DESPICABLE ME 3 Review

The Despicable Me franchise has officially reached that point in its life where it doesn’t have any idea where to go next and so it begins digging into the main characters past to try and come up with characters to fill in roles they have yet to address. You’ve seen it before in countless films whether it be something along the lines of Austin Powers in Goldmember or even something as wacky as the Fast & Furious franchise that can’t help but to keep bringing people back and connecting them in unforeseen ways. With the inevitable Despicable Me 3 the folks over at Illumination animation have decided to take this route and approach their film as if Gru (again voiced by Steve Carell) fell into something of a Parent Trap situation, but the two never ended up going to summer camp together. Instead, it is after the passing of their father that his long-lost twin brother, Dru (also voiced by Steve Carell), contacts the newly married and newly heroic Gru in order to connect and maybe try to pull him back into his old ways of villainy. It’s a fine enough device, I guess, and it mostly works because Carell’s voice work is so amusing in how he slightly differentiates the two and then has to subsequently voice both Gru and Dru doing impressions of one another in what is arguably the most entertaining and genuinely funny scene in the movie. If any other scene in the film had a hint of the kinds of layers or even this kind of wacky creativity in the sense of trying to accomplish something due only to the fact it presents an interesting challenge then the film as a whole might have in fact been more interesting, but as it is Despicable Me 3 is more of the same, but busier. Busier in that it wants you and the children you’re presumably taking to the theater to think there is a ton of stuff happening on screen when in reality all you’re seeing is a collection of disparate scenes strung together by the standard objective of attempting to steal the biggest jewel in the world. That said, Despicable Me 3 doesn’t really have to be anything more than what it is as it is just funny enough and just consistently colorful enough to feel like the shiny new product it needs to be in order to please the masses who will spend their hard-earned money on it.

New Trailer for DESPICABLE ME 3

Despicable Me 3 will likely be the biggest earning film of the summer movie season and today Universal and Illumination have released the second trailer for the film. While I never expected in the summer of 2010 while watching the genuinely fun and inventive Despicable Me that it would become one of the biggest animated franchises of its day here we sit seven years later and four films in as not only has Gru (Steve Carell) and his minions received two sequels, but his minions themselves have had their own movie. After the underwhelming sequel though and rather bad Minions spin-off my expectation for anything noteworthy to come out of this franchise has significantly decreased. Sure, there are still a few funny bits in this second trailer it seems to be a totally different third installment than what the previous trailer pitched. Whereas the clip released in December highlighted Gru coming up against a new villain Balthazar Bratt (voiced by Trey Parker) this new trailer solely focuses on the reveal that Gru somehow has a twin brother we've never heard about and that there will be a wrestling of the conscience on Gru's part over whether to remain true to his new life or fall back into being a bad guy. If anything, this trailer makes it seem as if Parker's Bratt is simply the cold open villain in a bit meant to pull in parents of children whose adolescence took place when South Park was in its heyday with the 80's-inspired character further capitalizing on our current nostalgic fascination with that decade. While I certainly hope that isn't the case given the initial trailer was much funnier than this one, we shall have to wait and see exactly how Gru's ever-expanding story unfolds. Still of note, there are more minions to be seen here than Gru's daughters which, if you might recall, were really the heart and soul of that original film and could certainly serve that purpose again here with the introduction of Dru (also voiced by Steve Carell). Of course, none of this really matters to Universal or Illumination as they both well know that Despicable 3 is destined to make buckets and buckets of money. Despicable Me 3 also features the voice talents of Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Pierre Coffin, Dana Gaier, and opens on June 30, 2017.

First Trailer for DESPICABLE ME 3

The barrage of trailers for 2017's biggest summer releases continues with what will likely be one of if not the biggest movie of the summer next year: Despicable Me 3. While I never expected in the summer of 2010 while watching the genuinely fun and inventive Despicable Me that it would become one of the biggest animated franchises of its day here we will be seven years later and four films in as not only has Gru and his minions received two sequels, but his minions themselves have had their own movie. After the underwhelming sequel though and rather bad Minions spin-off my expectation for anything noteworthy to come out of this franchise has significantly decreased. Sure, there are still a few funny gags in this first look trailer for the third installment in Gru's ever-expanding story and the last bit is an especially inspired piece of physical comedy, but there are more minions to be seen here than Gru's daughters which, if you might recall, were really the heart and soul of that original film. They were what made telling the story of a villain so compelling, conflicting, and ultimately rewarding. While I can understand why Universal and Illumination have picked Trey Parker of South Park fame to fill the role of the baddie here due to the fact the parents who will likely be taking their children to see this were in their adolescence when South Park was in its heyday and the 80's-inspired villain plays perfectly into both Parker's childhood and our current nostalgic fascination with that decade I find it hard to believe that whatever story is to be derived from this showdown of villains will also be derivative of any of the heart and soul that initial film showed so much of. Of course, that doesn't really matter to Universal or Illumination either as they both well know that Despicable 3 is designed to make buckets of money and buckets of money it will make. Despicable Me 3 features the voice talents of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, and opens on June 30, 2017.

TROLLS Review

It's difficult to not feel indifferent about a movie like Trolls. In the end, it's fine. Is it somewhat offensive in terms of originality and cheap covers of gloriously good pop songs? It could certainly be taken that way, but when taking into consideration the target audience for this latest DreamWorks animated adventure it's hard to get too frustrated with the rote story Trolls tolls out or the advantage it takes in remixing recognizable songs into auto-tuned Kidz Bop versions you could have certainly lived without. Of course, Trolls doesn't mean to offend, but rather it simply means to entertain a fairly wide age range of kiddos while at the same time giving over tried and true lessons that deal in being true to one's self to find true happiness. No, Trolls isn't either a good film or a particularly bad one, but more it is simply one that exists to colorfully distract for an hour and a half only to mostly be forgotten the next day. No harm, no foul. Trolls is ultimately something of a mix between DreamWorks own Shrek series as far as character types go while more or less the same story The Smurfs told us as far as being small creatures who live in peace and harmony while having to battle a much larger being who threatens to eat them among other evil things. There wouldn't be anything necessarily wrong with restructuring these archetypes and plotlines were Trolls interested in doing anything fresh or interesting (and when I say interesting I, obviously, mean weirder) with as much as they've given themselves to work with, but by simply slapping a variety of pop covers throughout rather than going full-on musical and ultimately being more harmless than memorable this movie isn't exactly the kind of product a studio wants to put out if they want to retain any type of credibility. Though it really is difficult to say anything downright terrible about Trolls the bottom line is this was a product made to move merchandise and that it actually turned out as competent and sometimes even as fun as it is shouldn't be forgotten. Sure, one could point out the desperate lengths movie studios are now going to in order to cash in on brands given the troll dolls were first popular in the sixties (with a resurgence in the nineties) or one could point to The LEGO Movie as a film based on toys/superfluous junk that actually turned out rather inspired and great, but somewhere in the middle of those truths and thoughts we find Trolls; just happy to have been given enough room to dance and sing and hug.

First Trailer for DreamWorks Animation's TROLLS

With Shrek long past his prime, the Madagascar gang more or less in retirement with the Penguins not so successfully backing them up, and neither Po the Ninja Warrior or Hiccup and Toothless producing sequels that exactly lit the world on fire it is time for Dreamworks to officially try something new and it seems they have put all their eggs in the Trolls basket. Is this the right move? Does it have the potential to rank among the films starring the aforementioned characters? To be honest, there is a lot of pessimism here as nothing about this project screams "neat," or "interesting," or even "cool". The best thing this movie seemingly has going for it is the massive summer smash that Justin Timberlake recorded for its soundtrack. Timberlake leading the voice cast also seems like an odd albeit broadly appealing choice. Though this thing has seemed to be hyped for months now we've only now just received our first look at actual footage and it seems to be perfectly in line with what little expectations I held for it. While the voice cast is star-studded and media friendly, the actual story and animation more or less look to be recycled bits and pieces from movies we've seen countless times before. Attempting to capitalize on the brand recognition of those strange Troll dolls that have been around forever, but really picked up steam in the 90's it's confusing who exactly this movie is for. It's as if everything about the film has been manufactured to cater to the nostalgia factor of young parents who grew up collecting these dolls with the hopes that the children of today will discover these cute creatures and find them as appealing as their parents did. Needless to say, this trailer doesn't inspire much confidence in the film especially when stacked against the animation studios stronger works like the How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda films. Trolls also features the voice talents of Anna Kendrick, Russell Brand, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches, Icona Pop, Gwen Stefani and opens on November 4th, 2016.

DESPICABLE ME 2 Review

When a movie only happens because the first was a surprise hit it more times than not has a sense it exists because the iron was hot rather than there being any ideas of value proposed to continue the story. Thus is the dilemma the makers of Despicable Me 2 likely encountered when the small Illumination Entertainment company scored a $540 million worldwide hit with the original film. Naturally, the studio was quick to get to work on a follow-up and now that the minions have become a cultural mainstay with a feature of their own on the way the anticipation for the second installment in what will no doubt become a more extensive series was sky high. The influence of the charming first installment looms over this uneven sequel though and unfortunately that doesn't always bode well as their is plenty going on here, but nothing really feels like it happens. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense if I'm being completely honest because the voice cast is on point, the story is a surprisingly natural extension of where the first one left off and though the animation itself is nowhere up to the standards of titan studios like Pixar, enough care is taken in the execution of the film to include countless side jokes, little details that add real personality to the characters and even a story arc for the minions, but in the end that doesn't make a complete film that is as satisfying as it should be. It is tough to explain and is really disappointing because I genuinely loved the first film and was very much looking forward to this sequel despite the fact I have no small children as excuses to go and see this, but was more than willing to walk up and buy a ticket with my head held high. Maybe it is indeed the fact I had such high expectations going in that I was somewhat let down by what was delivered, but either way it should be understood that Despicable Me 2 is not a bad film by any means, but it is purely an average film that takes advantage of the minion popularity and eager parents willing to shell out money on premium 3D tickets and countless other merchandise opportunities while the film itself feels rushed in all the human aspects it tackled so originally, or at least more interestingly, in the first film.

New Trailers for DESPICABLE ME 2 & TURBO

With The Croods opening this weekend two new trailers for two of the biggest family films of the summer have been released. While Ryan Reynolds provides voice work in both this weekends Dreamworks release and plays the titular character in Turbo, kiddies will likely be more excited to know that there will first be a sequel to Despicable Me that looks as promising as I could have hoped. We've seen a few short spots for the highly anticipated sequel to the surprise 2010 hit, but nothing really that has given us a glimpse of what will be going on story-wise. This full length trailer reunites us with Gru (Steve Carell) and finds him being recruited by Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) for the Anti-Villian league that pits him against an unseen baddie voiced by Al Pacino. The trailer looks great and the original voice cast has returned to provide what seems like a solid bet and yes, there are plenty of minions. They naturally get some of the biggest laughs here and I'm anxious to see how their own separate feature will pan out and work in conjunction with this world. Despicable Me 2 opens in 3D on July 3rd. As for Turbo, the premise feels a little worn with the trailer not seeming to bring anything new to it. Needless to say, the one note joke of a snail wanting to go fast seems to be all the development team had going for it, but I'll be optimistic as I loved last years Madagascar 3 and The Croods is so far receiving great reviews. Plus it has a stellar voice cast that includes Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzmán, Bill Hader, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Kurtwood Smith, Snoop Dogg, and Samuel L. Jackson. Turbo opens in 3D on July 19th.  

ROCK OF AGES Review

Going into Rock of Ages my main concern was how the makers were going to take a format such as the musical and successfully mix it with a culture that seemed completely opposite what is considered a higher class art form. The funny thing about these two things though is that 80's rock can match the glitz and glam of Broadway musicals step for step. It may represent a stronger form of rebellion while the musicals of the stage are filled with more finesse but these two very distinct brands of entertainment compliment each other well enough for this experiment in the strange to be called a success. I had not previously heard of the hit stage show before reading that Hairspray director Adam Shankman would be at the helm of turning it into a feature. I went into 2007's Hairspray expecting to hate it. It looked campy and cheesy despite featuring a star-studded cast. I came out having loved every minute of it though and so when the first trailers for Rock of Ages came out and it looked like Shankman had done the same for the 80's as he'd done to the 60's I was excited to say the least. While Rock of Ages doesn't carry that same wonderfully bright and bouncy feel of Hairspray, it is just as unabashed and unapologetic about what it is. The main issue with the film is that it builds itself around two less capable stars whose relationship we don't really end up caring about. I would have rather seen Stacee Jaxx: The Movie than to have taken side steps for Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta's characters. Stacee Jaxx is where it's at and if you see the movie for any reason, see it for Mr. Cruise. Even now, as I write this review I have my Pandora station set to 80's rock.

Sherrie (Julianne Hough) and Drew (Diego Boneta)
have a meet-cute in Tower Records.

The film starts out in the most promising and epically cheesy of ways as Hough's Sherrie (no, they didn't use Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie" from '84 which really bummed me out) is on her way to the big city of Hollywood. Departing her small town Oklahoma roots she has big dreams and intends on giving them her best shot. The musical numbers waste no time showing up as Hough belts out Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" and is joined by her fellow travelers as the chorus kicks in. It is so gloriously ridiculous the movie seems to be heading nowhere but up. Sherrie arrives on the sunset strip and is quickly mugged, her favorite records stolen, but is rescued from the streets by an employee at the famous Bourbon Room named Drew (Boneta). Drew is of course an aspiring singer as well and it is clear after the five minutes into the film that these two are predestined to be together. Drew sets Sherrie up with a job at the Bourbon Room which is under the management of Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) and his quirky British sidekick played energetically by Russell Brand. The Bourbon is in trouble as it hasn't paid taxes in over a year and is counting on a show by the one and only Stacee Jaxx to bring them out of the black. As an Axl Rose type, Stacee Jaxx has become more famous for his strange behavior and off-stage antics than the music that first made him the rock God figure he now so depressingly bathes in. There is a great if not rather typical side story that concerns the hypocritical mayor of Los Angeles (Bryan Cranston) and his wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who plan to clean up the strip which entails doing musical numbers to Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" with the local church ladies. Zeta-Jones goes over-the-top in every aspect of her performance while pulling out her experience in the field to create one of the better choreographed numbers. Paul Giamatti shows up as Stacee's manager Paul Gill and gives a slick and sleazy, if not reliable performance. It is clear he, along with lighter supporting cast members Mary J. Blige and Malin Akerman are just having a blast here.

Constance (Malin Akerman) sparks something in Stacee
Jaxx (Tom Cruise) that he hasn't felt in a while...

While Hough has not yet proved herself in film outside the realm of those that are heavily influenced by music I thought she did rather well in the Footloose remake and expected more from her here. This was a starring role in a big summer musical, it was basically tailored for her and while her performance is certainly passable, even heartfelt in certain moments, it just doesn't fit the tone of the overall film. Worse off is newcomer Boneta who handles his singing duties with ease but embodies them awkwardly and feels stilted when he has to deliver dialogue for more than a few moments. For acting as the core of the film, their romance fizzles quickly. In fact, as soon as we set our eyes toward the mystery that is Stacee Jaxx we have completely forgotten about the young, naive, leads who are taking it all way too seriously. Cruise expands his filmography and his list of versatile characters by not only being featured in a musical but by stealing every scene he steps into. He plays the reclusive rock star with an edge that is not so easily seen past. He plays up the stereotypes of the character while delivering a subtle undercurrent of a jaded human being that has become disenchanted with the life he is living and yearns for something more simple. It takes Constance, a reporter from Rolling Stone, to lift the curtain on what he has become and motivate the rocker to return to form. As played by Akerman, Constance is a lively fan girl who tries her best to contain the excitement she holds for meeting Jaxx. She is a super fan who wants to see the man that made her love music in the first place become what she knows he could be. That is the story Shankman and crew should have focused on if they were decided to cast such wonderful supporting players with weaker leads.

Dennis (Alec Baldwin) and Lonnie (Russell Brand) are
inseparable and love the Rock N' Roll lifestyle.

What is best about the whole project though is that the older, supporting members of the ensemble do realize the campiness with which they are playing. Shankman does well to capture this wink and nod tone to the audience. They aren't taking this all too seriously and neither should we. If anything, the movie is simply an exercise in nostalgia. Screenwriters Chris D'Arienzo and Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) have re-worked the script to nicely tell a classic boy meets girl story through a collection of songs from the era where men wore just as much make-up as the women they were singing to. I wish the songs used in the film might have dug deeper into the era it was representing rather than relying so heavily on such standards, but I understand it. More kids today will know Joan Jett than they will Foreigner, but at least the oddly fascinating trip had the sense to go out on a blazing, belting , pile of Journey and their countless arena rock anthems. I would have also preferred it had the story been a little more coherent. It wanders a bit in the second act and only finds its footing because again, Stacee Jaxx and his influential past shows up to set things right. I don't mind Mary J. but I don't really know why she is here. I would have liked for the overall feel of the film to be less flashy and more gritty, you know kind of like the musical style it is representing, but then again we likely wouldn't have had Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin singing "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" to one another either. It's hard to speak negatively about a film that doesn't mean any harm, especially when it is as fun as this one. Though it has its fair share of faults, Rock of Ages is pure pleasure and there is no reason you shouldn't let your guard down and give into the music.

  

ROCK OF AGES Review

Going into Rock of Ages my main concern was how the makers were going to take a format such as the musical and successfully mix it with a culture that seemed completely opposite what is considered a higher class art form. The funny thing about these two things though is that 80's rock can match the glitz and glam of Broadway musicals step for step. It may represent a stronger form of rebellion while the musicals of the stage are filled with more finesse but these two very distinct brands of entertainment compliment each other well enough for this experiment in the strange to be called a success. I had not previously heard of the hit stage show before reading that Hairspray director Adam Shankman would be at the helm of turning it into a feature. I went into 2007's Hairspray expecting to hate it. It looked campy and cheesy despite featuring a star-studded cast. I came out having loved every minute of it though and so when the first trailers for Rock of Ages came out and it looked like Shankman had done the same for the 80's as he'd done to the 60's I was excited to say the least. While Rock of Ages doesn't carry that same wonderfully bright and bouncy feel of Hairspray, it is just as unabashed and unapologetic about what it is. The main issue with the film is that it builds itself around two less capable stars whose relationship we don't really end up caring about. I would have rather seen Stacee Jaxx: The Movie than to have taken side steps for Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta's characters. Stacee Jaxx is where it's at and if you see the movie for any reason, see it for Mr. Cruise. Even now, as I write this review I have my Pandora station set to 80's rock.