Despicable Me

I resisted this movie for a very long time. It just never seemed like a work that had much to offer me and my taste in films. Maybe that had something to do with the over the top marketing tie ins etc. well, I can now report that…I wasn’t entirely right, but I wasn’t entirely wrong either. The movie is at its strongest when it is focused on individual elements: sight gags, one-liners, slight satire. There are good moments sprinkled throughout its run time. But the overall story is weak and utterly predictable. Worse, in a story where the main characters are villains, every outcome is soft and pulls the punches. No-consequence cartoon violence is one thing, but this stuff here is for babies. Despicable? More like docile. That may fly with the toddlers (both actual and mental), but not with me. 

Inside Out

Much as with the structure of this movie itself, you have to get behind the facade to see what’s really going on here, and to find where the thing is most effective. The overarching metaphor is so prominent, so flamboyantly at center stage in how the story is presented, that the viewer must make some major effort to form a connection with the main character—in this case, the girl Riley, not the representations of her emotions. That connection is always the core of what makes an effective film. Once you find that very human link, and allow the artifice to shift more into the background where it belongs, then this story begins to have its intended impact. In this viewer's case, the connection was more than just an abstraction. I, too, moved from a cold weather location to the San Francisco area, at right about the same age, and as a big hockey fan, no less; certain parallels really hit home for me. (Alas, I never was able to adjust. Then again, I never learned to skate, either.) It goes without saying that some story elements here—particularly the loss of early memories, and even parts of one’s earliest self--can be triggers for some deep ruminations about just how one's life has worked out (or not). While some aspects of this script may be too cloying or simplistic, there is just enough humor, wit and wisdom in these scenes to lift the overall rating into something positive, entertaining, and even touching in the end. We’re all big bundles of emotions, after all, so everyone can relate with this work, at least a little bit. I’ve got a feeling … that this one is worth a look.

Wreck-it Ralph

Unlike many contemporary animation films, this movie breaks the template in important ways; for instance, there’s a decided lack of ginned up, vaguely false sentiment here. Where the emotional beats come, they are well earned. Also, the film’s intelligence really shines through in the execution; the filmmakers create a world with its own rules, and they adhere to those rules all the way through. It’s just a very smart film. And, to top it off, watching this flick is an extra hoot for anyone old enough to remember the originals of many of these games. Strong stuff indeed. Drop your coins in the slot and play this one all you like.