Despicable Me 4

Tonight, on Peacock, I saw “Despicable Me 4,” which came out theatrically in July but on Peacock on Halloween. How is this latest installment in this franchise?

The sixth entry in the “Despicable Me” franchise and a sequel to “Despicable Me 3,” the film starts with Gru, reprised by Steve Carell, driving to his school, Lycée Pas Bon, for a reunion. However, he is also undercover for the Anti-Villain League (AVL) to arrest Maxine Le Mal, voiced by Will Ferrell.

Maxine and Gru have been enemies since their school days, especially after Gru sang Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon dressed as Boy George at the talent show. Maxine, who was planning to sing the same song, also dressed as Boy George, could not do so as everyone would think he was copying Gru.

Maxine has made many villainous inventions including a machine to turn people into cockroaches. Gru arrests Maxine who escapes the AVL’s maximum security prison with help from his girlfriend Valentina, voiced by Sofia Vergara, and wants revenge on Gru and his family.

The former director of AVL Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan) comes out of retirement to get Gru and his family, which includes his wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), adopted daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Madison Polan), and son Gru Jr (Tara Strong), to a safe house in the upscale Mayflower neighborhood.

Despite the family, incognito under the name Cunningham, try to blend in, they do stand out. Gru trying to make friends with his neighbor the affluent Perry Prescott (Stephen Colbert) fails while Lucy trying hair salon has an epic fail with burning a customer, Melora’s (Laraine Newman) hair. Perry’s wife Patsy, voiced by Chloe Fineman, invites the Cunninghams to a game of tennis, which Lucy knows is not a sign of being accepted.

The Prescott daughter, Poppy, voiced by Joey King, however recognizes Gru and blackmails him to joining her on a theft to steal his school’s mascot. Besides the three minions (Pierre Coffin) who join the Gru family, the rest are at AVL headquarters and Silas puts five into a program for the creation of Mega Minions. The program quickly ends as the Mega Minions create all kinds of chaos while trying to help.

The voice work is fun with most of the cast reprising their roles. Mini Anthikad Chhibber said in her review, “Romesh Ranganathan as Gru’s quarter master Dr. Nefario and Chris Renaud as the tough-as-nails principal Übelschlecht have a blast as do Ferrell and Vergara. Some of the sequences are inventive, especially the one with the mega minion and the Swiss cheese.”

Chhibber ended her review by saying, “Stuff keeps happening through Despicable Me 4’s 94 minutes and before you know it, the credits are rolling, which might be a good thing if you want to pounded into submission with a relentless procession of gags. Despicable Me 4 is fun while it lasts, but might not stand as a synonym for enduring.”

I think this film is just as fun as the previous installments, but might not be as good as the last one. I don’t know where I might rank this as I would have to think a lot about it. However, if you have Peacock, and you missed the chance to see this in theaters, then I would highly recommend everyone to see this film because you will have a lot of fun seeing this. If you liked the previous films in the franchise, this is not one to miss.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned this Friday for the continuation of “Buddy Cop Month.”

Minions: The Rise of Gru

Tonight, I saw the new “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which came out July but released on Peacock yesterday. Since I saw it on Peacock tonight, I will let everyone know what I thought of this.

We first heard “Minionese,” the language of the Minions, in 2010, when creators Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin created them with supervillain Gru and his army of tiny creatures that spoke gibberish made up of random words from several languages.  Since “Despicable Me,” there have been two sequels, the bad guy has changed himself, and the minions got their own movie in 2015.

“Minions: The Rise of Gru,” written by Bryan Lynch and Matthew Fogel and directed by Kyle Balda, is the origin story of Gru becoming a villain and his introduction to the cute denim-wearing, goggle-wearing tiny creatures who are really loyal to their owner.

Almost twelve-year-old Gru’s desire is to become a supervillain and join the ranks of the Vicious 6, an infamous group of villains which needs one member after discarding their leader Wild Knuckles, voiced by Alan Arkin. The remaining members are Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Jean Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), and Stronghold (Danny Trejo).

Udita Jhunjhunwala said in her review, “The choice of names and voice parts for the villains establishes the tone of this film – it’s steeped in 1970s nostalgia from the disco styling to the soundtrack that includes retro hits Funky Town, Cecilia, You’re No Good and Born To Be Alive.”

Gru’s audition with the Vicious 6 does not go like he thinks. It gets worse when the mystical stone he steals from them is misplaced by one of his minions.

Along with his little helpers Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto (all voiced by Pierre Coffin), Gru (Steve Carell) is now an aspiring villain who is wanted from the real antagonists. During this exploit, he meets Dr. Nefario, voiced by Russell Brand, a scientist and owner of a record store who later joins Gru’s team, and Wild Knuckles, the villain who will end up being Gru’s mentor.

Jhunjhunwala said, “During the adventure, the minions become a more cohesive unit with their “mini boss” and discover their superpower – to make big sad eyes that can melt the heart of the fiercest human.” As for Gru, viewers already know who he is, since they have seen him adopt three girls and join forces with the Anti Villain League in the “Despicable Me” franchise.

The animated comedy is an 88-minute enjoyment, further brightened by the talented voice cast (which includes Julie Andrews as Gru’s mother and Michelle Yeoh as a Kung Fu instructor) that wants to just entertain every viewer. If the children in the audience are shouting in enjoyment at the mischiefs of the Minions, from trying to fly a plane to learning Kung Fu, then that’s a job well done.

This is better than the first “Minions” movie. If you haven’t seen this in theaters, then see it on Peacock, because it will be there for the next four months before moving to Netflix for ten months before coming back to Peacock for four more months. You will have an enjoyable, laughable time, since the Minions are not the central focus this time. Gru and the Minions get an equal amount of screentime. The voice acting is great, the jokes are funny, and the language of “Minionese” is just hilarious. See it and have an entertaining, fun time.

Thank you for joining in on tonight’s review. Stay tuned next Friday for the conclusion of “Starship Troopers Month.”

Despicable Me 3

Many franchises fall into the same trap when they come to the third movie, where some are great (Toy Story 3, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Dark Knight Rises), others are fail miserably (Shrek The Third, Hangover Part III, Spiderman 3, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) and more are split (Terminator: Rise of the Machines, Back to the Future Part III, The Godfather Part III, Iron Man 3). After two fun family films and a – actually nice – spin-off in "Minions," "Despicable Me 3" comes with some surprising satisfaction that it ended June off right, after what was a pretty dry blockbuster month (Baywatch, The Mummy, Transformers: The Last Knight) after opening with a smash in "Wonder Woman." 

The story starts with Gru and Lucy as they work as agents for the AVL (Anti-Vilian League) but the two get fired by their new boss (Jenny Slate), after the previous one (Steve Coogan) retires, after being tricked by '80s child star turned completely retro villain Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker). With nothing they can do, Gru, Lucy and the three adopted daughters get some surprising news when Gru is told he has a long-lost twin brother Dru, also voiced by Steve Carell, who lives a very affluent life but has inner desires of his own that may make Gru return to being a villain. 

Jack Bottomley stated in his review, "The core concept is certainly a familiar one and the film does bare some of the faults present in sequels but Coffin and Balda’s movie completely avoids franchise fatigue and the convention of its ‘long lost family member concept’ thanks to constant entertainment and numerous stand out moments that actually make it the series’ most consistently enjoyable offering." It is nice that the film showed you 90% of what the trailers showed you in the first 10-15 minutes, making the remainder of the movie mostly a surprise. Even though the plot may not be completely original it tells the story with a few bad jokes of inspired visual looks and bizarrily brilliant ideas. 

Bottomley stated, "Gru and Dru are a warm double act, thanks to the diverse vocal work of Carell, allowing Gru to remain on a good balance between wholesome and mischievous, Dru however borders entirely on the latter but not at the expense of likability (save for the odd moment where he broaches annoyance but the script never stays still long enough to allow that to happen). Wiig as Lucy also gets an arc of her own, as she tries to connect with the girls as a mother and it is nice to see matriarchal struggle given some focus, over the usual daddy issue plots that populate animation/live-action." Even the sisters get their own arcs, with Agnes (now voiced by Nev Scharrel) in search of a Unicorn, Edith helping Agnes and Margo shoving off a boy (Adrian Ciscato) who apparently, she married after a cheese serving. 

Even though you might have come because you're a fan of Gru, you will watch this for two very different reasons. Bottomley said, "However, while you may come to see Gru, you will stay for two very different reasons. Firstly, after their own movie, The Minions (Pierre Coffin) get the best comedic moments in the entire film, with hilarious musical sequences and slapstick, headlined by a gut grabbing rendition of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Modern Major General”." The second reason is Balthazar Bratt, who is a hysterical creation, which is done by Trey Parker from the hit cartoon, "South Park." Bratt has got to be the franchises best villain and is better developed than many of the movie's superhero movie antagonists. Bottomley said, "Giddily gimmick based, with a zany backstory, a cool and unusual array of ‘80s adoring weaponry/gadgets and Parker’s goofy voice work combining to create a dancing, narcissistic, fallen kids TV star antagonist that feels fresh and oh so bad in the best possible way! In fact he reminds a touch of the Babydoll character in Batman: The Animated Series...anyone? No? Just us then." 

From the amazing opening to the climatic finale and returning characters (one temporarily written out in a cleverly right way) to new song-and-dance moments (literally), "Despicable Me 3" is one of the most family (and fan) pleasing enjoyment. Bottomley ended his review by stating, "The narrative structure hardly reeks of freshness and not every joke is on target but the tomfoolery is infectious, the Minions continue to steal spotlights, the sugar rush action engages and Trey Parker’s moustachioed megalomaniac is a scene stealing blast!" 

If you love this series, like I do, then you should definitely see this movie. I went alone and saw this movie on opening day, which was not a disappointment at all. If you were not fond of the "Minions" spin-off, then this movie you will like. Don't worry, take the whole family to the theater to see this, they will love it.  It might be the best in the series.

Thank you for joining in on "Despicable Me Month." I hope everyone enjoyed my reviews. Stay tuned next month for a series of reviews that I am really looking forward to.

Minions

If the banana looking characters from the “Despicable Me” series made you roll on the floor laughing, you’ll find no break in “Minions,” released in 2015, the third chapter in the series. Gru and his three adopted daughters are not in the film, nor does Pharrell Williams’ sing the soundtrack. Instead, Gru’s loyal Minions are our protagonist, highlighted by a 60s era, Beatles-heavy soundtrack that must have had some copyright permissions. Odie Henderson stated in the review, “Guided (and voiced) by co-director Pierre Coffin, the minion species earns an origin story that begins in the primordial soup and ends 42 years B.G. (Before Gru).” Since “Minions” doesn’t have the emotional moments of this series, you would think that it is just a movie made to make some money by the cheapskates at Universal. That thinking is wrong, because this movie isn’t in that vain.

However, “Minions” is harsh and in multiple ways. It’s harsh in how it shows the slapstick-filled hijinks that will keep your children’s eyes on the screen. Henderson noted, “Then, sensing the duress that parents were under when their aforementioned crumbsnatchers demanded to see it, the film relentlessly throws every single oldies station pop and rock song it can find at the speakers. “Minions” opens with The Turtles’ “Happy Together,” ends post-credits with The Beatles’ “Revolution” and finds time for a number from “Hair” that threatens to end the way Act 1 of that musical did.” If that wasn’t enough, the cast includes the great Jon Hamm from “Mad Men,” Michael Keaton and Sandra Bullock as Gru’s predecessor to villainy, the beautifully named Scarlett Overkill.

Before I talk about Scarlett Overkill, our narrator, done by the great Geoffrey Rush, tells us about the evolution of the minion. They walked out of their caves to serve T-Rexes, pharaohs and even Napoleon, who banished them to Antarctica after a mistake in the cannon accident. Tired with their cold cave, minion leader Kevin leaves to find a new master for his members. He asks for volunteers and gets one-eyed Stuart and the littlest comic Bon, who is small even by minion standards.

On their mission, this funny trio once in a while sing a song, singing in their hilarious Minion language that no one can understand. (Henderson admitted, “I understood some of their dialogue, which scared the heck out of me.”) Not being able to understand a word they are saying might be one reason “Minions” will be successful abroad. This is a film where foreign countries will not need to dub over them. This is also why, out of all the “Despicable Me” films, “Minions” is targeted towards the youngest of movie audiences.

The minion mission is to reach the 1968 Villain-Con conference, where they can find a new villain masters. Their first stop is the biggest attraction in USA, New York City. From there, they get a ride to Orlando with a family of bank robbers led by Michael Keaton and Alison Janney. They really do a lot of their short screen time, bringing a funny delivery to their lines before the film unleashes a hilarious clothing sight gag. Keaton and Janney are a lot more fun than Scarlett Overkill, who also wants to steal but more of royal objects.

When it comes to talking characteristics, Overkill could have used more of her family name. Other than a great entrance that showcases Bullock’s best line reading in the film, she’s not a memorable villain. Henderson mentioned, “Her reputation precedes her—she’s touted as the ne plus ultra of villainy—but all she seems to do is yell.” Since the minions’ main reason in life is to serve the world’s most evil villains, Scarlett seems to be the right one. She’s looking for new minions to help her steal the crown jewels and become Queen of England, so Kevin and his friends are tempted to sign up for the audition.

Unfortunately for Kevin and the Minions,, Queen Elizabeth II won’t be an easy target. Henderson noted, “She’s a lot more spry in 1968 than she’ll be in 2015.” She beats up the minions in their first encounter. Henderson said, “The Queen also comes off as more Swingin’ Sixties babe than the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren portrayal, though I suppose she could be channeling the 1968 version of Helen Mirren.” In the role, Jennifer Saunders is absolutely phenomenal. Along with its polychromatic attentions to its famous locations, she’s the movie’s saving grace. Henderson said, “I can only imagine how the second half jabs at all things British will play in the U.K., but like everything else in “Minions,” they come as a fast and furious series of non-stop gags.”

Henderson noted, “The film ends with the appearance of a famous character from the series, which can be read as either the biggest fan pander or the set-up for yet another prequel that will bridge the gap between “Minions” and “Despicable Me.” I’d like to see that movie. In fact, that story should have been the plot of this movie.”

Who cares, we must work with what we see on screen. The greedy desire to please originating from the screen is, quite obviously, tiring. Henderson noted, ““Minions” is a big, slobbery dog who licks your face, brings your slippers and humps your leg before turning into an adorable kitten with big eyes and a soulful mew. And, so help me, I couldn’t stay mad at it for long. Every time it got aggravating, it would immediately do something that made me smile and forgive it. Bear in mind that, as my "Despicable Me 2" review mentioned, I’m a big minions fan. Fandom is a pre-requisite for this movie, and if you’re not a fan, your kids probably are.” Smile and deal with it for them, because like the Pharrell song from the last movie, “Minions” is probably going to be inevitable.

In all honesty, as a prequel, I didn’t really like this as much as the original movies. That is actually an obvious reaction when watching it because any prequel hasn’t been better than the original movie. I can’t think of any that was better, but this one isn’t bad. It’s actually very funny and your kids will definitely be engaged while watching it. Definitely check it out if you’re a Minion fan because you will be laughing from first minute to last.

Check in next week for the finale in “Despicable Me Month” where I talk about the latest installment, that I saw on opening day.

Despicable Me 2

Odie Henderson started his review out by saying, “I enjoyed 2010's "Despicable Me" immensely, so I approached "Despicable Me 2" with a wary eye.” “Despicable Me” told a funny, nice, independent story about a man named Gru who steps down as a villain and decides to become an adopted father. The ending did not leave audiences on a cliffhanger that noted there would be a sequel. Henderson admitted, “Satisfied viewers like me sang "So Long, Farewell" to Gru and his crew.” Reps at Universal looked at "Despicable Me's" $251 million dollar domestic box office gross and sang "Never Can Say Goodbye."” Here we have another summer sequel.

“Despicable Me 2,” released in 2013, is as passable as it is superfluous. Henderson admitted, “Therein lies the rub for me. Here I sit on the fence between 2-1/2 and 3 stars, unsure of where I will fall.” The bad news is that it’s disappointing to see the returning protagonist who is not as good as his original creation. He’s fixed by the one thing that made “Despicable Me’s” ending so great. The good news is that there are an onslaught of amazing touches made with care and attention by cast and crew. Henderson stated, “These moments are so good I almost feel despicable for being undecided. So this review is a battle between Evil Film Critic Odie and Emotional Moviegoer Odie. You have a luxury I currently do not: You can look at the star rating above and see who won.”

The start of “Despicable Me 2” is what shows some great intelligence. An entire smart team and their station is attacked by a huge horseshoe magnet right out of the Warner Bros. cartoon subordinate, The Acme Company. Almost everyone and everything is hilariously taken to the sky and relocated, except for a port-a-potty and the scared person inside of it. This kind of villainy is what gets the attention of the AVI, an organization that finds and reports this deadly attack Gru did when he was in “Despicable Me.” The AVI sends out agent Lucy, voiced by Kristen Wiig, to ask Gru to use his skills of antagonist deduction to find out who’s behind the attacks of magnetic character. Lucy thinks she’ll ask nicely by electrocuting Gru with a “lipstick taser” before throwing him into the trunk of her high-tech car/plane/boat.

Before he meets up with Lucy, Gru was living a boring, house-trained life. Now retired, the only despicable thing he is committing on society is tasting jams and jellies. This makes his colleague Dr. Nefario to resign and goes to work for a new villain. Gru’s new project will help his undercover case as a vendor at the local mall. Lucy believes the intelligence AVI wants one of the other store owners at the mall. Henderson noted, “Suspects include a hairdresser, whose appearance conjures up images of "Shampoo" recast with Paul Williams, and an extremely masculine Mexican restaurant owner whom Gru thinks bears strong resemblance to a bad guy named "El Macho." Since El Macho es muerte (his death scene will put hair on your chest), Gru is immediately suspicious.”

Henderson noted, “Al Pacino was supposed to play Eduardo, the guy Gru thinks is El Macho. Al left the movie, but his accent apparently remained. Benjamin Bratt picks up the most over-the-top Hispanic accent since Tony Montana and runs a marathon with it. His line readings are a blast, though some viewers might find Eduardo somewhat politically incorrect. Whether Eduardo is El Macho isn't important; he brings much needed spark to "Despicable Me 2," upstaging Gru at every turn. In fact, until the climax, everyone upstages Gru. Carrell's accented line readings are still a pleasure, but I wanted more of the old Gru's scheming.”

Henderson goes on to say, “"Despicable Me 2" does offer a few flashes of what endeared me to its hero in the first place.” Gru’s suspicions about Eduardo (Benjamin Bratt) is more when the eldest adopted daughter Margo falls in love with Eduardo’s teenage son Antonio (Moises Arias). Gru’s hilarious unsuccessful (and otherwise cruel) attempts to keep Margo from growing up will relate to dads who are raising a daughter. Gru even brings his freeze gun out of retirement to cool Antonio’s growth spurs, however he points it at the wrong parts of this lover.

While Gru stresses about Margo falling in love, she and her sisters Agnes and Edith worry about his, even setting him up on one of those dating sites. When Agnes sees Lucy, she rightfully hooks that Gru has a crush on her. This potential subplot of is made to insert emotion into “Despicable Me 2.” Henderson admitted, “While it works for the most part (Agnes' big, expression-filled eyes are the animators' most glorious creations), nothing in the sequel comes as close to yanking my heartstrings as the moment when Gru, literally caught between the moon and New York City in the original, sees that pink ballet recital ticket floating in space.”

Henderson admitted, “"Despicable Me 2" lags on occasion, but every time I found my attention waning, the filmmakers did something wicked to goose me. Many of these moments involve my second favorite thing about "Despicable Me," Gru's minions. The cheerful little yellow creatures with overalls become integral plot points this time, undergoing a Gremlins-style metamorphosis to the dark side courtesy of our mystery villain. This leads to a nod to Philip Kaufman's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" that, dare I say, is worth the price of admission. The minions also figure in the second dressed-in-all-white homage to '90s music to appear in a 2013 summer film. I laughed so hard I almost spat out my soda. It was at that moment that I found myself torn about my star rating.”

This is where the viewers enter. Henderson said, “While I remain disappointed that the sequel gives me a subdued Gru and an uneven pace, I keep remembering things about "Despicable Me 2" that make me smile.” For every shoulder-shrug moment, there’s almost 2 well-done joke or lines. The voice talent is still brilliant, with Wiig, Bratt, Steve Coogan and the returning Russell Brand as stand-outs. Henderson noted, “The 3-D, as far as I can tell, is quite good, especially during the closing credits. (Full disclosure: like some of Gru's minions, I've only got one working eye, which turns 3-D into 2.25-D.) Some of the minor plot points pay off big time. I'm as enamored of the Pharrell Williams songs in this one as I was in the first film (and they're well used).” Directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul insert a few sweet moments of honest emotional weight from the relationship between Gru and his kids.

Henderson ended his review by saying, “With all that in mind, I have decided to award three stars to "Despicable Me 2." Besides, the Evil Film Critic has to win sometimes.”

With all of this said, I actually thought this movie was funnier than the first one. If you liked the first one and were thoroughly entertained by it, then this one is for you. We didn’t see this in theaters, although I was telling everyone let’s go see this one, along with “Monsters University.” However, when I rented this from the library, I found myself laughing more at this then the first one. I say to check this one out.

Check in next week for the spin-off of the series in “Despicable Me Month.”

Despicable Me

For the month of July, I think it would be appropriate enough to review an animated franchise that is great for families and I saw the latest installment on opening day. I am, of course, talking about the "Despicable Me" franchise. So, this month, it will be "Despicable Me Month." Let's get things started with the first "Despicable Me" movie, released in 2010. 

The film begins with the truth that villains are a lot of times more hilarious than heroes and makes a villain named Gru, who freeze-dries the people in front of him in line at Starbucks and pops children's balloons. Despite that he's inspired by many James Bond villains, two things make him different: (1) His great mad scientist lab is located not in the desert or on the moon, but in the baseman of his rural home, and (2) He doesn't dream of world domination as much as wanting to take over the news headlines as the Greatest Villain of All Time. 

Gru is voiced by Steve Carrell, who gives him an accent mixed with a Russian criminal and an insane Nazi. His life is really hard because his mother, voiced by Julie Andrews, sometimes hassles him. Roger Ebert noted in his review, "Memories stir of Rupert Pupkin in his basement, yanked from his fantasies by his mother's voice." Gru's most powerful weapon is the Insta-Freeze Gun, but now, with the help of his right-hand man Dr. Nefario, voiced by Katy Perry's former husband, Russell Brand, he can create Shrink Ray. 

Just has the entire world villain rule is in his hand, Gru is overshadowed by his worst enemy Vector, voiced by Marshall Eriksen from "How I Met Your Mother," Jason Segel, who steals the Great Pyramid. Ebert noted, "Since that pyramid was previously pounded to pieces by the Transformers, the Egyptians should establish a CGI-free zone around it." 

Gru is encouraged so much by his faithful minions, who are actually called the Minions, and, as Ebert describes, "look like yellow exercise balls with one or two eyes apiece." The main responsibility of the Minions is to inspire Gru, who calls them like he's an office manager. Ebert said, "He hatches a plan to use the Shrink Ray and steal no less than the moon itself, and explains it to the Minions with a plan that reminded me of nothing so much as the guy in the joke who plans to get the gorilla down out of the tree using only a broomstick, a pair of handcuffs and a savage Dalmatian dog." 

To make a villain into the protagonist of an animated comedy is quite a task, but the filmmakers add three cute kids to add good measure. They are Margo (Megan Parker from "Drake & Josh" and the title character from "iCarly," Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). Gru meets them at his friendly neighborhood orphanage, the boss being the mysterious Miss Hattie, played by Kristen Wiig. His plan is to keep them at his home until his moon plan is ready to go, and then use the kids to break into Vector's house by deception – pretending to sell cookies. It goes like how the sun rises and sets that the orphans will work their childlike charms on Gru and eventually make him realize that the big man has a heart, similar to the Grinch. 

"Despicable Me" doesn't have a franchise to last very long, but it may have many sequels. Ebert said, "I'm not sure how Gru can think up anything more sensational than stealing the moon, but I'm sure Dr. Nefario is working on that as we speak. The film is funny, energetic, teeth-gnashingly venomous and animated with an eye to exploiting the 3-D process with such sure-fire techniques as a visit to an amusement park." 

Ebert ended his review by saying, "The sad thing, I am forced to report, is that the 3-D process produces a picture more dim than it should be. “Despicable Me” is technically competent and nowhere near the visual disaster that is “The Last Airbender,” but take my word for it: Try to find it in 2-D. Or, if you see it in 3-D, check out the trailers online to see how bright and cheery it would look in 2-D. How can people deceive themselves that 3-D is worth paying extra for?" 

Take my word for it, see this movie if you haven't. My siblings saw this in the theaters without me, but that was because I was taking a summer class at the time and I needed to get some work done. Little did I know is that they snuck into seeing "Toy Story 3." That's beside the point. When I saw this movie on DVD, I laughed a lot from beginning to end. If you have children, I think they will laugh a lot at this as well. Definitely don't miss your chance to see this movie. 

Stay tuned later tonight because I'm going to see the new Spider-Man movie. I'm really looking forward to seeing that movie because I think it should be the best Spider-Man movie ever. Review to come later tonight.