1. Despicable Me (Universal, 3, 474 Theaters, 95 Minutes, Rated PG): For the longest time, I had no idea what this film was about. Every poster I saw had those minion things on it and I couldn’t understand what they had to do with the film. Did the film chronicle their lives in some strange otherworldy place? Was it a film about sentient bacteria?
Well, it turns out that they are minions of an evil scientist who has fallen on hard times. He has been dealing with stiff competition from a rival evil scientist and has lost his standing in the evil scientist community. But he has a plan to gain back his swagger–to steal the moon! Only one hitch. A trio of adorable orphans enter his life and teach him that there are more important things than stealing the moon. Like being a good dad.
This is done by Universal’s CGI animation department, so it is not a sure bet like Pixar or Dreamworks. Steve Carell is great in everything he does, so his lending his voice to the film can’t be anything but a good thing. This is the film I’ll probably see in my rare day out. But I am holding out judgement.
Although, I have to say, I am a little more encouraged after reading FBOL’s John Gibbon’s review of the film. If you want the opinion of the person who actually saw this film, please click here!
2. Predators (Fox, 2, 669 Theaters, 106 Minutes, Rated R): I’m am unabashedly a fan of the first Predator. I love the way it turned from an action movie to a Ten Little Indians-like thriller. I would have to say it ranks with Commando and Terminator as some of Arnold’s best work.
The sequel? Well, not so much. I only saw Predator 2 once, and I found it kind of boring. Moving the monster to the concrete jungle instead of the leaf and mud jungle was a mistake, and seemed to take the suspense out of the story idea.
So, when I heard this film would erase that film and replace it as the next-in-line sequel to Predator, I was very happy. And when I heard that Robert Rodriguez was involved and the premise behind it, I was even more stoked.
The plot is that a group of the most feared hunters Earth has to offer–a Yakuza assassin, a mercenary, a serial killer and others–are kidnapped and taken to the Predator homeworld to be hunted themselves.
It’s a premise that put an interesting spin on the plot of the original while adding something new. Hopefully, the end result can match the potential.
