Theater Review: Despicable Me 2

I actually remember sort of liking the original film in this franchise, but I really had a hard time remembering a lot about it. That is odd in my house, as I have seen most of these animated films about 300 times apiece, but for some reason I don't think I have seen that one more than twice at the most.

But, with some free tickets in hand, my son and I went to see Despicable Me 2.

How can you tell a new story when the villain in the previous movie is now a good guy? Well, they figured it out pretty well. I actually think they may have improved upon the first one.

Gru (Steve Carell) is now no longer plotting to be the world's most notorious villain. Instead he is trying to be a really good dad to his three adopted daughters, Agnes (Elsie Fisher), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Margo (Miranda Cosgrove).

He is even one of the most eligible bachelors on the block, and the other ladies are looking to set him up on dates.

The Minions and Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand)? They are still there, but instead of making evil objects to help Gru, they are making preserves. That is until Dr. Nefario gets a better job offer from another villain.

Now no longer a villain, Gru still gets pulled into the game as Lucy (Kristen Wiig) of the Ant-Villain League pulls him in to help her track down  the PX-41 mutagen that was stolen from the Arctic Circle. A mutagen that can turn things into indestructible monsters.

The mutagen is thought to have been in the Paradise Shopping Mall, so Lucy and Gru setup a bakery in the mall to go undercover and find out who in the mall stole the mutagen and why they are planning on using it.

That is all well and good, and a decent story line, but the main reason to watch this movie is for the Minions. I believe after the first film the creators realized what they had with these little guys and they are featured a whole lot more in this one. Every time they are on the screen something hilarious is happening.

Also, I have to give it to the little girls as well, especially the littlest one Agnes. They were also very funny.

What is funny, though, with all of the comedians in the film - Carell, Wiig and Brand - it was the girls and the Minions that actually have you laughing. The other characters had their moments, but they were in no way the stars of this film - and it still worked.

Apparently a new film called Minions is scheduled for next year - not sure how a film of just will work, but it should be interesting and they will find a way to make it funny. I just hope they don't over do it and make them annoying with an over abundance of them.

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10/50: Despicable Me

When I first saw this preview last year during a very rare trip to the theater I didn't know what to expect. And honestly, I never really became interested in seeing it even after the full trailer was released.

However, Despicable Me began to get some good press and, of course, any time there is a somewhat decent cartoon film out my son will want to see it.

As it was not as good as either How To Train Your Dragon or Toy Story 3 it was still a decent enough film - and it made me laugh a handful of times.

The premise is this, Gru (Steve Carell) is a want-to-be super villain. He has come up with a way to be the greatest super villain in the world by stealing a shrink ray gun and shrinking - then stealing - the moon.

He goes to a bank that deals exclusively with loaning money to super villains run by Mr. Perkins (Will Arnett). Perkins agrees to Gru's plan if he can steal the shrink ray gun. However, another up-and-coming villain named Vector (Jason Segel) steals the gun first.

In order to break into Vector's house/workshop, Gru decides to adopt a trio of sisters, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher).

Of course, things go wrong and what you expect to happen does begin to happen - but it is done rather well.

Now, we come to the minions. Gru has a huge amount of 'people' working for him that are called the minions. When I first saw these creatures I thought they were a bit of a ripoff of the aliens from Toy Story. And, to a small extent they are. However, they were very funny and actually sweet - so they fit in nicely.

So, it wasn't an amazing film, but it was a nice watch and I did laugh a few times - plus my son liked it, so there's that.

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TV Meme: Day 10 - A Show I Thought I'd Hate But Ended Up Loving

There are actually a few shows out there (mostly ones Mrs. Kano liked) that I thought I would hate, but I sort of started to like.

The one that jumped out at me when I saw this day, however, was the American version of The Office.

As I constantly watched and saw previews for the show - especially as I watched both My Name Is Earl and Scrubs on the same night that The Office was on - what I saw just didn't thrill me, I didn't find it that funny, so I never tuned in.

It's funny, thought, because I became interested in the show because I saw a YouTube clip of Conan O'Brien's Emmy opening (embedded below) and I that actually got me interested in trying it out.



I watched almost all of the seasons online, and the first few really didn't please me, but I kept with it and I am glad that I did.

The thing is, I like almost every character in the show except Steve Carell's character, Michael Scott. Don't get me wrong I find him humorous on occasion, but for the most part his humor is pretty agonizing, like watching a train wreck.

I love the relationship between Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson). The background characters are also very funny, especially Creed (Creed Bratton).

It isn't my favorite show, and I guess I wouldn't characterize it as a love of mine, but it is a show I try to stay up on and one that I didn't think I would end up enjoying.

The Office

So, I have sort of stayed away from The Office ever since it came on the air. For some reason I was just never drawn in, and due to my insanely large number of shows I do watch (see previous posts) I never did get into it.

I had seen clips and whatnot of the show, but I never found it funny - at least what they were showing me. And so, I never watched it.

But, as many know I have gone back to school and I take one class per day during my lunch break at work - so I don't get to go out to eat for lunch anymore. But, I do bring a packed lunch and have some time to kill while I eat.

I had found this site that shows a handful of television shows past and present online for free, and I had watched all of the Scrubs seasons (repeatedly, plus I own them) and also watched The Big Bang Theory as well. So, I was sort of out of ideas and decided to give The Office a try.

I have to admit, I didn't really enjoy the first few episodes. But, I am now currently in the middle of season three and I am sort of addicted. I find the entire office hilarious in their own sort of way - especially Jim (John Krasinski) and Dwight (Rainn Wilson).

The lone down side of the show, which is odd to say, is Steve Carell's Michael Scott. I just don't find him all that funny and most of the time his jokes are offensive - basically I find him hard to watch, but like a train wreck.

I don't think I will start DVRing the show, but I will continue to keep up with it via the website. Like I said there aren't too many good comedies on television nowadays, so it's nice to find another that I can turn to for a good laugh.

Star Wars: Clone Wars, Get Smart, The Incredible Hulk

I am not one of those people that attacks the prequal-trilogy of the legendary Star Wars saga. I actually enjoy, and can watch each of the new films.

I think that people have come to believe that the new versions are wooden - but if you check out the original trilogy - there is some pretty wooden dialogue there as well.

Episode I was probably the worst of all of the movies, but it was a necessity to move the story along - as well as introduce us to Anakin Skywalker. The second two installments were a lot better than the first, and I felt Episode III was pretty close to the original trilogy.

Anyway, I checked out Star Wars: Clone Wars on Friday, and I am a bit torn. The animation was a bit lacking - especially the look of Count Dooku, very odd. The animation of the droids and the cities, however, were very well done.

I also enjoyed the introduction of Anakin's padawan, Ahsoka. I felt she brought a lot to storyline.

Apparently, this is the bridge to what is now a television series - which I am currently not watching. Because I at the end of the film, I had a ton of unaswered questions that the television series might be answering.

This movie is supposed to be taking place between Episode II and Episode III. So, Anakin is still on the good side of the force. At the end of the movie though, I found myself wondering - what the hell happened to this Ahsoka in Episode III? Now, perhaps this will be answered in the television series. But, if Anakin has a padawan now - shouldn't she be around in the next movie?

Anyway, the movie itself was alright. Nothing too groundbreaking, or anything that really needed to be explained. This is, like I said, just an excuse to get people interested in watching the new television series.

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On Saturday, I was able to check out a couple of movies I had been wanting to see this summer.

The first of which, Get Smart, stars Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart.

Smart is a member of CONTROL, and has been trying to make the jump from intellegience to the field. However, due to his amazing work in the intellegience field, his boss (Alan Arkin) doesn't want to promote him.

A terrorist group know as KAOS hits the CONTROL offices and gains knowledge of all field agents. This propels Smart into the field, along with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) who has recently had plastic surgery.

So, it's up to Smart and 99 to save the country from the evil KAOS. Of course, hilarity ensues with Smart just not quite ready to be out on his own - so 99 must clean up a lot of his messes.

The movie also stars Dwayne Johnson (Agent 23), Terry Crews (Agent 91), David Koechner (Larabee), Terence Stamp (Siegfried) and James Caan (The President).

Masi Oka and Nate Torrence play a duo of science nerds at CONTROL, who help Smart out of some situations. Their characters' popularity even led to the spin-off Get Smart Bruce & Lloyd Out of Control.

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Finally, I wrapped up my movie watching weekend with The Incredible Hulk.

I was never under the impression that the original Hulk movie was that terrible, but it definitely wasn't ground breaking either.

This movie, starring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, was a better version of the first as Marvel tried to re-introduce the character.

This is by no means The Dark Knight or even Iron Man, but it is a pretty decent film - which sets up sequels and the inclusion of The Hulk in the Avengers movie. Hopefully with Norton reprising his role.

This was probably the best movie I watched this weekend, as it definitely kept me interested throughout the film - and let me wonder what was going to happen next.

Along for the ride this time were Liv Tyler (Dr. Betty Ross), William Hurt (Gen. Thaddeus Ross) and Tim Roth (Major Emil Blonsky).

Blonsky, at the urge of Hurt's Gen. Ross, eventually becomes the enemy in the film - known as Abomination.

The battle scenes involving the Hulk were pretty fun to watch - and the obvious toll that becoming the Hulk has on Bruce is done very well by Norton.

I was also happy that they didn't make the Hulk the size of a skyscraper like they did in the previous movie - yes he is much larger than his television version, but still at a reasonable size.

I also enjoyed the little things placed into the movie from the television version, most notably Lou Ferrigno (who was not only a security guard in the film, but the Hulk's voice) and the sad walk-away music that was played. Very nice touch.

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