Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 [2013] *** Stars (vocally) Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Andy Samburg, Benjamin Bratt and Neil Patrick Harris Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn I honestly did enjoy the first serving as it focussed on young Flint Lockwood trying to achieve his dreams of being an inventor of some renown, constantly knocking off invention after invention, most quite ingenious even if their potential is not fully realised. But therein laid the genius of that movie, the ingenuity of his foodie creations and landscapes. And there was some heart at the core, with Flint finding himself, connecting with his father and doing an ingenious reverse on the typical female character. Loved that, putting the glasses back on the girl. Picking up where the first movie left off, the food that began to show semblance of life has now evolved to various lifeforms. Flint is sent by his idol, Chester V, to locate his machine (that wasn’t really destroyed at the end of the first movie) and insert a USB drive that is presumed to stop the machine. At first, it seemed like there was nothing much to the plot, and it felt much like a Jurassic Park thing, our heroes trekking through the island discovering new and unusual life-forms. There is more to the plot, of course, and while cliched (Karate Kid III comes to mind, unfortunately), it works within the context of this movie. The writers and directors are treading a fine line here trying to keep things at a level for kids while tackling a couple of complex issues. The animation is gorgeous, particularly the design aspect with the foodimals on screen and the landscape they inhabit, which does add to the fun factor of the movie itself. The characters are pretty much the same although town cop Earl Devereaux is a little different due to the change in actor (Terry Crews taking over from Mr T). Aside from Sam Sparks and Flint’s dad, Tim, the others do seem very superfluous to the plot. As a sequel, it is quite reliant on the first movie, and almost on par to boot. Despicable Me 2 [2013] ** Stars (vocally) Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove,Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud As we catch up with former villain, Gru (Steve Carell), he’s settled into semi-domestic bliss catering to his three adopted girls, and setting his minions into a jam-making business. When a research base in hijacked, the Anti-Villian League recruits Gru to assist in the investigation, partnered with AVL agent, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig). That’s about it as far as the plot goes, which doesn’t really go very far as the focus is more on Gru being distracted by his eldest daughter getting interested in boys, and being occasionally pushed into a relationship. At east the original had the novelty of being focused on the villain and his grand scheme to pull off the greatest theft ever. Here, the plot goes nowhere, the characters barely advance and the minions steal every scene. That’s not to say it’s bad in any way, since it is a cartoon that has its minions aimed at the kids. They might have just skipped this and gone straight to the inevitable Minion Movie. Although, the minions might be okay in small doses, and not for an entire movie. The animation is an improved from the previous movie (obviously) with far more slick moves and obvious 3D effects put to good use, but it might try the patience of anyone who might be looking for more beyond those minions There’s really nothing much going for this one.
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