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.

Grade:

When in Rome

I have do admit, I am a sucker for a Kristen Bell movie. Add in some of the secondary characters and this film had the cast to be something special.

Unfortunately, When in Rome fell a little flat for me.

Bell plays Beth a young, career driven girl who has sort of put love on the back burner to get further with her career.

Her sister, Joan (Alexis Dziena), however, falls head over heels in love with a guy and decides to get married - just a few weeks after meeting him. And, the marriage is in Rome.

Beth flies out to Rome to be the maid of honor at her sister's wedding, where she meets Nick (Josh Duhamel), who is the groom's best man.

The night doesn't go according to plan as both the maid of honor and best man have serious issues throughout the wedding and the reception - but their goofiness and clumsiness actually brings them closer together, and they sort of hit it off.

So much so, that Beth runs out looking for Nick and sees him getting kissed by a very drunk party guest - but mistakes this kiss for something else and believes she has once again failed at love.

While sitting on a wishing fountain, Beth jumps in and grabs four coins and a poker chip from the fountain - this somehow makes each person that tossed the coins into the fountain to fall madly in love with Beth.

This could have been better than it was as the characters were a magician named Lance (Jon Heder), a painter named Antonio (Will Arnett), a model named Gale (Dax Shepard) and an older guy named Al (Danny DeVito).

Don't get me wrong there were some funny scenes that occur because of these guys, but it should have been a lot funnier. One great scene is amazing for Napolean Dynamite fans, which I won't ruin here - but I laughed pretty hard.

So, the rest of the film is Beth trying to get away from these guys before figuring out the reason they are all after - and believing that Nick is also under this spell once she sees that the poker chip she pulled from the fountain is the same he uses.

This was pretty good and a little different, albeit very crazy, than other romantic comedies - at least it was trying to be different. It had a few good laughs, but I still feel it could have been so much more.

Grade:

Hot Rod

I wasn't expecting too much when I tossed in this film, but it sort of surprised me.

I always felt that Hot Rod would have a few laugh out loud moments from the pure stupidity - which it did, actually a little more than I expected - but the true heart of the movie was actually pretty sweet when you get down to it.

Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) longs to be a stuntman. He believes that his father worked for Evel Knievel and set up the stunts before Knievel would try them. After his father died, his mother remarried Frank (Ian McShane) and they had a child, Kevin (Jorma Taccone). Throughout the first part of the film, Rod constantly fights with his father, literally. Frank believes that once Rod can beat him in a fight then he is a man - Rod actually loves Frank and longs for his respect.

Despite constantly trying to perform stunts, and with a crew of his brother Kevin, and friends Dave (Bill Hader) and Rico (Danny McBride), Rod was never a very succesful stuntman.

One afternoon Rod learns that Frank has a weak heart and doesn't have much time to live - despite obviously caring for Frank, Rod vows to raise $50,000 for the surgery so that he can once again fight Frank to gain his respect.

He sets out to perform one huge stunt that would be able to raise the money to save his step-father's life. Joining the crew is an old friend, and current crush of Rod's Denise (Isla Fisher) who motivates Rod - especially during the time that he gives up on himself.

Will Arnett plays Denise's prickish boyfriend Jonathan, which to me was basically a throwaway role for him.

Like I said, the movie had its moments for comedy - including, quite possibly, the longest fall down a hillside in movie history - which kept the film funny, but it was also the heartfelt moments that made the movie even better. Even though Rod masks his love for his stepfather - he risked his own life to save his, even if it was just to kick his ass.

Grade: