MONSTERS VS. ALIENS (Theatrical Release USA 2009)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì

Monsters VS Aliens—despite its lack of strong character development—has enough ‘boom and bang’ special effects to override its rather small storyline to take it into the worth viewing class. Some flaws in the movie are: transitions between why a non-threatening Ginormica (voice of Reese Witherspoon) is immediately thrust into a government facility with  other facility ‘monsters’ and a poor establishment of her relationship to other inmates. It will be interesting to see how screenplay writers Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon improve the sequel.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

A meteorite hits Susan Murphy (voice of Reese Witherspoon) on her wedding day and she turns into a giant who immediately becomes government property.

Additional Thanks

Thank You to Directors Robert Letterman and Conrad Vernon for directing efforts. Thank you to Lisa Stewart for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Ginormica (voice of Reese Witherspoon), B.O.B. (voice of Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (voice of Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (voice of Will Arnett), General W.R. Monger (voice of Kiefer Sutherland), Gallaxhar (voice of Rainn Wilson), President Hathaway (voice of Stephen Colbert), Wendy Murphy (voice of Julie
White), Carl Murphy (voice of Jeffrey Tambor), Derek Dietl (voice of Paul Rudd), and Computer (voice of Amy Poehler).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. It’s a fair to middling piece of animation for children.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

DESPICABLE ME 4 (Released to Theaters USA 2024)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.3|5.0 Starsìììì  Despicable Me 4—another great film that marks Illumination Studios as king of the animation world—WOW! This movie may not stand out quite as much as part 1, 2, and part 3 of the series, but its colorfulness and flair for catching family life can be well received. This is a 'no shab' watch that emphasizes original and creative character development and the impact good writers can make to a movie. Fun watch.    Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images Storyline  Gru is a special agent who takes down criminals. But an old villain wants revenge for Gru ruining his award reception and putting him in prison.  Additional Thanks  Thank you to Director Chris Renaud for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman for making the film possible. Cast includes Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey Cosgrove, Stephen Colbert, Sofia Vergara, and Will Ferrell.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. This is great watch and has the Illumination Studios stamp for a quality, wonderful story.  Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers