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My Review of Despicable Me 3

Despicable Me 3, rated PG
** ½

Despicable Me 3 is a fast-paced, fun summer film that the family can enjoy.
The gang (Gru, Minions, Lucy, etc.) from the previous two Despicable Me films, which have grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide, returns for a third film. This fast-paced film, which clocks in at just about 90 minutes, is co-directed by Pierre Coffin (who also voices the Minions) and Kyle Balda, and co-written by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul.
In the previous film, Gru (Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) had made a happy with their three daughters – Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Nev Scharrel).  Agnes is obsessed with finding a real unicorn in this film. But now they are fired by the Anti-Villain League’s new boss Valerie Da Vinci (Jenny Slate) when they fail to capture the new arch villain Balthazer Bratt (South Park co-creator Trey Parker), who is trying to steal the world’s largest diamond.
Bratt is physically hilarious, but became annoying. He is a former 1980’s child star who is still stuck in that era (clothing, hair style, music), obsessed with the character that he played in the ’80s.
Gru, who is facing an identity crisis, finds that he has a long-lost twin brother Dru (also voiced by Carell), who is successful and cheerful and quite different from Gru, including the fact that he has a head full of hair. We see a sibling rivalry between them at first and then they team together to go after Bratt. Dru tells Gru that he wants to be a criminal like his brother was. Their mother, voiced by Julie Andrews, appears in a short scene early in the film.
The Minions, who are just silly but I find to be funny, provide some excellent comic relief that pretty much doesn’t have anything to do with the plot of the film. They do leave Dru and go looking for another villain to serve.
Pharrell Williams (“Happy”), contributes new songs for the film. They are blended with songs from the 80’s by artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna.
I enjoyed this film and found it to be a lot of fun. I would say that it is family friendly, with some good messages about the importance of family, but we did not hear much laughing from the children in the theatre.


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My Review of the Movie “The Secret Life of Pets”

The Secret Life of PetsThe Secret Life of Pets, rated PG
** ½

Have you ever wondered what our pets do when we are away from them during the day – at work, school, etc.? This animated film set in New York City looks at a day in the life of the pets living in a large apartment building. The film is co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and Chris Renaud (who directed Despicable Me 1 and 2) and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (who wrote Despicable Me 1 and 2), and Brian Lynch who wrote Minions.  The film had an estimated budget of $75 million and has already made over $200 million in its first two weeks of release.

Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) is a terrier who loves his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper). He can’t wait for her to return back to the apartment each evening. But one evening she brings a new dog, the large rescue Duke (Eric Stonestreet).  Now Max does not have all of Katie’s affections to himself and must share them with this large new “brother”, who is not very nice to Max, eating his food and sleeping in his dog bed.  Max must find a way to convince Katie to get rid of the big dog that is making his life miserable.

The next thing we know, they are out of the apartment building on the streets of the city. We see them attacked by a gang of cats, including Ozone (Steve Coogan), and the alleycats remove Max and Duke’s collars. Soon, they are caught by Animal Control and are being hauled off.  That’s when Max and Duke encounter Snowball, a former magician’s rabbit (Kevin Hart), the leader of the Flushed Pets, who live in the sewers. Snowball is preparing to lead his group of discarded pets in a revolution against humans. All Max and Duke want to do is to get back to the safety of their apartment building.

Gidget (Jenny Slate) who has a crush on Max, convinces the other pets in the apartment building to go looking for Max. We meet Chloe the cat (Lake Bell), the bulldog Mel (Bobby Moynihan), Tiberius the hawk (Albert Brooks) and others who set out to find Max to bring him home. They get assistance from a paralyzed elderly basset hound named Pops (Dana Carvey).  We see Max and Duke begin to put their differences behind them and join together as allies in their quest to return home.

There were several instances of mild “toilet humor” throughout the film, which always got a giggle from the children in the audience. Some parts of the film, particularly those in the sewers (with an alligator and large snake) could be scary for very young children.

There was much to like about this film that shows the positive relationship between pets and humans, although I have to admit that many of the funniest parts of the film were featured in the trailer that has been playing for months. Although we enjoyed the film, it started feeling a bit long at 87 minutes, and the writing was not on par with better animated films of 2016 Zootopia or Finding Dory.

Note: get to the theater early as a new Minions short film Mower Minions, plays before the feature film.


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Movie Review ~ Minions

MinionsMinions, rated PG
***

This hilarious prequel tells the early story of the popular banana-loving, yellow Minions from the Despicable Me films (Despicable Me 3 is due out in the summer of 2017).   The film is directed by Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin, and follows (with narration from Geoffrey Rush), the Minions’ evolution from single-celled organisms to little creatures whose only goal is to serve the most despicable masters they can find throughout history – from T. Rex, Dracula and Napoleon – they are always looking for their next boss. But somehow, despite their best intentions, their bosses always meet tragic ends. And after the battle of Waterloo, the Minions are sent into exile. Without someone to serve they fall into a deep depression in the frigid Antarctica.

Finally Kevin has a plan. Kevin, Stuart and Bob (all voiced by Coffin), will leave the rest of the group in Antarctica to find a new evil boss for the group to serve. Their search takes them to London and New York in 1968, where they meet the Nelson family (featuring Michael Keaton and Allison Janney as the parents) on their way to Orlando for a villain convention. Kevin, Stuart and Bob catch a ride with them in hopes of finding a new villain there to serve.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-moving and funny film which features music from the late 1960’s from the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Turtles and Donovan. The Minions also get to sing a few songs from the era as well.

Sandra Bullock voices Scarlet Overkill, who we found underwhelming as a villain. Jon Hamm voiced her husband Herb, whose character was more enjoyable. Jennifer Saunders voices the Queen.

Tip: Stay in your seats through all of the ending credits for more fun.