Megamind
(Voices of Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill)
Like Despicable Me, the other animated film this year about a master villain, Megamind finds joy in lightly pedaling evil. In this case, the film works because of committed actors, speedy storytelling and nifty new effects.
Megamind (Ferrell) is a blue, bulb-headed baby ejected from his planet just before it’s destroyed. Unfortunately, Ferrell is the second alien visiting Earth, behind the preening, perfect Metro Man (Pitt). Pitt’s hero baby gets the rich upbringing, and Megamind is raised by criminals in a prison. A rivalry is instantly born where the evil genius realizes the only way to stand out is to do battle with the sexy superhero. Then one day, the villain actually wins, and everything in everyone’s world is turned topsy-turvy.
Megamind slyly and quietly borrows from pulp sci-fi of the last six decades. However the film smartly avoids overload with dated cultural references. The script may have only a few surprises, but they are cleverly executed. Director Tom McGrath and Dreamworks Studios (the Madagascar films) create a jaunty style that’s a combo of their best work, with some nods to Pixar’s The Incredibles.
Finally, as a side note, the new 3D work that Dreamworks has developed provides sharper effects. McGrath smoothly integrated the new technology into Megamind’s story. The technology still needs some more genius tweaks and the 3D glasses still make the film dimmer—but this is a big heroic step in the right direction.
Due Date
(Starring Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Foxx)
Robert Downey Jr. is a very good actor, and Zach Galifianakis is funny. Together, they are able to almost save this cruel and crass remake of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Due Date definitely represents a misstep for Todd Phillips, the director who created the equally mean but much funnier Hangover.
Downey Jr. is an architect and an unbearable ass. His saint-like wife is having a baby in LA. After an ugly run-in with a self-absorbed, untalented actor (Galifianakis) in Atlanta, both schlubs are thrown off the plane and banned from flying. Because Downey Jr. is missing his wallet, he has to depend on effeminate Galifianakis to get home to the family who doesn’t particularly deserve such a dick.
It’s a car trip from hell for these two unapologetic mental cases. For the audience, it’s a undeterminable trip broken by only a few honest laughs.
If this flick holds a lesson about humanity, it’s impossible to find amidst all the vitriol and narcissism. Director Phillips and his charm-bereft script bleed out the warmth for jokes about pot smokers, Mexicans and handicapped people.
It’s amazing that in the midst of this, the two leads accidentally find tiny points of heart and humor. Those milestones, though, come only intermittently after many long stretches of very ugly road.
Waiting for Superman
(Documentary by Davis Guggenheim)
Waiting for Superman offers a clear picture of the failing American educational system, especially for kids in urban areas. It’s not a very cheery flick, and it sometimes over-emphasizes the grimness for several minutes. But it also offers a series of possible solutions.
Every morning in large cities across America, parents send their kids off to school with the small hope that the children are being educated. Instead, the kids pass through security checks and into overcrowded and underfunded classrooms. Other students with developmental and behavioral problems bring any possible learning to a screeching halt. The teachers, protected by powerful unions, sometimes don’t even pretend to do their jobs.
For the educators, it’s a combination of helplessness and the understanding that teachers cannot be terminated unless they obviously do something heinous. These factors create dropout schools, where only 40% of students graduate.
This doc follows five poor families. Some work themselves to death to send their children to private schools. Others put their faith in an impossible lottery system that, on average, offers only 1 in 20 students the chance to attend a better magnate school. We spend the entire film waiting to see if any of the unfortunate kids get the opportunity of a passable education.
Its awful, sad stuff, but Waiting for Superman is an education we all need.
