“Despicable Me 4” delivers more of what we’ve come to expect from this franchise. When a pastor’s wife is convicted that their family needs to adopt hurting kids, it ignites an adoption revolution in “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possom Trot.” The first installment of Kevin Costner’s planned four-chapter epic Western can be pretty. But it’s also disjointed, violent and raw.
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Despicable Me 4 – In Theaters
Let’s take a lesson from “Despicable Me’s” first antagonist and consider the vector of the franchise.
In terms of magnitude, the now-decade-old series has gone far in its reach. Love them or hate them, Gru’s yellow minions are a cultural phenomenon. The film’s success even spawned a ride at Universal Studios. And with at least two more planned movies on the way, the franchise shows little signs of slowing in its cultural impact.
But Plugged In primarily concerns itself with the other half of the vector coin: direction. And in that regard, “Despicable Me 4” stays the course.
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Like its predecessors, “Despicable Me 4” keeps its plot ultimately focused on family. To the surprise of no one familiar with this franchise, the villains hope to destroy Gru’s happy little family — and Gru vows to protect it, providing audiences with a couple of sweet lessons along the way about being a father, too. And while the emotional beats of this film’s family messages feel somewhat tacked on this time rather than central to its plot, when they do show up here, they remain effective.
The movie likewise stays the course regarding its prevalent content issues — namely, toilet humor gags, slapstick violence, and a yellow minion rear. In fact, you’d be able to find most of the content issues written in this review in our reviews of previous franchise entries. That said, this film might have less toilet humor and mildly suggestive gags than some of its predecessors.
In summary, “Despicable Me 4” isn’t a perfect film. In all honesty, the movie plays it safe with a predictable plot, goofy pratfalls, and some tender moments along the way. It won’t be lauded nearly as much as “Inside Out 2.” But I’d wager that it also doesn’t do anything different enough to harm the trajectory of the “Despicable Me” vector, either.
Unless you’ve got an intense fear of cockroaches, that is.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Sound of Hope: The Story of Possom Trot – In Theaters
We often use the word inspiring to describe true stories of human grit and determination. It’s a good and appropriate word — and it’s a suitable word to describe “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.”
But it’s not an easy story. We see that loving the children adopted here toward healing and wholeness is hard. It requires sacrifice on every level: emotional, relational, spiritual, and financial. We watch as TC and Donna Martin walk that road — first in hope, often through moments of deep despair. And there’s no guarantee that someone like Terri, for instance, will ultimately be able to receive the love the Martins strive so valiantly — if at times imperfectly — to show her.
And in that “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” does something significant: It inspires and challenges viewers to consider whether we, too, might seek to make a life-changing difference in the life of a child in foster care. But it never suggests that doing so will require anything less than everything we’ve got.
This is, in the end, a deeply inspiring true story, and one worthy of your consideration. That said, its PG-13 rating should be taken into account with regard to young viewers, because the subject matter here is at times painfully disturbing, even as the arc of “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” curves toward its powerfully redemptive — and hope-filled — conclusion.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – In Theaters
“Horizon: An American Saga” is writer/director/actor Kevin Costner’s passion project, a “How the West Was Won”-like epic tale that’s intended to stretch through four films.
But quite frankly this first film’s powder is pretty wet.
Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Costner has a real skill for crafting the look and feel of an old-school western. The cinematography here is gorgeous, and the (many) characters seem authentically depicted for the Civil War period. This story commences in 1861, just as the Civil War does. But there are too many scattered pieces.
The multiple disjointed and choppy storylines — plot threads that limp and stumble like a lame horse on rocky terrain — make this narrative’s characters tough to invest in. Mr. Costner himself doesn’t even show up until an hour into this oddly balanced film. Even when he does, the storytelling is talky and banal.
Oh, and those ambling tales don’t wrap anything up by the end of the first three-hour stretch. They don’t even leave you with a decent Western cliffhanger. It all just peters out with what amounts to brief clips of what’s to come.
For that matter, the abovementioned misfires don’t even take into account the bloody visuals, rough language, and brief nudity that’ll keep family audiences away from this intentionally gritty R-rated historical drama.
Maybe “Horizon’s” tale will start to canter smoothly by the second chapter that’s set to release in August of this year. But right now, it’s rough enough and raw enough to be a difficult ride on a bony and less-than-family-friendly horse.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Reviews written by Adam R. Holz, Bob Hoose and Kennedy Unthank.
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