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.

3:10 to Yuma review

 Number 489 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2007 remake of the Western action 3:10 to Yuma.

Christian Bale plays Dan Evans, a down-on-his-luck ranchers and family man. With steadily mounting debts, he decides to risk everything and earn a big reward by bringing outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to justice. Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda and Alan Tudyk all co-star.

Since starting this challenge, I've watched my fair share of Westerns and I can safely say that I don't care for cowboy films. Cowboys and gunfights have never been something that's interested me and, as such, I was pretty bored throughout this film. This isn't a valid criticism, but more personal preference. Obviously it has to be good, otherwise it wouldn't be on this list, but it wasn't for me.

As I wasn't interested in this film, I wasn't particularly invested in any of the characters. Yes, they do have arcs and they show some growth, but I don't think it was enough. Throughout the film, we're led to believe that Daniel wants to deliver Ben Wade to the law, so he can collect the reward and pay off his debts. Admirable motivation for sure. But at the end, it's revealed that all he wants is to make his sons proud of him. Yet I think that this happened too late for it to have any input. And I don't think it's very credible.

Yes it's established early on that he has a rocky relationship with his son William (Logan Lerman) but that doesn't stop him from accompanying his dad on his mission. The two of them fight side by side on multiple occasions.

Ben Wade's arc was a bit more interesting. he's quickly established as a ruthless outlaw - brutally robbing an armoured stagecoach and killing all but one of the Pinkerton guards. Wade later kills another man in his sleep, but as he and Daniel grow a burgeoning respect, Wade starts to reform his ways. In the end, he voluntarily goes to prison so that Daniel's family can have the reward money. Characters are never wholly good or bad.

Having said that, Ben Wade's right hand man Charlie Prince (Ben Foster) was pretty evil. In a hell-bent mission to rescue his boss, Charlie executes surrendering federal Marshals and shoots a man in the back. This unwavering loyalty was by far the most interesting part of the film and I wish they explored that further. I don't think they properly addressed why Charlie was so loyal.

While Western afficionados might love this film, it wasn't for me in the slightest.