Despicable Me- Part Deux

One of my many summer jobs is a babysitter for two very young children who love to watch movies. I saw an array of cartoon and computer animated film this summer but one that I really loved was Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me, starring the voices of Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove and Jason Segal. The movie tells the story of Gru (Carell), a criminal mastermind, who spends all of his evil time stealing the World's greatest places, including the moon and The Great Pyramid of Giza. During his plan to steal the moon, three small orphaned girls fall under his care. The movie shows Gru's transition from an evil super-villain to the caring man the small orphans know and love. I love this film and thought that voices of the characters were well casted, the animation was excellent, and provided a story that worked for all ages. I think I enjoyed this movie more than the kids did. Here's one of my favorite scenes....

This summer, Despicable Me 2 is being released, featuring characters from Al Pacino, Kristen Wiig, Steve Carell, and Russel Brand, as well as many others. I am super excited to see Despicable Me 2 and will probably be the only person in theatre older than 10. The sequel focuses on Gru's right hands the minions and tells the story from their perspectives. Check out the trailer below.....

Best, Brie

These Interesting Times

Something that I always think about is that I'm so lucky to be alive during these very "interesting times" (the Chinese would consider this a curse). Sometimes I wonder what would I be doing if I lived during the Renaissance. Would I have approached Leonardo or Michelangelo? beg them to take me as an intern in their workshops? I probably would have. We take for granted that we share this particular time with some outstanding geniuses and then it happens that they are suddenly gone and you missed the opportunity to meet them, or talk and learn from them.

On the other hand, because I am talking about artists, writers, and in particular filmmakers (the ones I consider artists) we are lucky that they left a body of work which allows us to continue this dialog.

Sidney Lumet died last year at the age of 86. He is one of the directors that made an everlasting impression in my life and career. He made over 50 films of which many are masterpieces of American Cinema. The first one I saw in the early 60's was The Pawnbroker which left me stunned with its raw power and its fearless look into ills of society that were not the stuff of Hollywood movies, but then again, he was a New Yorker and his films were as unadorned as the City can be.

After that film I made sure I saw everyone of them. In just two years Fail Safe and The Hill came out. I was in film heaven, a very angry heaven!

Maybe you have seen Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Prince of the City, The Verdict, or his last one, appropriately called, Before the Devil Knows you are Dead. He worked with some of the best and most important actors that any director could wish to work with, and got extraordinary realistic performances out of them.

He made history, and he lived during our time.