Film review: Despicable Me 3

The original Despicable Me was just jam-packed with inventiveness and crazy ideas all at a head- spinning pace. Its premise was that the world was so full of James Bondian villains that they were often tripping over one another.

The film's best gag typifies its anarchic-spirit: "THE BANK OF EVIL - Formerly Lehman Brothers."

By the second film, the producers decided Gru should be a good guy, thereby sucking out all the joy found in the first film.

There's a segment in DM3 where Gru's minions are telling him how much more interesting his life was when he was a villain. And it's hard to argue with them.

And it goes down hill from there. His wife is just a scold really. The villain is stuck in the 80s. He dresses like it's the 80s, he listens to music from the 80s. This joke gets tired real fast.

The leader of the Anti-Villain League shows up long enough to step down and be replaced by a woman with a ... get this ... a really big nose! Her nose is supposed to be hilarious. It isn't. She's just another unnecessary character.

The story is Gru finds his long-unknown about twin, Dru, who, craving a life of excitement, wants Gru to return to a life of crime. This character is voiced by Steve Carrell modifying his voice for Gru. And this role really calls out for stunt casting: Was Stephen Colbert busy?

Either way, Gru takes Dru on a heist, he nearly screws everything up and I couldn't help but think about how Kate Capshaw's helpless character sucked all the fun out of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

There's also three subplots that sit there limply. The minions revolt and wind up taking over a prison, which is actually a little funny, and Gru's oldest daughter inadvertently misleads a  little boy into thinking she likes him. This goes NOWHERE. The third subplot is his youngest daughter goes on a unicorn hunt which has a cute conclusion, but these subplots feel really detached from the main film.

The first film was more Tex Avery than Walt Disney. The series now is like those watered-down Disney movies from the 70s that were sleeping pills for parents.

Film review: Ghostbusters

I went in with a lot of apprehension. The commercials really weren't funny, and I thought Paul Feig's "Bridesmaids" was terrible. (In fairness to me, I loved his Yahoo original series "Other Space."

Yet, this was a funny movie. I giggled through the whole film. Even during the (rare) slow parts I was still giggling from the previous jokes.

The plot: Estranged friends who wrote a book about the paranormal get called to ghostbusting action by a museum director whose museum is haunted. Meanwhile, a hotel janitor is working on a plan to unleash all of the city's ghosts. It parallels the original story while giving us enough new stuff.

Kristen Wiig acts as straight man for Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon. She also pulls off some backstory exposition which is a serious as the movie gets, and gets away with it.

Chris Hemsworth is hilarious as the dim receptionist.

And even though pretty much the whole cast of the original makes cameo appearances, it's a reboot, not a sequel.

And not only do the cameos serve as an acknowledgement of the original, the film also points out the internet hate the film got before shooting even started. All while taking the high road and never losing the comedy.

Some casting notes: The only living cast members missing were Rick Moranis and William Atherton. I was pleasantly surprised to see "Other Space" stars Karan Soni and Neil Casey. By all means, let me recommend this show again. There were only 8 episodes, each hilarious.

Film Review: "Bridesmaids," the overdue free HBO weekend edition

For a hit movie, it was really not very good:

Extra-long sequence of dueling toasts which outlasted its funniness
Extra-long sequence on airplane which outlasted its funniness
Extra-long sequence at bridal shower that outlasted its funniness
Diahrea sequence which is somehow mandatory in every modern comedy
I read once that in any movie that centers on women it has to be about competition between two women, either for a man, or in this case, the friendship of another woman.

This was a thin thin story. I keep thinking the original version of "The Producers" is the last comedy that had a plot. Every comedy since "Porky's" has been about people pooping, and isn't it hilarious when people get the runs.

OK, no one got kicked in the balls, somehow they forgot to do that, probably because there were so few men in the movie.

Great cast, some good set up, meeting all the characters, then it loses momentum with the dueling toast scene and never recovers.