Bear with me. George Lucas once said audiences never understood the “Star Wars” prequels because his Lucasfilm classics were always meant for kids, not adults. But the truth of the matter is that good storytelling, like the original “Star Wars” movies or classic Pixar movies, works for and engages the hearts and minds of all audiences and not just children. The one exception to the rule might be the sometimes impossibly silly and zany “Despicable Me” franchise which is arguably generally geared at children only with its Minion mania chaos of fart jokes, pratfalls, burps, things that explode in your face, and pandemonium that’s more akin to classic “Tom & Jerry” or “Looney Toons” cartoons without the cleverness or elegance.

Continue reading ‘Despicable Me 4’ Review: Mega Minions & More Villains Add Extra Chaos To An Overstuffed Family Affair at The Playlist.

Only 30% of gamers are under the age of 18, according to market research. A Nintendo-commissioned survey found that the same demographic represented only 17% of the highest-intent buyers for their Switch console. These data points may be entirely out of mind for anyone watching “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Yet they were almost assuredly top of mind for the team making the film.

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Let’s start with what’s most important about “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which is that my children loved it. One is going on nine years old, so she’s mostly come out on the other side of her affection for these characters, but she had a good time; her five-year-old sister, in the midst of full-on Minion Fever (she brought a stuffed Bob along with her to the screening), proclaimed it the best one yet, though she may have been suffering from recency bias.

Continue reading ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ Review: Paper-Thin & Only Sporadically Funny But Still A Mild Improvement at The Playlist.

Movies based on video games have been notoriously horrible. In the last couple decades, there have been many valiant efforts to turn massively famous video games into brand new film franchises, but they all almost all failed to capture an audience. You can pretty much trace this curse back to one film, 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.” That film was abysmal, to say the least, and pretty much killed the careers of many involved.

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Details Revealed About Garth Jennings’ Animated Musical: Now Titled ‘Sing’ Featuring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson

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