Despicable Me 2 Review

 Number 733 on the top 1000 films of all time is the computer-animated comedy Despicable Me 2.

Former supervillain Gru (Steve Carell) is now a loving father to his three adoptive daughters. However, he is tempted into becoming a hero by secret agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) when the mutagen PX41 is stolen from the Arctic Circle. This all forms part of a greater plan when it is revealed that supervillain El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) stole the mutagen in his scheme for world domination.

I liked this film as much as I liked its predecessor which is very little at all. It had all of the same weaknesses as the first Despicable Me. The humour wasn't even juvenile. It was infantile. There was an over-reliance on poop and fart jokes. I get that this is family-friendly. I get that it's meant for kids. But there is more to entertaining kids than poop and fart jokes. Usually in family-friendly films like in Disney Pixar while there are silly jokes for kids, there are lots of jokes that only adults are meant to get. But there was none of that in Despicable Me 2. Just juvenile humour and Steve Carell being Steve Carell.

I don't know why he's doing a silly voice with a silly accent. And I don't know why he has to do it throughout the whole film. It became very old very quickly. I get why this is a children's film. It has bright, eye-popping animation, lots of idiotic humour and cute little minions, but there is little substance for anybody older than the age of ten. The storyline was predictable, the voice performances were forgettable and, even the minions, who have gone onto become the mascots of this franchise became very tedious after a while.

Yes, I'm being a grumpy old man. But this grumpy old man did not like this film at all. It was despicable.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty review

 Number 755 on the top 1000 films of all time is the adventure comedy-drama 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.'

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) works a tedious office job at Life magazine. To help escape the boredom, he zones out imagining fantastical scenarios. After Life Magazine is bought out, Walter's job is threatened unless he can track down a negative still sent to him by legendary photojournalist Sean O'Connell (Sean Pean.) Kristen Wiig stars as Mitty's colleague and love interest: Cheryl Hiloff.

What followed was a funny, charming and relatable tale. Who hasn't zoned out at work imagining a ridiculous scenario that would never happen in real life? Walter Mitty has even entered the cultural lexicon meaning to take flights of fantasy. Mitty was also a fun character who undergoes a true hero's journey. Stiller played him perfectly. He was pathetic enough to be a nerd, but not enough to be unlikeable. In many ways, he is an everyman working hard to please a corporate boss who couldn't give a damn about him.

And a quick shoutout to Adam Scott who plays Mitty's boss, Ted Hendricks. Scott excelled at playing the slimy, callous, corporate boss who couldn't give a damn about his employees. You could argue his ignorance about his staff or company was unrealistic, but I think it's a damning indictment of capitalist America. Hendricks' obvious disdain for Life magazine provided a lot of the film's humour.

And Mitty goes through a great hero's journey. Mitty starts as a bumbling, sadsack who is afraid of his own shadow. Despite having an eharmony profile, it is largely blank as he hasn't travelled anywhere or done anything. This is why it was so funny seeing him pushed to the edge of his comfort zone from jumping out of a helicopter into shark-infested waters to trying to outdrive an erupting volcano.

Walter Mitty's zoning out had every potential to become a repetitive gimmick, but it was used well. Although it happened a lot to start with, as Mitty becomes progressively more adventurous, they begin to reduce. Once an integral way for him to escape, he no longer needs them. This was a nice way to stop the trope from becoming overused.

I also enjoyed how the missing still was more than just a Macguffin. I thought that, while being the launching of Mitty's adventure, we the audience, would never get to see what the negative contains. However, it is vital that Mitty recovers it, as Hendricks wants to put it on the cover of the final edition of Life. At the end, it is revealed that it is a photo of Walter Mitty accompanied by the caption "Life, dedicated to those who made it." This was a heartwarming way to end the film.

If I were to criticise anything, it would be Walter and Cheryl's relationship. It is at the heart of the film, but I didn't like them getting together at the ending. This was too easy and obvious. Walter Mitty's journey and transformation from a meek-mannered man into somebody who is comfortable in himself is so important that it should be something he accomplishes by himself.

All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable film. It balances comedy and emotion with a great, lead performance by Stiller. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a Walter Mitty of my own.