Tag Archives: Joey King

DESPICABLE ME 4 (2024): New Trailer Starring Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Steve Coogan,

April 30, 2024 Giadreams (themoviemylife.com) 10 Comments

The fourth instalment of the Despicable Me movies has Gru (Steve Carell) and his family on the run from a new nemesis. This time, Gru has a brand new cute son named Gru Jr., A mischievous being who happens to enjoy tormenting his father.

Directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage; additional key cast of Despicable Me 4 includes Kristen Wiig, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Coogan.

Several years ago, if you’d told me that one day I’d look at the minions and be largely unaffected, I wouldn’t have believed you. I was one of those adults who squealed in delight at clips of The Minions, and unexpected sightings of their soft toys.

In fact, at the height of my obsession, I admit that I even briefly fantasised about permanently relieving a young child of their Minions backpack; something I’d of course NEVER do.

These days, now that The Minions fever has largely died down for myself and many others, I no longer refer to the small animated cuties as ‘The best happiness-inducing yellow beauties.’

Gru is fine and all. However, the only character I was interested in besides the many yellow ones was the bubblegum-chewing, purple shoulder pad-wearing supervillain, Balthazar Bratt of Despicable Me 3 (2017).

My fingers are crossed that I’ll also be enchanted by the new villain, Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell). It might be a challenge without the dance moves and musical taste of Monsieur Bratt. We’ll just have to see. Still, something tells me that I’ll enjoy Gru Jr. in this new instalment. Especially because of the moderate Jack-Jack from The Incredibles 2 (2018) vibes he’s giving.

Are you still on the Despicable Me train?

Dana Gaier, Madison Skyy Polan, Stephen Colbert Chloe Fineman and Pierre Coffin also star.

Despicable Me 4 Release Dates: July 3rd , 2024 (US); July 5th, 2024 (UK)…

Happy Film Loving,

Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

THE KISSING BOOTH 2 (2020): The Things I liked…

September 17, 2020 Giadreams (themoviemylife.com) 3 Comments

The Kissing Booth 2 (2018), Jacob Elordi, Joey King, Netflix

Director Vince Marcello’s sequel to the hit teen movie The Kissing Booth (2018) focuses on Joey King’s) character, Elle’s attempts to juggle a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi), while she’s also applying for college. Also, there’s a new friendship with a handsome classmate that could really complicate things.

Considering how I felt about the first movie, I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Kissing Booth 2. Luckily, to my very pleasant surprise, I had a good time. Even though it’s still not perfect, I found this sequel to be funnier and certainly better written than the first movie. I found myself especially glad that I didn’t encounter any stand out bad acting moments.

I like how the story unfolded, including the moments that surprised me, big or small. As a long appreciator of good teen movies, this one I’ll remember fondly; thanks to the overall execution and the fact that it didn’t force me to question any of Marcello’s decisions. I was simply too busy enjoying the results.

Lastly, I’ve always appreciated how good teen stories can transport us back to our teenage years (not that mine are extremely far behind me, mind you). As the characters grow up before our eyes, making mistake after mistake, I often wonder whether I was equally clueless at their age. Or was I close to being as wise as I feel I am today? I know what I want to believe. I also know what’s highly likely.

Give The Kissing Booth 2 a chance if you’re curious, and for all the reasons above.

Happy Film Loving,

Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

THE KISSING BOOTH (2018): The Things I Liked…

August 2, 2020 Giadreams (themoviemylife.com) 2 Comments

The Kissing Booth (2018), Joey King, Netflix

Director Vince Marcello’s latest teen movie The Kissing Booth (2018) is about Elle (Joey King), a high school student who’s forced to confront her secret crush.

Even though there’s plenty of focus on Elle’s crush (Jacob Elordi), for me, it’s Elle’s relationship with her best friend and their coming of age story that holds the movie together.

Overall, I wouldn’t call Marcello’s film one of the best teen movies out there. I mean, I managed to watch it all the way to the very end, but not without getting annoyed by the narration which felt largely unnecessary. There was also some cringe moments of dodgy dialogue and bad acting. However, the good news is that most, if not all of the bad acting isn’t courtesy of the main characters played by King, Elordi and Joel Courtney.

Besides King and particularly Courtney’s performances, the sunny Los Angeles setting and the way The Kissing Booth took me back to the relatively carefree nature of my teenage years are two key highlights.

If there’s one good reason to watch The Kissing Booth at all, it’s because you enjoyed the best-selling books by Beth Reekles. The second best reason is to make sure you’re not lost when you watch the sequel because The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) is the better movie. And how will you be able to fully appreciate The Kissing Booth 2 without suffering, I mean, ‘getting through’ the first one?

Happy Film Loving,

Comedy, Drama, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

CRAZY STUPID LOVE (2011): Steve Carell & Ryan Gosling comedy…

September 18, 2015 Giadreams (themoviemylife.com) 1 Comment

Crazy Stupid Love (2011), Steve Carell, Julianne Moore

Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Julianne Moore are the stars of drama/romance/comedy Crazy Stupid Love. A story about a man whose world is altered after what should have been a romantic dinner date with his wife becomes something else entirely.

Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, I tuned in because of Carell and Moore’s reputations; luckily, I found myself pleasantly surprised.

A big highlight for me is the scene with the valedictorian speech. That, and Gosling’s character, Jacob’s fashion sense.

I say watch Crazy Stupid Love for a reminder that humour is tragedy plus time. You’ll go through some emotions, but you will certainly laugh as well.