Despicable Me 2 is ADORABLE fun for all ages

ADORABLE!!  So cute!   Despicable Me 2 is not just for little kids who think yellow minions are hilarious….and they are.  Adults in the audience I joined were laughing aloud the entire time…and so was I.  The humor is often clever and always goofy.  Something for all ages.

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment grossed more than $540 million with their worldwide blockbuster Despicable Me in 2010.  It became the 10^th biggest animated motion picture in U.S. history.  Based on the reaction I heard during the movie, this is going to be another big hit.

Co-directors, Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, lucked out with voice talent in this gag-filled delight.  Steve Carell voices Gru, the evil villain-turned single dad of three “leeetle goils” from the first movie.  SNL star Kristen Wiig provides the sweet voice of Lucy, an Anti-Villain League agent who recruits Gru.  Her lines don’t pack the punch that her talent could provide, but the character is still charming and causes Gru, one of his daughters, and even a minion to fall in love with her.

The mad scientist, Dr. Nefario, is played by Russell Brand.  Silas Ramsbottom (bottom…ha ha) is really the voice of Steve Coogan.  Benjamin Bratt provides the over-the-top sounds of Eduardo, the enthusiastic Mexican restaurant owner inside a mall.  I was so impressed with the animation that featured his perfectly drawn chest hairs and jiggling fat when he danced the Salsa and Tango.  Pay attention to Eduardo’s necklace and tattoo towards the end of the movie….(no spoiler alert).  If the Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood sold Guacamole Chip Hats like Eduardo’s place, I’d be there every day.

I saw the movie with my 22 year old son who is an animation major in college.  We both marveled at the animation talent that created impressively expressive lip movement on all of the characters, moving ocean water, fibers in Gru’s knitted scarf that never left his absent neck, and humorously timed eye twitches.

Look for these hidden Easter egg moments in this funny flick:

*  Villain.com

*  Bruce Lee ping pong tribute with nunchucks

*  Studio Ghibli dancer from My Neighbor Totoro

*  Hugh Jackman shout-out

The dramatic good vs. evil fight towards the end of the movie features gorgeous colors, as well as singing minions in the finale.  You’re going to laugh, sing, and dance your way out of the theater.  Perfect for family fun.

Grade =  A-

The White House is Down...again.

                                                     
                                                             by Trina Boice
                                                         www.TrinaBoice.com

The White House is under attack….again.  If you saw “Olympus Has Fallen” a few months ago, then you’ve “been there, done that” minus the wonder that is Morgan Freeman.  (My kids swear he’s in every movie they’ve ever seen.) 

 

Isn’t it weird when similar movies are released around the same time?  Remember last summer’s “Snow White and the Huntsman” and “Mirror, Mirror”?  Granted, they were completely different movies, but I guess it’s a matter of studios spying on each other for movie themes and wanting to “one-up” each other.  Like “Olympus Has Fallen”, “White House Down” has received mixed reviews.

                               

Including a funny reference to the blockbuster “Independence Day” this action thriller was directed by Roland Emmerich who also directed “Independence Day”, “2012” and “The Day After Tomorrow.”  He obviously loves disasters and making messes, although this is the first time that the chaos is confined to one specific location.   Written by James Vanderbilt, who also wrote “The Amazing Spider-Man”, this Sony release doesn’t hit as hard or as funny as you might like, but is still enjoyable for those who love explosions and lots and lots of gun fire.  Lots.

 

Of course, if all you care about is watching sexy actor-turned-action hero, Channing Tatum, then you’re good to go.  Tatum plays John Cale, an ex-soldier underdog who visits the White House in hopes of securing a job with the Secret Service. Jamie Foxx plays President Sawyer, an Obama-esque leader who drops the only F-bomb in the flick.  Touting a left-wing agenda of anti-military, President Sawyer is ironically saved by the troops.  

 

I noticed that the summer popcorn movie scored fairly average on Rotten Tomatoes with many viewers citing the “cheese factor”, as well as comparisons to the one-man-against-all-the-bad guys style of all the “Die Hard” films.  Tatum even wears the classic dirty “wife-beater” t-shirt styled by Bruce Willis in the franchise films.  The “Die Hard” formula has been a hit with many movie-goers for years, and this one will be too.  Unfortunately, it has some clichés that make it a bit tired, such as the disgruntled teen who calls her father by his first name until she sees what a true hero he really is, bad guys who have superior fire power, yet can’t seem to ever hit their target, and characters who walk away from a grenade that explodes only inches away from them.

 

It’s still a lot of fun and reminds us that family is most important.  Interestingly, both the evil mastermind and the hero fight for family in “White House Down.”  Take a tub of buttery popcorn and your teenage boys.

 

Grade = B+

World War Z will quicken your pulse

                                                  by Trina Boice

                                          www.TrinaBoice.com

 

Brad Pitt.  Need I say more?  Well ok, if you're a guy, you're going to want more out of this June thrill ride than just staring at the aging, yet still handsome half of Brangelina.

 

World War Z is a fun summer blockbuster about a zombie apocalypse, loosely based on the popular book that my sons devoured back in 2006 entitled "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks. I wonder if Brad Pitt's kids also read the book when it came out and clamored for pop to film it. His production company, Plan B Entertainment, quickly secured the screen rights for it in 2007.

                                    

Rumor has it that the budget for this flick chewed up over $400 million with some post-production re-writes that caused its later release. In fact, the last 40 minutes of the movie were completely remade. Some critics claim the post-production troubles make the movie a bit choppy, but as long as you have popcorn in your mouth, you're going to be entertained. The zombie craze still seems to be alive and well, so ticket sales look promising.

 

Brad Pitt is confident it's going to do well and told US Today, "Listen, I'm pretty proud of this film.  It's just big and fun and this is the most intense thing you're going to see all year." He said it was the most intense thing he's done, and he certainly has skin in the game on this one...so to speak.

 

Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a retired UN employee who gets called in to help find the origins of the undeadly strain that is turning humans into rabid zombies.  Gerry Lane is properly motivated to search the globe for a cure in return for his family's safety and protection on one of the few floating ships turned safe zones in the ocean.

 

Combine Gerry Lane's effective survival skills with Brad Pitt's golden locks and you get some action scenes that even hard-core preppers will admire. It's challenging enough to survive the slow-moving zombies in "The Walking Dead", but these creepy corpses "turn" in only 12 seconds, race after you at very quick speeds, jump onto the high walls surrounding Jerusalem, and even pull down a helicopter. Your heart will pound in suspense and you'll try to quiet your breath when you learn that loud sounds attract the rabid humans.

 

Gerry Lane counsels a family locked up in a New Jersey apartment after the chaotic outbreak that "movement is life." His former experience getting in and out of hot zones helps him come up with resourceful survival ideas, saving himself and others along the way, including a female soldier in the Israeli army.

 

If you loved the popular TV show "Lost", you'll get a kick out of seeing Matthew Fox as one of the parajumpers that fights to protect those seeking a cure.  Audiences will be introduced to Mireille Enos, who plays Brad Pitt's frightened and dutiful wife. 

 

The special effects are amazing and pretty believable.  As my kids say, "It could happen."

 

The movie is being released in 2D, RealID 3D, and IMAX 3D. While I love a good 3D experience, this particular film doesn't work well in 3D because of the camera's shakiness, so see it in 2D and you won't get dizzy.
 

Grade = A-