Despicable Me 2

Despicable Me 2.

Despicable Me 2 is the sequel to 2010's Despicable Me which was a surprise hit that gave Toy Story 3 a run for it's money as animated movie of the year. Steve Carell returns as Gru, the former villain turned hero who along with his thousands of minions now have to save the world.

The Positive: This movie is very family friendly with a few jokes in there for adults but this is an animated movie where it rivals Pixar in their ability to make a movie appealing to children and adults pretty equally. This movie is very good, as good as the first? In short, no. It's on par with the first. While the first showed a lot of growth with his 3 adopted daughters this one chooses to really grow the character of Gru mainly through the use of a love interest Lucy, who also happens to be his new crime-fighting partner. In this sense the movie is a very good companion movie to the first. We also get to see a TON more minions than ever before and they are absolutely fantastic. This makes me excited for the recently announced Minions spin-off movie tentatively coming out in December of 2014.

The Negative: Something was missing, I'm not sure what but there was and still is just something so special about the first one that this one is missing. The real heart isn't as entirely there as it was originally but it doesn't bring the movie down as it's still hilarious and a great time at the movies.

Overall: Despicable Me 2 is a great, fun and funny that appeals to adults and children alike. There's not much to complain about with this one. This makes me want them to continue with the series with a Despicable Me 3 but at the same time, once you move on from the 3rd movie to a 4th, it usually goes downhill. But that worry is years away as a Minions spin-off has been announced for 2014 which most likely means we won't get Despicable Me 3 until at least 2015, if it happens at all. Regardless, this a great movie that is well worth the money and probably some of the most fun you'll have at the movies this summer.

Rating: 4.5, Pretty Awesome and I Will Be Buying it on DVD/Blu-Ray.

UPDATED RATINGS SYSTEM

That's just a generic 5-star system. Mine will also be based off of a 5 star system.

1/5: An Insult to Film.
2/5: Could've Been Much Better.
3/5: Not Bad, Not Bad. (This is the average rating, 3/5 is not a bad rating at all.)
4/5: I'd Buy it On DVD.
5/5: Pretty Damn Awesome.

The Heat

Overview: Funnier than hell is hot.

The Heat.

The Heat stars Sandra Bullock as Agent Ashburn who is a by-the-books type agent gunning for a promotion. Opposite her is Melissa McCarthy playing Detective Mullins. At the end of the day, McCarthy is playing the same person she plays in every movie she's in. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, in cases like Johnny Depp who has more or less been playing Captain Jack since the characters incarnation in every movie he's in. Luckily, McCarthy hasn't yet worn out her welcome.

As a team the actresses work beautifully together. I'd say more about the supporting cast but there really isn't much to say, the actors do their jobs and do them well but much of the movie is shared screen time of Bullock and McCarthy.

The Positive: The movie is funny as hell. I truly had no interest in seeing this movie, the trailer looked unfunny and the only reason I went was because my girlfriend wanted to see it. I was in side-splitting laughter just a few minutes in and throughout the movie I was near falling out of my seat due to laughing so hard.

The Negative: It's so predictable. It's a buddy cop movie and they follow the formula to a tee. 2 officers get placed together and don't like each other, then through funny shenanigans they become friends, then something serious happens to one and the two become close, then one "betrays" the other, then they get thrown off the case only to reunite with a vengeance. We've seen this before a million times. The Heat does it decently well enough where you're not guessing what's gonna happen next you're just enjoying the moment now.

Overall: It's incredibly funny, with 2 actresses whom no one thought could work together but are just amazing together. I don't say this often but I actually kind of hope there's a sequel. The team works very well together and the end(NOT A SPOILER) leaves it open to a sequel but closes it enough that if there isn't one, it's alright.

Rating: 4/5: I'd Buy it On DVD.