Philomena (2013)

4/5

Philomena is a tremendously tragic true story that pulls at your heartstrings and uplifts your spirit in profound ways. The movie follows Philomena (Dench) as an aging woman trying to reconnect with her adopted son, who was conceived out of wedlock and sold by the convent she was living in as a young woman. A reporter (Coogan) takes on the human interest story after he loses his job as a political correspondent and faces writer's block researching Russian history. So begins the unlikely duo's adventure to uncover the mystery of Philomena's lost son; and so begins their budding friendship.

The movie reveals pieces of information bit by bit to keep you hooked on the twisting, turning plot. The story alone is fascinating enough to make the movie engaging, but it is the performances that make the movie so compelling and ultimately so heartbreaking. We become intensely attached to the characters and we feel their pain and anger. The subject matter is challenging and difficult to stomach, but the pathos and humor infused into each character makes it all worthwhile. The actors reveal humanity at its best and its worst in portrayals that vibrate with truth and honesty. It is hard to separate yourself from the characters and their emotions once the film ends, but it gives us one of the most satisfying endings I can recall in recent memory. Philomena is a treasure to watch and to behold.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431286/

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

4/5

Despicable Me 2 is the sequel to the endearing animated family film Despicable Me. While trying to raise his three adopted daughters (Cosgrove, Fischer, Gaier), ex-supervillain Gru (Carrell) is contracted by Lucy (Wiig) to locate and eliminate a new supervillain. Along the way he unexpectedly falls in love with Lucy, but higher forces conspire to pull them apart. From a technical standpoint, this movie is better than the first. Beautiful animation and first-rate voice-acting give it a brilliant polish and shine. The movie has plenty of good jokes--I was laughing the whole way through--but they did not have the same oomph that the first one had.

Something about Despicable Me 2 just feels staid, old, and contrived instead of feeling fresh, unexpected, and new. It is more childish, or maybe just more child-oriented, than the first one was. While many animated movies have parts for kids and adults, it seems that Despicable Me 2 uses adult humor (e.g., sexual double entendres) to placate the 20+ crowd instead of delivering mature, thoughtful themes (e.g., on parenting). While there's certainly nothing wrong with making a movie focused predominantly on kids, it definitely loses something that the first one had. It loses a certain gravitas, an opportunity to stand the test of time, a chance to be a classic. It's a terrifically entertaining movie, but it's also just a little disappointing.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1690953/