MOVIE REVIEW: Despicable Me (2010) ****

Review:

While it's true that Disney's Pixar has been setting the standard for great CGI films for more than a decade now, the thought of them being the only game in town when it comes to creating quality CGI product is slowly beginning to change.  In the last couple of years DreamWorks Animation has really been upping their game with films like "Kung Fu Panda," "How to Train Your Dragon," and "Megamind." And now Universal Animation Studios has officially thrown their hat into the ring with "Despicable Me." (Y'know, because everyone has forgotten about "The Tale of Despereaux," which is exactly how Universal wants it.)

"Despicable Me," is the story of Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), a gangly bald and black clad super-villain with dreams of being regarded as the world's greatest bad guy.  Unfortunately for Gru, he's somewhat inept.  It's not that he doesn't have the tools, because he does.  For starters he has the look down pat, he has his own army of loyal minions, he has an evil scientist down in the lab creating all he can dream up, hell…he's even got a weird Eastern European accent!  The one thing Gru doesn't possess, however, is the ability to think BIG.

After news breaks that a giant Egyptian Pyramid has been stolen, and replaced with a big inflatable one, Gru is met with pity from his evil scientist, Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand), and is mocked by his mother (voiced by Julie Andrews).  This certainly isn't the sort of treatment the world's greatest bad guy should receive!  But Gru has a plan to change all that: He's going to steal the moon!

MOVIE REVIEW: Buried (2010) ****

Review:
I'd like to start out this review by saying to writer Chris Sparking, director Rodrigo Cortes, and star Ryan Reynolds…"Hey guys, great movie. Now go fuck yourselves! You and your heart wrenching movie that has left me emotionally devastated worse than that time I stayed up too late and was reduced to a five gallon bucket of tears by that Operation Smile infomercial! Seriously, you guys are the worst. And by the worst, I mean the best. But you're still the fucking worst, okay! I hate you all…and I mean that in the best way possible."


So yeah, "Buried" is kind of like that.


Here's the premise: One man is dropped in a wooden box. That man is then buried somewhere in the Iraqi desert in 2006. That man is given a cellphone, a lighter, and a pencil. That man now has as much time as he has air to breathe to figure out why he's been buried alive, who put him there, and how the hell he's going to get out.