Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)

 

Set in 1976, Gru is trying to join the Vicious Six, the top super villain group at the time.  Gru is not quite 11 years old, but already has a plan for his life.  That is pretty impressive.  He feels like the minions are holding him back.  We all know how this is going to work.  The macguffin of the story is a Chinese Horoscope amulet, which is pretty cool looking.  The villains are pretty funny and unique and given those odd powers that the Gruniverse is known for.  The minions also have to prove their worth to Gru as well.  It all works out, with a few call forwards to the Despicable Me movies and lots of 70s music (some of this was better than others).  Gru has risen!  Well, at least started to rise.

Hawkeye 05- Ronin

Poor Yelena.  She lost her sister and has no real family and apparently is very gullible.  I can't imagine that Tasha didn't tell her all about Clint.  Why would she believe Valentina telling her Hawkeye killed her sister.  I am sure this will be all sorted out in the final episode (I think it's only six episodes long).  This was another good episode though, and that ending surprised me.  It also surprises me that I somehow managed to avoid all the spoilers out there.  Hawk tries to settle this Tracksuit Mafia business before "the big guy" gets involved,  Kate and Yelena have a girls night, and finally Kate rescues Clint from Maya.  I'm looking forward to this finale.

Despciable Me 3 (2017)

This was the first Despicable Me movie I have seen in the theater.  I saw the other two via DVD and then Minions when it was out in 2015.  But this time, I was ready for it.  I had a nice meal and some tasty beverages beforehand, and half a pack of gummi bears for the movie.  Hit it.

Minions (2015)

It's cute, but not great.  Everyone loves the Minions, but overexposure can cause people to turn on a dime faster than you know (see any one-two hit wonder for example).  The Minions are great supporting characters (See Despicable Me 1 and 2) and having seen their "solo" movie that's just confirmed.  They are funny, but just not enough to carry a movie.  They are truly second bananas.  There are a lot of fun bits in this movie, just not quite enough to carry it's relatively short running time.

Despicable Me 2 part 2

Finally finished watching this fun sequel.  Despite the best efforts of the AVL, Gru actually does discover who the mysterious new super villain is and also contends with the even harder difficulty of asking Lucy for a date.

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

For a wide variety of reasons I didn't see this in the theater when it came out.  Of course, I didn't see the first one either, so there is an historical precedent.  So I'm watching it now, and just about 17 minutes into it I'm quite enjoying it, despite the score being less than memorable (again).

Despicable Me take 2

(this is a first for me, a guest column!  this was written by Liberty Belle and is much better than my paltry attempt. it's so good it doesn't even need pictures, though of course I added one of the minions.  all kudos to her!)

Despicable Me
by Liberty Belle

Why do I love thee so?

Haven’t actually watched the movie in probably a year.  I have it so committed to heart that I didn’t think I missed it, until I loaned it to a friend.

Amazing one-liners like Agnes’ “its so fluffy!!!” Or the multitude of Gru’s snarky comebacks just make me smile.  I first saw Despicable Me on Christmas Eve during a particularly depressing holiday season, and for some reason it pulled me out the doldrums. 

Despicable Me (2010)

Gru is a super villain.  nothing too unusual about this, as super villains are pretty common.  he has unusual minions, but he mostly steals things.  I'm not sure what he does with them afterward, because stealing them without ransom makes you no money. unfortunately, his most amazing weapon is a "freeze ray" which would come in handy for me at times.