Tag Archives: Kristen Wiig

Adventure, Animation, Comedy

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

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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,

G

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, No Spoiler Reviews

WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020): The Things I Liked…

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Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Kristen Wiig, Warner Bros. Pictures
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Kristen Wiig, Warner Bros. Pictures

The trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 didn’t fill me with as much confidence about the movie as the trailer for the first Wonder Woman film in 2017. Having now seen both films, unsurprisingly, the first one is better.

Key highlights of director Pattie Jenkins’s sequel include most of the time Gal Gadot is on screen, simply because the lady is quite magnetic. Secondly, there’s the final fight sequence between Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah. There’s also the cleverly executed moment towards the end when Wonder Woman addresses the people.

If you haven’t watched the movie yet but plan to, be sure to wait for what happens after the end credits start to roll; something tells me it may just lift your spirits. Last but in no way least, we have the musical score by Hans Zimmer. The only unfortunate thing about it is that the worst scenes had me thinking of Zimmer’s talents as wasted on this project.

I had hopes of loving Wonder Woman 1984. The problem is I kept noticing more and more things that increased my level of disappointment. Additional examples include the dreamstone element of the story which came across as silly and somewhat nonsensical. I’m also not a fan of a fair amount of the aerial work, including when Wonder Woman is ‘flying’.

Furthermore, why, oh, why wasn’t the father/son reunion dialogue more tightly edited? It was so unnecessarily long-winded. There’s also the fact that I still remain unsure about how Kristoffer Polaha’s character came to be Steve (Chris Pine). And I’m mad that this movie/story did not make Pedro Pascal look great in the villain role. As for Wiig, I liked her best once she went to the dark side. I still think that the Cheetah look is too much like Cats (2019). I haven’t seen Cats but I hear that such a comparison is not a compliment.

What good or bad things stood out most for you in Wonder Woman 1984? I really could go on about the things wrong with this movie, but I have other tasks to complete today. Watch Wonder Woman 1984 if you’re curious enough.

Happy Film Loving, 

G

Comedy

BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR (2021): New Trailer From Kristen Wiig, Jamie Dornan, Annie Mumolo, Damon Wayans Jr…

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Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2020), Jamie Dornan, Lionsgate
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2020), Jamie Dornan, Lionsgate

Starring Jamie Dornan, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo; Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is a new comedy about two lifelong friends who decide to leave their small Midwestern town, for the very first time.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum; friendship, romance and a villain’s evil plot are what can be expected in an adventure of a lifetime.

Damon Wayans Jr., Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michael Hitchcock and Kwame Patterson are among the additional key cast.

What a quirky little thing this one is. At the very least I have to see how it turns out.

I also find myself randomly wondering how many people this could potentially inspire to leave their small towns. I’m sure the answer will depend, in part, on how effective the villain is. I think we’ll be OK as long as the villain isn’t too much like the ones in Taken (2008).

Reyn Doi, Mark Jonathan Davis, Tom Lenk, Karen Maruyama, Hank Rogerson and Shantira Jackson also star.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar Release Dates: February 12th, 2021 (US & UK)…

Where to watch…

Happy Film Loving

G

Comedy, Drama

WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE (2019): New Trailer From Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson…

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Where'd You Go Bernadette (2019), Cate Blanchett
Where’d You Go Bernadette (2019), Cate Blanchett

Directed by  Richard Linklater and starring Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Billy Crudup, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Where’d You Go Bernadette tells the story of 15-year-old Bee’s attempt to track down her anxiety-ridden mother after she disappears.

I see the words ‘anxiety-ridden’ and the name Cate Blanchett, a.k.a ‘acting queen of my heart,’ and the excitement is real.

I’m looking forward to discovering the circumstances of her disappearance and watching Blanchett act.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette Release Dates: Aug 16th, 2019 (US)…

Happy Film Loving,

G

Adventure, Animation, Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews

DESPICABLE ME 3 (2017): The Thing I Liked…

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Despicable Me 3 (2017), Steve Carell (Gru)
Despicable Me 3 (2017), Steve Carell (Gru)

I never, ever thought I’d say this, but it’s official: the minion magic no longer works on me. The minions are not even in Despicable Me 3 that much, but long gone is the version of myself that would literally squeal with delight at the mere sight of them. Now they’re more like a favourite song played over and over again that I can kind of no longer stand.

I actually found myself adequately bored in parts as I watched Despicable Me 3. The main reason being, my favourite moments in the movie were the ones I already saw in the teaser trailer with the Michael Jackson loving super villain, months earlier. One of the newest things in this instalment, namely the introduction of one of Gru’s relatives unfortunately felt a little too much like a desperate attempt to find any reason, any reason at all to keep the franchise going.

Just to be clear, I’m definitely not saying that Despicable Me 3 is terrible, generally speaking. I’m saying that I didn’t love it because it felt tired and I’m over all the characters; most surprisingly to myself, I’m tired of the minions.

Immediately below are just some of the thoughts that went through my mind as the credits rolled. In some ways, I really should have known.

‘What was I thinking?’

‘Why was I looking forward to this when I knew that I never really enjoyed the first two Despicable Me movies anyway?’

‘I simply must have forgotten that the minions were the ones I really loved (back then) – not super villain Gru and his children.’

If you’re super intrigued, watch it and see how you like Despicable Me 3. You may have a better time than I did.

Happy Film Loving,

G