BLU-RAY
REVIEW: DESPICABLE ME
12/15/10
OVERVIEW: The perfect gift for the holidays arrives in the hilarious and heartfelt animated box office sensation, Despicable Me, available December 14, 2010 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. For a limited time only the fun continues with a trio of all-new, hilarious adventures starring the film’s endearingly mischievous Minions, available only on the Blu-ray™ and Blu-ray 3D Combo Packs and the DVD Double Pack. All three products include a digital copy of the movie to watch anytime, anywhere. A single disc DVD will also be available.
SYNOPSIS: In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden deep beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by an army of tireless, little yellow Minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. Yes, the moon!
Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.
One of the world’s greatest super-villains has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.
FILM REVIEW: Gru:
We stole the Statue of Liberty...!
[the minions cheer]
Gru: ...the small one, from
Las Vegas!
[the cheers stop]
Gru (Steve Carell) is
suffering from a super villain midlife crisis. He needs to prove
to the world that he’s still got it. He wants to prove that
not only is he still worthy of his super villain title, but that
he is the best at his trade. So . . .
Gru: We are going to pull of
the TRUE crime of the century... we are going to steal the MOON!
What ambition, what determination, what a plan and what a
charming story. For being such a villainous tale, this movie is
very cute, funny, endearing, lighthearted and fun. It’s not
exactly a roll on the floor comedy but it does have good laughs
throughout with a pinch of near tear jerking moments. The story
is entertaining and the characters themselves are just as
entertaining as the story. Steve Carell was excellent in the
lead role and you could tell that he was trying hard to not be
the typical Steve Carell we see in most of his movies but
instead actually playing this character. The very popular and
talented supporting cast made it easier for Steve to shine. They
all helped carry this movie and kept it going at a smooth pace.
Easily the most popular characters associated with this film are
the minions; the funny little yellow guys. Members of Gru’s
super villain team, you will not understand but maybe a word of
what they are saying but it doesn’t matter because you will be
entranced by their cuteness and completely unpredictable
behavior which at times can be brutal. But I will argue that the
cutest characters would have to be the three little girls. Each
of them is as unique as the next and they each have the ability
to melt your heart. And nothing can melt the hardest of hearts
like an adorably cute child. (Yeah, I’m using the word cute
too much, right? Can’t help it). The leader in cuteness of the
three sisters is undoubtedly the youngest one, Agnes. What I’m
about to say might be considered blasphemy for many of you but I
don’t recall seeing such a cute little animated girl since the
cutest animated girl in motion picture history, Boo from
Monsters, Inc. There is no beating around the bush with Agnes;
she goes straight for your heart. She looks a lot like a
slightly older Boo (maybe that’s why the comparison) and she
also has the Puss in Boots begging-big-eyes look factor. What a
deadly combination.
This movie overall is not as big as most of the Pixar
blockbusters or some of the Dreamworks classics, but it is a fun
movie to watch and you won’t be disappointed. The icing on the
cake is the lessons learned such as how the value of family can
be greater than the moon. As for watching it in 3D or not, well
watching it in 3D was nice and all but I wouldn’t exactly say
that it’s a requirement. Directors Pierre Coffin and Chris
Renaud have done an impressive job with this project considering
it is the first major film direction for both of them. Oh yeah,
and my daughter really enjoyed it too.
Film
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
BLU-RAY:
The film is
presented in 1080P widescreen in a 1.85:1 aspect ration
preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just
flawless, bringing to perfection the smooth animation of the film. Not only the picture looks great in
this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 DTS-HD Master
Audio (48kHz/24bit) in English, Spanish and French that provides a
good complement to the picture. It also includes
English Spanish French
subtitles.
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen 1080P
AUDIO:
English DTS-HD
Master Audio 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 DVS, French DTS Surround
5.1, Spanish DTS Surround 5.1
Subtitles -
English, English SDH, French
and Spanish
SPECIAL FEATURES:
THREE ALL NEW, MINI-MOVIES Starring THE MINIONS — The fun continues with three all-new mini-movies, created exclusively for the Blu-ray Combo Packs and DVD Double Pack! Available for a limited time only! Get more laughs and more minion mayhem with "Home Makeover", "Orientation Day" and "Banana" - you'll want to watch them again and again!
THE VOICES OF DESPICABLE ME —Go behind-the-scenes with Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig and Julie Andrews as they give life to their animated characters. Includes character profiles for each of the cast members!
SUPER SILLY FUN LAND—Join Agnes, Margo and Edith at the Super Silly Fun Land Theme Park and play Feed the Creatures and Freeze the Floating Minions to win super cool prizes.
GRU-CONTROL - Through a picture-in-picture window, see the making of the film with behind-the-scenes footage and cast/filmmaker interviews
MISS HATTIE’S TOP SECRET COOKIE RECIPES—Margo is proud to present the recipes for those wonderful cookies that the loveable orphans under Miss Hattie’s care enjoy so much!
BD-LIVE™—Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers and more.
pocket BLU™ app— For the first time available on iPad®, owners can enjoy a new, enhanced edition of pocket BLU™ made especially to take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen and high resolution display. Consumers will be able to browse through a library of Blu-ray™ content and watch entertaining extras on-the-go that’s bigger and better than ever before. USHE’s groundbreaking pocket BLU™ app uses iPhone™, iPod® touch, iPad™, Blackberry®, Nokia® Smartphone, Android™, PC and Macintosh to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray™ player and offers advanced features such as:
o MINION ME—Exclusively for iPhone® and iPad® -- Personalize photos of friends and family by turning them into Minions. Pictures can be customized with glasses, bowties, hats and hairstyles to make it really hilarious! Send it to your friends with a Minion laugh.
o MINION DOMINION APP—Exclusively for iPhone® and iPad® Control a Minion by turning, tilting, rotating and shaking your phone. Tap the screen to make him speak, tap it again to hear him laugh. Or do battle with the two-player “minion mash up.” Download to your iPhone and see who can inflict the most damage on the other’s minion.
o Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.
o Video Timeline: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the movie.
o Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to mobile devices or to stream from anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
o Keyboard: Enter data into a Blu-ray™ player with your device’s easy and intuitive keyboard to facilitate such Blu-ray™ features as chatting with friends and sending messages.
The World of Despicable Me
Despicable Beats—Director Chris Renaud talks about the cool factor of renowned music producer Pharrell Williams.
Gru's Rocket Builder—In an all-new game, Vector has stolen some of the most famous landmarks from around the world and replaced them with the pieces to Gru’s rocket. Players must return all the stolen landmarks to the correct countries in order to build their own rockets before Vector hacks into the system and steals the rocket plans. The reward for completing the rocket is a launch to the moon!
A Global Effort—Learn all about the global effort behind Despicable Me. A director from France and another from the USA, plus an American and English cast created a movie in France, with artists from all over the world for a truly international movie!
Commentary with directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, featuring the Minions!
Feature Film DVD Copy
Digital Copy
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