My Review: Despicable Me 2 (8/10)

"That's right, baby! Gru's back in the game with cool cars... gadgets... and weapons!"

There might not be that much of an interesting story in this sequel, but I have to admit I had a blast with these lovable characters and laughed throughout the entire movie. I don't think I laughed as much with any other movie all year so I have to say this is the funniest film of the year so far. It has several clever lines and I was glad to see all these memorable characters back. Once again the minions steal the show along with Agnes who is as adorable as ever. There were also some new characters that brought some freshness to the sequel. I can understand why some adults might not have liked this film because it is predictable and has some very stupid moments, but I know kids will have a great time. They will love this sequel because the minions have more screen time and they steal the funniest scenes. I couldn't help but laugh at all the funny and adorable situation, and perhaps hearing the kids laugh at the theater made me appreciate the comedy even more. This is a very family friendly film which reminded me a lot of the old comedy from the Looney Tunes. I could sit through this film many more times without hesitating because it is a very easy watch. I think I'd even prefer to see this over the first Despicable Me, but they were both great and funny films. 

In this sequel we see how Gru (Steve Carell) is adapting to family life as he has put his villainous life behind him. He seems to be enjoying his life as a single parent to Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Kate Fisher). Everything seems to be going well for him as he has his minions working on a jam business. Meanwhile a secret Arctic lab has been stolen and the Anti-Villain League decide to contact Gru for his expertise in order to catch the person responsible. After recruiting Gru they team him up with Agent Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) and together they begin to look for suspects. Gru is convinced that the villain is Eduardo (Benjamin Bratt), who used to disguise himself as the villain known as El Macho, but he has been presumed dead for years. During their investigation, Gru's minions are being kidnapped, and the question remains as to who is the person behind all this.

I really enjoyed the animation from the guys at Illumination Entertainment and thought the 3D worked nicely. I really loved the underwater scene and thought it was really breathtaking. There were some great animated moments, but the lovable minions are the ones that steal the show with their funny voices and mischiefs. I also liked the addition of Lucy who despite being a bit wacky seemed like a perfect fit for Gru. I had a great time and I'm sure kids will love this extremely entertaining movie.

My Review: Despicable Me (7/10)

"We stole the Statue of Liberty...the small one, from Las Vegas!"

Considering Despicable Me 2 was coming out this weekend I finally decided to watch the first film and I wasn't disappointed. Despicable Me is a lot of fun with some memorable characters and some really funny lines. The story is involving enough for adults and kids to enjoy it alike, and Steve Carell has done some magnificent voice work with his character. I had a great time with this film and was instantly delighted with the animation and the storyline. Despite having some great characters, I think the minions completely stole the show and deliver several laugh out loud moments throughout the film. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud have directed an entertaining enough film for me to want to go watch the sequel at the movies as soon as possible. This is a great family-friendly film that is better than Pixar's latest three movies so they should begin to worry with this strong competition. The characters in this film were just so much fun to watch on screen that it makes it impossible for anyone to walk out of the movie without a smile on his or her face. I had a blast.

The film stars a super villain named Gru (Steve Carell) who has a very long and pointed nose along with skinny legs. After discovering that a pyramid in Egypt has been stolen by another villain, Vector (Jason Segel), he decides to do something greater out of jealousy. He plans to steal the moon, and in order to do so he first has to shrink it with a special weapon. The only problem is that this weapon is in hands of  Vector. So Gru comes up with an idea involving adopting three orphans and using them to get into Vector's fortress in order for him to get the weapon back. Thus he adopts the adorable girls: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Kate Fisher). Everything seems to be going according to plan as his workers known as the minions and Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) are preparing everything for the great day, but the only problem is that Gru's heart begins to be softened by these sweet girls. He realizes he still has to face his greatest challenge yet. 

Despicable Me is without a doubt a family pleaser. If you have kids you will want to go see this movie with them because the entire family will be entertained. It is funny and smart, a combination that is difficult to find these days. The premise also felt original and despite a few moments it never felt formulaic or cliche. This is what I would call a very cute film, and these days cute sells to audiences. I'm kind of upset I didn't get to see this film in 3D because the animation was excellent and it really did feel like a Pixar film. I may not have been as emotionally engaged as I was with Up, The Lion King, or How to Train Your Dragon, but this was still a lot of fun and I felt like I was being tickled like a 5 year old. Now it's time to go watch the sequel!

My Review: Monsters University (6/10)

"You don't study scaring, you just do it."

I wasn't a huge fan of the original animated film, but I still enjoyed it enough to want to go check out this prequel, Monsters University. I have to admit that Pixar rarely makes a bad film (with the exception of Cars 2) so obviously expectations are always really high for these kind of films. I wasn't blown away by their latest effort, Brave, and I kind of felt the same way about Monsters University. It was a charming film with some funny moments and some heart, but it wasn't up to par with Pixar's greatest films. It had a pretty simple message for kids: fight for your dreams and even if you don't accomplish them you will still find what you are good at along the way and everything will work out. Billy Crystal and John Goodman do some great voice work once again here for their memorable characters, Sullivan and Mike. The animation was also excellent, and Pixar is probably the best at this department with some great art work. I had a fun time at the theaters, but wasn't blown away this time and felt a bit disappointed. It was very formulaic and the character development was pretty weak for a Pixar film, but I still laughed during several scenes so I still have to give this film a passing grade.

The story works as a sequel as it focuses on Mike's (Billy Crystal) early years. In a school visit to Monsters Inc. Mike discovers he wants to become a scarer and so the film jumps in time to when he enrolls at Monsters University and begins to major as a scarer. Here he meets Sully (John Goodman) who he really dislikes. They seem to always be competing with each other until a series of unfortunate events makes the pair team up with each other to overcome their odds. Mike and Sully cause a disturbance and Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) expels them from the program. This forces Mike and Sully to team together for the school's scare games once the Dean acknowledges the possibility of them reentering the program if they win. The problem is that they have some fierce competition and they have to team up with the sorority group of Oozma Kappa, a bunch of outcasts who have no experience at being scarers. Thus the film turns into a classic underdog competition (Revenge of the nerds style). Randy (Steve Buscemi) is also in this prequel, who surprisingly was Mike's friendly roommate. Something happens during the film which will make him turn into the classic villain we saw in Monster Inc.

The film is pretty formulaic, but I found it entertaining to see how the friendship between Mike and Sully began after being suche fierce rivals. I also was surprised to discover Randy wasn't your typical villain, he was friendly once and something happens to him that causes him to change his behavior. Overall this is probably one of Pixar's weakest efforts, but it is still a charming fun film and one kids will enjoy. These are all likable characters and the only person who he really miss from Monsters Inc. is the lovable Boo. Despite not being a great film, I still would recommend it for kids, and I think adults will have a lot of fun if they don't go see it with high expectations.

My Review: The Pirates! Band of Misfits (8/10)

¨You´ll see I will be Pirate of the Year! And then you´ll be laughing on the other side of your faces.¨

I was pleasantly surprised with this movie as I was catching up with the nominated animation films. I hadn’t really heard of it before the nominations, but was glad it received the recognition it got because this really is a fun and silly movie that the entire family can enjoy. My favorite animated film of the year continues to be Wreck-it Ralph, but this is still much better than Pixar´s Brave. The Pirates is one of those rare animated movies that will appeal to a diverse audience thanks to the subtle and clever jokes and puns that the British have us all familiar with. The animation is very detailed and skillful here considering this isn’t a computer generated animated movie; it´s stop-motion and was produced by Aardman, the same production company that brought us such great animated films as Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. Directors Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt also worked in Chicken Run; and in my opinion have perfected their craft here. You can´t make a movie about pirates without having some sort of exciting adventure, and this movie delivers a real fun and clever adventure that adults and kids will enjoy alike. It has the typical silly and dry British humor that we all love so much. The screenplay was adapted by Gideon Defoe from his own novels about the pirates. I had a really fun time with all the jokes and puns, and really loved these funny characters. They were as luxuriant as the Pirate Captain´s beard.

The Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) dreams of becoming Pirate of the Year but has failed to do so for the past twenty years as he isn’t considered one of the favorites to take home the prize. His crew loves him and remains faithful to him, but are as quirky as he is and are not taken seriously by other pirates. The favorites are always Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven), Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), and Peg Leg Hastings (Lenny Henry) who have a great amount of booty and treasures. The Pirate Captain knows that in order to win the prize he will need to find a great treasure so he begins his quest with his crew by raiding several ships unsuccessfully. Right when he´s about to give up, the Pirate Captain encounters a ship where a young Charles Darwin (David Tennant) discovers that his beloved pet, Polly, is not actually a parrot, but a rare bird that was thought to have been extinct decades ago. He convinces the Pirate Captain to travel to London with the dodo where he promises him great riches for his discovery, but Charles has a hidden agenda of his own and everything is not what it seems. The Pirate Captain´s Second Assistant (Martin Freeman) warns him about the dangers of traveling to London, but he insists on finding these riches. In London, the Pirate Captain and his crew must avoid being discovered as pirates because Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) is known for hating pirates. Thus the adventure begins. Arrr.

This is the first time Hugh Grant voices an animated character, but he does it masterfully creating one of the most enthusiastic and beloved characters of the movie. David Tennant, Martin Freeman and Imelda Staunton all stand out in this film, but Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven, and Lenny Henry really don´t have much screen time here. I really had a fun time with this stop-motion animated film and laughed several times at the clever gags and jokes. I hope more people get to watch this fun adventure because it is a movie that the entire family can enjoy and that is just a commodity that is rare to find these days. So if you have the opportunity to see this don’t hesitate and check it out.

    

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My Review: Brave (6/10)

¨If you had a chance to change your fate, would you?¨

Pixar has raised the bar so high in animated films that it seems unfair to go into a film with such high expectations, but I did with this movie. Brave isn’t a bad film, but it really doesn’t hold up to Pixar’s greatest pictures like Up, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, or Ratatouille. It is visually amazing, but in an animated film I have come to expect a good story with interesting characters as well, along with a decent amount of comedy. Brave sometimes feels a bit serious, with not much really happening story wise. It is a gorgeous film to look at, but I ’m afraid the characters won’t stick with me in the same way that other animated characters have done so. I don’t know how much younger children will enjoy this movie, but it is a film that grown up kids and adults might enjoy. Brave is entertaining, and I have to admit that Pixar finally gave us a different kind of Disney princess this time. Merida loves archery and adventures; she isn’t your typical princess that dreams of finding love or is patiently waiting for her prince to come rescue you. This was probably my favorite aspect of the film; having Pixar introduce us to a different kind of heroine: a brave one. On the negative side I find it pretty tiring that they continue to insist on this parent against kid confrontation, where you have one of the parents trying to impose their value on the kid, and the parents always end up looking like the bad guys. There were a lot of similarities between this movie and How to Train Your Dragon (a movie I really loved), although that movie was more gorgeous to look at and had much more memorable characters. Brave is a good film, it just isn’t as great as the latest Pixar releases.

 Brave takes place in Scotland in a mythical time where four different clans all live in peace among each other. Fergus (Billy Connolly) is the leader of his clan, and he rules his people bravely alongside his wife, Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). They have a daughter named Merida (Kelly Macdonald) who Elinor is preparing to be Queen one day. She must behave and act like a princess despite the fact that Merida prefers riding on her horse all day and having outdoor adventures with her bow. This difference between Merida and Elinor is what continually puts them against each other. When Merida finds out that her mother intends her to marry one of the firstborns of the other three clans she gets even more upset with her. Tradition stated that she must marry the firstborn of one of the clans in order to maintain the peace in the region so all three clans are coming to their land to fight for her love. One night Merida is so outraged that her mother never listens to her that she decides to run away from her home and comes across a witch who gives her a potion to change her mother. This way Merida believes she will finally be able to make her own decisions and her mother will accept her. What she doesn’t know is that her actions will have terrible consequences and that peace among the clans will be at stake.

The funniest characters in the film are the three younger brothers Merida has who are constantly being reckless. They provide the few comedic moments this animated film has. Otherwise I felt it played out more as a drama/adventure than a comedy. I really just got across watching this film after it received its Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film and was a little disappointed with it, but perhaps I’m just getting too old for this stuff. I still have to see the other four nominees before I choose my favorite, but Wreck it Ralph looks interesting. The plot really got weird during the second half of the film, but I still enjoyed the movie overall although I won’t be watching it again. I was a little disappointed with the story, but the visuals of the Scottish highlands were great. The film was directed by Mark Andrews after Brenda Chapman abandoned the project during the production stages. Andrews is mostly known for his short animated film: One Man Band which I loved. He didn’t have that great of a story to work with, but Brave is still a slightly entertaining film just don’t go into it with such high expectations.

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My Review: Megamind (7/10)

¨All men must choose between two paths: Good is the path of honor, friends, and family. Evil, well, it`s just cooler.¨

Megamind is a very fun animated film that doesn´t have to be taken seriously like other recent animated movies. It doesn`t try to look or feel real, it knows what it is: a cartoon. Megamind will be fun for both children and adults alike (unlike recent animated films-like Rango- that try too hard to target adults and forget that kids want to have a fun time as well). This isn’t a movie that has deep meaning to it, or a strong message, or a lot of heart, but it does entertain audiences thanks to the strong voice acting and funny one-liners. The characters are rather simple and one dimensional, but fun to hang around with. Director Tom McGrath has already had success with these animated films as he directed both Madagascar films, and just like those two movies, Megamind should be enjoyed for what it is: an animated picture that is fun for the entire family. I thought that the writers, Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, did a decent job with the script making it really funny at times thanks to some witty one-liners. With Will Ferrell and Tina Fey you really don`t know how much was scripted and how much was really improvised, but the final result is what matters, and the movie was able to entertain all audiences. This isn`t an original or memorable film, but it does manage to entertain and I really had a fun time with the movie.

While Megamind (Will Ferrell) is going through a near death experience he tells us the story of his life from the very beginning. The blue creature with a giant head was born in another planet. This planet was being destroyed when his parents decided to send him to Earth as a baby in order to save his life. Megamind is travelling through the galaxy along with his talking fish named Minion (David Cross), who lives inside some sort of robotic suit. But Megamind is not the only alien headed for Earth. Another baby is headed this way with a normal human appearance; his name is Metro Man (Brad Pitt). Somehow destiny plays a joke on Megamind who ends up being raised by prisoners from a local jail, while Metro Man is raised by a rich family. Both kids grow up and become nemesis: Metro Man turns into the hero of Metro City, while Megamind finds his calling in life as a villain because it is the only thing he seems to be good at (although he doesn`t do a very good job at it because Metro Man is always defeating him and sending him to jail). The people love Metro Man and declare him a local hero, while Megamind unsuccessfully tries to destroy him by being the Super-Villain. Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey) is the local News Reporter who is covering the inauguration of the Metro Man Museum when she is kidnapped for the hundredth time by Megamind. Against everyone`s unbelief, including Megamind`s, he destroys Metro Man and is successful for the first time in his life. But without an enemy, Megamind gets bored and loses his purpose in life so he decides to create another hero using Metro Man`s DNA. This hero happens to be Titan (Hal), who actually turns into a villain himself instead of saving the city, so now Megamind will be forced to become the hero.

The plot has several similarities to many superhero stories, and we might be reminded of other similar animated films such as The Incredibles, but Megamind still works as an entertaining animated film because it has an excellent voice acting cast. This film will have you entertained for 95 minutes and at the end you will leave the movie with a smile in your face. It doesn`t try to be something that it isn`t and that is why it is so fun. You don`t have to remind yourself that you are watching a cartoon like in other movies that try to fool you by making these animated films look real and authentic. You can just sit down and enjoy Megamind for what it is, a fun and simplistic cartoon. Another plus is the soundtrack which just adds to the overall feeling and mood of light fun the film tries to convey. The vocal wit makes up for the lack of originality the movie has. This film should be taken lightly, but it does have a pretty positive message for those who like searching for meaning in movies: it reminds us that heroes are made and not born. We don`t have to let our past and our surroundings shape our lives, we can change the course of our destiny and improve our past actions. It’s not an original or strong meaningful message, but it reminds us that it`s never too late to find our purpose in life in a very light, fun, and entertaining way.

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