Movies releasing today: Megamind with a Due Date

There are 2 new movies out in South Africa this weekend. Actually they've been out since Wednesday in time for Thursday's public holiday, but it's worth profiling them now anyway as I'm sure many people will be hitting the cinema over the coming festive fortnight.

Megamind: I've already profiled this latest CGI-animated movie from DreamWorks. Featuring the voices of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt, this comedy is a superhero tale with a nifty role-reversal twist. Megamind (Ferrell) is the ultra-intelligent - and decidedly envious - arch-nemesis of beloved superhero Metro Man (Pitt). After being foiled time and time again by Metro Man, Megamind is surprised when one of his schemes actually works, and his opponent is no more. But what is a supervillain without a superhero?

Megamind is 71% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently the film is pleasantly amusing if never hilarious. Meanwhile, the spot-on A-list voice cast and impressive action scenes make up for a rather derivative plot. Of course, Megamind is about superheroes so naturally I'll be there! However, if you're thinking of going to watch Megamind I think it's advisable you enter the cinema expecting a fun time, but nothing near the brilliance of The Incredibles. Megamind is screening in both 2D and 3D.


Due Date: You can consider road trip comedy Due Date to be the 21st Century successor to 1987's Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as a man desperate to get from Atlanta to Los Angeles for the birth of his first child. A series of unfortunate events though see him forced to cross-country carpool with an idiot wannabe actor (Zach Galifianakis). Due Date is directed by Todd Phillips, the man responsible for madcap R-rated comedies Road Trip, Old School and that other Galifianakis hit, 2009's The Hangover... so you should know what to expect this time.

Due Date is, however, a rather dismal 39% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently performances are strong and there's an enjoyable sense of ridiculousness to proceedings. However, individual funny moments and scenes don't equate with an overall enjoyable movie, and the project is sunk by its unlikeable main characters. Personally, I can't say I was particularly excited by the trailers - a little Galifianakis definitely goes a long way! - so I'll probably be giving this one a miss.

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