatcher) who aspires to be the greatest supervillain on Earth and a member of a villain group known as the Vicious 6. However, after being turned down by the group for not being evil enough, he hatches a plan that’ll make them think otherwise…by stealing an ancient and powerful stone from their lair with help from his loyal and mischievous Minions (all voiced by Despicable Me 1-3 and Minions 1 director, Pierre Coffin). 

            But when Gru is suddenly captured by his favorite supervillain, Wild Knuckles (voiced by Alan Arkin-Gattaca, Little Miss Sunshine, Argo), three of his Minions, Kevin, Stuart, and Bob embark on an adventure to rescue their master or “Mini-Boss” as the Minions call him while Gru himself learns that even bad guys need help from their friends. 

            The film also features the voices of Taraji P. Henson (Hustle & Flow, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ralph Breaks the Internet) as Belle Bottom, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank) as Master Chow, Jean-Claude Van Damme (Universal Soldier, Street Fighter, Timecop) as Jean-Clawed, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus: Blood and Sand) as Nun-Chuck, Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV, Universal Soldier franchise, Creed II) as Svengeance, Danny Trejo (Desperado, Spy Kids franchise, Machete) as Stronghold, Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Death on the Nile) reprising his role as Dr. Nefario, and Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Shrek franchise) reprising her role as Gru’s mother Marlena. 

            Overall, Minions: The Rise of Gru may not be among some of Gru and the Minions’ finest adventures, but it’ll give fans of the Despicable Me/Minions franchise what they’re looking for...while somehow finding new ways to be even more insane than expected. The first Minions movie did a decent job with the 1960s setting and it had glimmers of Despicable Me craziness with characters like Scarlet Overkill and some of the villains at the Villain-Con, this one on the other hand embraces the 70s and involves stones that turn people into monsters or animals, several villains each with their own distinct designs and vehicles that reflect their personalities, kung fu, and a climax that’s the very definition of chaos. 

            The plot isn’t the best and in terms of meshing the Despicable Me and Minions elements together, it’s a mess. One plot-point involves Gru bonding with Wild Knuckles and learning how to be a great villain only to be interrupted by Minions learning kung fu or causing trouble, none of them really correlate but I feel like for a movie like this, that was intentional for more focus on the comedy. 

            The comedy is hit-or-miss and will depend on your tolerance of the Minions, if you find them funny, you’ll probably laugh at most of these jokes, but if you find them annoying, this won’t change your mind. For me, I think they’re funny enough and for every joke that doesn’t work, it’s usually followed by ones that do. 

            Yeah, they do a lot of butt and fart jokes, but other times they’ll be doing more fast-paced and physical gags reminiscent to like a CGI Looney Tunes cartoon. Those moments are when the Minions’ style of humor work best with one of my favorites being a chase between a guy on a motorcycle and a Minion on a tricycle, it’s surprisingly a perfect mix of action and slapstick comedy. 

            Some other highlights of mine were the Minions’ kung fu training montage that pays homage to films like Enter the Dragon, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the climax where the Minions battle the Vicious 6 which is one of the most bonkers action sequences I’ve ever seen in an animated film. From the zany and fast-paced animation to its ridiculous villains and blend of high-octane action and Minion-style physical humor, it makes for a truly entertaining final act. 

            Even with all the insanity going on, I’m grateful that there is still some of that Despicable Me heart in this movie, mostly regarding the relationship between Gru and Wild Knuckles. It’s sort of like this villain father-son relationship where the mentor becomes a parental figure to young Gru and it’s a genuinely sweet friendship that kind of mirrors what Gru is eventually going to do when Margo, Edith, and Agnes come into the picture. 

            The film also does an excellent job with fan-service and easter eggs from the earlier films such as Gru meeting Dr. Nefario for the first time, a scene eerily similar to the coffee shop Freeze-Ray scene from the first movie, and appearances from supporting characters who would eventually be involved with Gru’s actions in the future. They don’t linger on these callbacks, nor do they go up to the camera and say “Hey, you see what we did here?”, I thought it was a neat way to tie it in with the first movie. 

            Minions: The Rise of Gru gives exactly what it advertises, a fun, colorful, and delightfully wacky animated adventure with the Minions. Kids will love it and parents will get some laughs out of it…Banana!