9's Visuals a Perfect 10

Animated feature is strong, if generic, hyper: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree that French studio Illumination Entertainment has made a strong first entry into feature animation with Despicable Me, featuring Steve Carrell voicing a cartoon baddy who adopts three little girls. But it has the misfortune to premiere within weeks of Pixar's beloved Toy Story 3.

• Despicable Me "cannot be faulted for lack of trying," AO Scott writes in the New York Times . "If anything, it tries much too hard, stuffing great gobs of second-rate action, secondhand humor and warmed-over sentiment into every nook and cranny of its relentlessly busy 3-D frames. It tries so hard to be likable that you may hate yourself for hating it."

Incredible studio turns out another incredible movie

(NEWSER) - It's only June, but Toy Story 3 already has one call for best movie of the year. In fact, Dan Kois of the Awl goes so far as to declare that “the people of Pixar are currently America's most important filmmakers.” This movie is “totally bonkers,” with loads of crazy scenes—like a mushroom cloud made out of a trillion plastic monkeys—real laughs, and truly exciting moments. And then comes the last 15 minutes, “which I spent bawling, as did every moviegoer around me.” More»

Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech

(NEWSER) - Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling:

• "It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between Wii Fit avatars and real people." Come on, folks: "Just because something can be done with computers doesn't mean it should be."

But animated sequel has a few redeeming moments

(NEWSER) - If you need an air-conditioned snooze on the busy holiday weekend, the third Ice Age film may be the answer. Still, it has its moments:

• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs frequently feels “so glacial that it's a wonder Ray Romano's Manny the mammoth doesn't freeze in his tracks,” writes Betsy Sharkey for the Los Angeles Times. But the film “will keep the kids cool and mildly entertained for a little while.”

Dreamworks' 3-D stunner stuck with one-dimensional storyline

(NEWSER) - Monsters Vs. Aliens looks amazing on screen, but grownups may find the thin jokes and the storyline of Dreamworks' animated spoof of '50s flicks a little grating, say critics.

• James Rocchi, Redbox: The movie "has amazing 3D, solid gags, wacky concepts and great animation; I just wish that at some point along the way someone had been as passionate about the story as they were about the spectacle."