“Megamind” was the kind of movie I expected “Despicable Me” to be when I walked into the theater; a DreamWorks Animation film. It soon turned out that “Despicable Me” was actually a Universal Picture and not from DreamWorks. Since I have been so addicted to and in love with the computer animated epics from Pixar, I felt it was time to see how the other studios compared (if at all). For once, I would be seeing a DreamWorks animated movie without “Shrek” in the title.

But “Despicable Me” and “Megamind” do have one thing in common in that their main character is a villain, one who looks to get the most press for his devious accomplishments. The latter is set around an interesting question: what if the bad guy actually ended up defeating the hero? What would happen then? Whether or not that person works as a banker on Wall Street is beside the point. The villain finds that having all the power he desires doesn’t compare to the struggle of getting it in the first place.

The movie has a great start as it satirizes “Superman” in showing how Megamind himself (voiced by Will Ferrell) is put in a rocket by his parents and sent away to a world that isn’t on the verge of dying. Along the way, his spaceship comes into contact with another whose occupant is goody two shoes Metro Man (voiced by Brad Pitt) who ends up throwing Megamind off course to another destination on Earth. While Metro Man ends up crashing into the home of a loving well to do family, Megamind lands inside a maximum security prison and right in front of hardened inmates. Being that this is a movie for the whole family, we never see this villain in an HBO “Oz” setting or bending over for the soap.

From there, it’s a battle of wits and smarts between Metro Man and Megamind whose resentment from childhood remains unabated. But what I thought was going to be an average movie about good guys versus bad guys really surprised me in the direction it ended up taking. It’s really about Megamind getting exactly what he wants, and soon become bored because there is no one left to fight. Where he goes from there just might surprise you (I strongly stress the word “might”).

What works to the film’s advantage is how knowledgeable it is of the superhero movies we grew up with, namely “Superman.” It gleefully plays around with the superhero’s ego and how it typically gets the best of him, and of how the villain’s evil plans are no longer as scary as they are intended to be. It even gets to where TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey) is actually rolling her eyes at Megamind’s threat to drop her into a watery hole with alligators (or are they crocodiles?). Once the movie does take an unexpected left turn, the story does get kind of conventional, but it becomes something that it wasn’t really advertised as.

I have to give Will Ferrell a lot of credit here because he usually just plays the same character over and over in each film he does. When it works like in movies such like “The Other Guys,” its no big deal because we are too busy laughing our asses off. But in “Megamind,” I actually forgot that it was Will Ferrell doing the voice after awhile. That’s saying a lot because his voice is so recognizable after all those years on “Saturday Night Live.” Here, we see and hear a specific character more than the man who gave us the most memorable impersonation of George W. Bush. It also probably helps that Megamind doesn’t look all that much like Ferrell, and that would still be the case if his skin weren’t so blue.

Other celebrity voices featured in “Megamind” include Brad Pitt’s who is a big hoot as the Superman-like Metro Man. Brad’s voice perfectly exudes self-confidence as he has the whole world at his feet, and it’s a great satirical take on the overbearing ego that superheroes have at their disposal and which can easily turn on them if they’re not careful. Listening to him made me wonder how much time he actually spent in the studio recording the dialogue. My guess is about one to two weeks, maybe a month. This must have been one of the easiest jobs for him.

Tina Fey brings her usual perky voice to the role as Roxanne Ritchi, and her sarcastic bite is always a lot of fun to take in. Jonah Hill, fresh off of “Get Him To The Greek” and “Cyrus,” is picture perfect as Roxanne’s cameraman Hal, who of course has the biggest crush on her which remains unrequited like most crushes are. When his heart gets shattered, he ends up doing what most guys do; destroy things at random. It actually took a bit to recognize his voice, but the hilarious David Cross is an inspired piece of casting as the voice of Minion, the henchman (or hench-fish) to Megamind and his devious plans. Other actors featured here are J.K. Simmons who voiced the Warden, Ben Stiller as Bernard, and Justin Theroux as Megamind’s father. Those last three voices I didn’t even recognize until I saw their names in the end credits (or for that matter, IMDB).

I did see “Megamind” in 3D, and the filmmakers actually made really good use of the format. It really gave more excitement to certain scenes like when the characters are on the top of very tall buildings, and I almost got a strong sense of vertigo. Ok, perhaps I am exaggerating a bit in saying that, but it’s still on my mind long after having sat through it. The technology of 3D has truly advanced to being beyond just a mere gimmick, but Hollywood has been abusing it for the extra profit to where the use of it becomes pointless. “Megamind” turns out to be one of the best examples of 3D I have seen this year, and for once I didn’t mind spending an extra couple bucks.

Directing “Megamind” is Tom McGrath who was also responsible for one of several DreamWorks animated movies I have not yet seen, “Madagascar.” I liked a lot of the stuff he came up with here visually. While the animation might not be on the same level as in Pixar movies, there is still a lot of attention put into the detail that’s very impressive. This is especially the case when taking into account the design of the city featured as it looks quite realistic in hindsight. There’s also that little dig at the iconic Obama poster which also made for a good laugh.

Look, it’s not like I expected “Megamind” to be bad or at best a decent times at the movies, but it turned out to be far better than I expected it to be. Like the best Pixar movies, it works as great entertainment not just for kids but for adults as well. It’s a clever take on superheroes, and that makes it one of the more entertaining movies of the 2010 fall season. DreamWorks Animation may still be in the shadow of Pixar, but this shows that they are moving up their game some, and it looks like they may start making more than mere products for consumption.

***½ out of ****

Date Night
Year: 2010
Director: Shawn Levy
Stars: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Walberg
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Running Time: 88 Mins












Yes, I’m reviewing yet another romantic comedy, after having to deal with the humorless film known as “The Bounty Hunter”. Hopefully, “Date Night” will be much better.

The film is about married couple Phil and Claire Foster (Steve Carrel, Tina Fey) who always have a weekly date night to get away from their problems. In order to make that night fun again Phil decides to Claire to an expensive restaurant. Only problem is, they have no reservation. So when Phil finds out that a couple has no showed their reservation, he and his wife decide to take that reservation. That turns out to be a problem, when two men who think that they are the no show couple.

Soon their night becomes chaotic, as they are trying to outrun the police and the mob is out to get them. In order to find a way to find that couple that had the original reservation and why the mob is looking for them. This comedy also has apperences by Mark Walberg (The Italian Job”, “The Departed”) Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig (Adventureland), James Franco (Spider-Man 1-3), and Mila Kunis (The Book of Eli).

At least this film didn’t turn out to be another disaster, like “The Bounty Hunter” was. “Date Night is a funny film that generates laughs that everyone can enjoy. Director Shawn Levy does a good job making every work very well. He makes most of the scenes funny, by the way that he directs them. It’s not forced or so lackluster of personality that you’re sitting there waiting for a humorous moment to happen, which makes you bored and not having a good time with the film. Thankfully there are humorous moments in the film that helps it not fall into chick flick category. The reason that Levy was successful in doing this, the way he directs the acting in the film. He does a good job in developing chemistry between the two leads. It makes the film fun to watch.

Speaking of the acting and chemistry, they both helped make this film entertaining. Both Steve Carell and Tina Fey were both very good here. Their styles of acting gelled very well here, as they really did a very good job developing chemistry that need for a film like this. The other thing that I liked about the main performances, each of them brought personality to their characters. That’s what I want to see in these romantic comedies, not brooding or annoying characters that take up most of the screen time.

The screenplay written by Josh Klausner is effective enough that it generate humor and an entertaining love story. Yes, the story seems generic, but it’s the execution that makes it would worth the hour and a half of my life. One of the things that Klausner does to make this work, the lead characters are likeable and no so annoying to the point that you tune out of the story. That was one of the main problems that I had with a recent romantic comedy that I recently reviewed for the site. I liked how he develops and sets up the main characters, as it helps you get you caught up in the adventure that this couple is having. The other thing that makes it work, the way that Klausner times the humor in the film. It doesn’t come at you a hundred miles per hours; instead it comes in the way that you caught up in the humorous action. Also, I like how there was actual thought into some of the dialogue and jokes. Those worked very well, as it generated laughs to the point that it makes the story and the film enjoyable. The only problem that I can see with this film was that it was a little too short with it eighty-eight minute running time, as there could have been a good ten more minutes added, but still I enjoy this film.

“Date Night” is a perfect date night film for those you are looking for a fun filled film with two very talented comedians.

Review Rating: Four Stars.

It is important to remember that this movie was not written by Tina Fey. Although I have always seen Tina Fey as infallible, after viewing this movie, I definitely need to amend it to say Tina Fey’s writing is infallible. As a lapsed Catholic I actually don’t feel my soul slipping away by equating her to the Pope, but I like to think if God ever saw “30 Rock,” he would more than agree with my theory.

I’ve been saying for a number of years that I want to be Tina Fey when I grow up. Please pay no mind to our limited difference in age. To be sure, a lot of what makes Tina Fey phenomenal is in this movie. She has great timing, brilliant facial expressions, and she is absolutely beautiful. However, what I most love about her is her love of and talent for comedic writing. This made the movie an interesting exercise for me. Most of the movie I felt disappointed and sad, worried that she had written such a bland comedy. Then the credits rolled and the real writer was exposed. Phew! From that moment on, I actually seemed to like the movie a little better. It is interesting how your assessment of a film can slide on a scale depending on who is to blame. It is because she didn’t write it that I am cutting it some slack, but make no mistake about it, this isn’t a very good movie. Even when I thought Tina had written it, I was wondering why it felt like a man had written it. In my head I pictured Tina Fey going to the movie on Friday night, walking right past the poster for her movie and buying a ticket to “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.”

Though the script contains few laugh or clever quips, the cast makes up a lot of lost ground. The chemistry between Poehler and Fey is as perfect as ever, even if it feels like they are waiting for more to do. I got the distinct impression from the Karaoke scene that the joke may have been ripped from their actual lives, but I guess that isn’t strange when you get to act silly with a good friend. Although this movie might have been a poor choice on the part of Poehler and Fey, the director sure knew what they were doing when they cast the film. Aside from the lovely lady leads, the movie also has some surprisingly funny performances from Steve Martin, Greg Kinnear, Will Forte, Sigourney Weaver, and John Hodgeman.

Fey plays a wonderful straight man with an endearing awkwardness. Poehler tends to overact since her strengths lie more with sketch comedy and broad characters, so her role as a brash and kind of white trash surrogate works. In fact, some of the funniest moments in the movie come courtesy of Poehler’s delivery. As for Steve Martin, his scant few moments on screen are the most memorable of the movie, but the cameos from other favorites certainly liven up the story a bit. The plot is a bit predictable, but the characters make the journey a little more palatable. The most consistent factor of this movie is that everyone seemed to be having a good time. Perhaps that is why I did enjoy my evening at the movies a bit more than I expected, but I would be lying if I said it was a fun evening.

The fact is that this movie is every bit as dull as the trailer makes it seem. Even before the movie started I was resistant based on the trailer. Sitting there in my seat before the start of the show I pictured Tina Fey going to the theatre on Friday night, walking right past the poster for her movie and buying a ticket to “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” If I had done what imaginary Tina Fey did, perhaps I would have had a better night out. Alas, I did not. There are some moments that made the price of admission for “Baby Mama” acceptable, but as a whole, it seems like a bit of a wasted effort. I would like to see better for this cast and for Tina Fey in particular. Here is hoping that the next time these two talented ladies put their comedic chemistry together again that they have a script that is as good as they are.