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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

New on DVD for Dec. 8: ‘Minions’ and ‘Ant-Man’

Rick Bentley Tribune News Service

This week’s new DVD releases include films featuring heroes and villains.

“Minions” 1/2: It’s the role of a minion to be a servile follower of a person in charge. That means they are resigned to play the supporting role.

That’s the problem with the new animated comedy “Minions.” The pill-shaped yellow characters introduced in the “Despicable Me” movie, as the subordinates to the villainous Gru, have now taken center stage.

The charm and humor they brought in tiny doses in the previous films now come in a massive blast that wears thin quickly.

“Minions” starts with great promise but that promise gets broken.

“Ant-Man” 1/2: Ex-con is pushed into slipping on super suit to become tiny hero. Paul Rudd stars. Rudd has neither the cutting wit nor cut physique others bring to such roles.

He is a milquetoast romantic comedy escapee who ends up being the biggest thing wrong with “Ant-Man.” When Rudd slips on the suit, the movie settles into a thrill ride through a massive miniature world.

From the ants he commands to the world he inhabits, this part of the film is a knockout. He is just out of the suit too much.

Also new on DVD

“Hannibal: Season Three”: Mads Mikkelsen stars in the NBC series about the early days of Hannibal Lecter.

“The Transporter Refueled”: Frank Martin (Ed Skrein) is the best driver money can buy.

“Walt Before Mickey”: Walt Disney’s life before using a mouse to build an empire.

“Doc Martin, Series 7”: Martin Clunes plays a tactless doctor in a seaside town.

“Lucky”: Woman struggles to overcome her disadvantaged childhood.

“One & Two”: Two siblings form bond while growing up on an oppressive family farm.

“Iwo Jima: From Combat to Comrades”: Enemies meet for a reunion decades after the famed World War II battle.

“A Place In Heaven”: Film that was nominated for 10 Israeli Academy Awards.

“Emptying the Skies”: Pan-European bird-loving activists wage a secret war against poachers.

“Knock Knock”: Kind gesture turns into a deadly game. Keanu Reeves stars.

“CPO Sharkey: The Best of Season One”: Don Rickles stars in the TV comedy.

“American Masters: Althea”: Profile of first African-American to break the color barrier in professional tennis.

“Under the Dome: Season 3”: The season finale of the CBS summer series includes the dome coming down.

“The Garbage Pail Kids Movie”: Windy Winston, Messy Tessie, Foul Phil and the rest of the gang come to life in this film based on the trading cards.

“Partisan”: Children are trained to become assassins.

“Family Guy: Season 13”: Among the episodes is the one where Peter writes a book for children.

“X-Files: The Complete Series”: Includes all nine seasons of the Fox series.

“The Unauthorized Full House Story”: A behind-the-scenes look at the ABC family comedy series.