Bruce Almighty (2003)
Jul 8, 2003Man Gains Godlike Powers Comedy
Comedy in which God appears to Jim Carrey and grants him His powers for one week. Expectedly the film is of zero theological depth and all about Carrey going completely over-the-top
Steve Carell
Bewitched (2005)
Sep 3, 2005Witch in Love/TV Series Remake
The hit 1960s sitcom is repackaged as a frothy Nora Ephron romcom that suffers from a fatal mismatching of a showboating Will Ferrell and a more subdued Nicole Kidman who do not seem to connect in any way as Darren and Samantha
Over the Hedge (2006)
Jun 21, 2006Animation/Talking Animals
Likeable DreamWorks animated film filled with much slapstick energy about a group of talking animals that venture into a housing estate in search of food
Evan Almighty (2007)
Sep 23, 2007Modern-Day Noah's Ark Comedy
Sequel to Bruce Almighty in which Steve Carell is transformed into a modern-day Noah. This was pitched to the Christian audiences but feels like a series of lame gags playing on Noah and the Ark devoid of any biblical context
Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
Apr 21, 2008Dr Seuss Adaptation/Animation
Animated adaptation of the Dr Seuss book is an amiable effort that captures a certain zaniness but ultimately seems to be forcing Seuss's slim original to inhabit the formula of the modern animated film
Get Smart (2008)
Jul 27, 2009TV Series Remake/Spy Comedy
There seems something crushingly redundant about conducting a big screen revival of tv's Get Smart in the era after Austin Powers. The film is a middle-of-the-road comedy that never finds the zaniness of the original
Despicable Me (2010)
Jul 17, 2010Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
An animated effort about a mad scientist and three orphans. One entered this with zero expectation only for it to unexpectedly emerge as a side-splitting and completely charming pleasure
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
Jul 15, 2012End of the World Romantic Comedy
The End of the World seems the least likely backdrop for a romantic comedy. Newcomer Lorene Scafaria seems less interested in depicting social collapse than in making an insipid romcom road movie with two leads who fail to strike up any connection
Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Jul 2, 2013Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
Despicable Me was a charming lightning in the bottle hit. Here Illumination Entertainment merely recyclethe familiar and already the cute sweetness and gags of the original are starting to feel like processed formula
Minions (2015)
Jul 12, 2015Animation/Cute Mischievous Creatures
The incomprehensibly manic antics of the Minions have a cuteness appeal that has overspilled the Despicable Me films and seemed like it is in danger of taking over pop culture in the last couple of years; here they get a film all to themselves with amiably lightweight results
Despicable Me 3 (2017)
Sep 9, 2017Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
Despicable Me was a delightful debut for Illumination Entertainment but has come close to making the studio a one-hit wonder they have milked that one hit for all they can
Welcome to Marwen (2018)
Apr 12, 2019Man Builds a Fantasy Doll Village/True Story
Robert Zemeckis of Back to the Future and Forrest Gump fame makes a film of the true-life story of Mark Hogancamp who recovered from a brutal assault by building a fantasy village of dolls. The results are bizarre where Zemeckis seems more interested in making a Sucker Punch-like fantasy where the dolls come to life
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Aug 20, 2022Animation/Super-Villain and Cute Mischievous Creatures
The cutely nonsensical Minions have become a pop culture phenomenon. Here we get more of them, although this is more as a Gru origin story
Asteroid City (2023)
Jul 21, 2023Retro 1950s Comedy/Alien Visitor
Wes Anderson’s quirky individualistic films can be an acquired taste. This is set in a stunningly designed retro 1950s town as various oddball characters intersect in between the appearance of an alien visitor
Despicable Me 4 (2024)
Aug 16, 2024Animation/Comic Travails of a Super-Villain
More from the world’s cuddliest super-villain and those manic ritalin-deprived kids that are the Minions. Is there are life and creativity left in a franchise that has been milked for six films now?
IF (2024)
Jun 29, 2024Imaginary Companions
Ryan Reynolds and director John Krasinski combine to make a film about imaginary companions, an appealingly quirky effort where a young girl befriends a large furry invisible creature