We got the brilliant news just last month that the Mitch Hurwitz-created TV show, Arrested Development, will be making its long-awaited return with not just the planned movie, long in development, but also a fourth season prior to its big screen debut, which would take us from the time between the end of the third season and the start of the film.

Variety are now reporting that Netflix have secured the rights for the fourth season, with an eye to air the new episodes early in 2013, which is excellent news in my books. Given that last month we also heard that Netflix, one of the US’ biggest TV/movie streaming companies, is coming to the UK and Ireland early next year, this means that by the time the new episodes of Arrested Development are airing, we’ll have the company who has the licence available to us here too!

Life is good.

Of course, this is just conjecture on my part, given that I know nothing about licensing rights. And this is also assuming that Netflix will take off on this side of the Atlantic. Personally, I’m hoping it will be received really well over here, because that would give us at least the chance to see the new season of Arrested Development without having to wait for it to come out on DVD.

As I’m sure you can tell, I’m a big fan of the show, and cannot wait to see more of it in both the new TV season and the film. With its terrific cast that includes Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and Portia de Rossi, with the genius Ron Howard narrating, along with literally dozens and dozens of fantastic cameos, Arrested Development was by far the smartest and funniest comedy shows on TV, in my opinion, and its return couldn’t be more highly anticipated. It is going to be one of the best things to happen to TV in a very long time. As always, more news as and when we get it.

This is quite possibly the best news I’ve read all year.

This time last week, we brought you the great news that the entire cast of Arrested Development would be coming together with the show’s creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, for a panel in New York at the New Yorker Festival.

News, we hoped, was imminent, and now I’m so happy to say that I have some incredible news for all the fans of the original TV show. EW reports, via Collider, that not only is the long-awaited Arrested Development movie still very much alive, but we’re going to get a fourth season of the show before then!

I’m like a kid at Christmas as I write this. Notoriously cancelled by Fox back in 2006, and having since developed an ever-increasingly large fan base, Arrested Development is by far one of my favourite TV shows, one that I would say had some of the smartest writing of any show or film I’ve ever seen.

So you can imagine my delight this morning to wake up and find that Hurwitz and the cast – including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and Portia de Rossi, with Ron Howard being the wonderful narrator – had announced at the panel that they would be bringing the show back to life. And not just for a film, but a whole(ish) season.

The plan is to have a nine- or ten-episode season, with NetFlix and Showtime in talks to air the season at the moment, and then release the film on the back of that. Hurwitz said at the festival, and I’m going to quote as much text as I can because I’m sure a lot of people will be interested to read it all,

“I have been working on the screenplay for a long time and found that as time went by there was so much more to the story… In fact, where everyone’s been for five years became a big part of the story. So, in working on the screenplay I found that even if I just gave five minutes per character to that backstory, we were halfway through the movie before the characters got together. And that kinda gave birth to this thing we’ve not been pursuing for a while and we’re kinda going public with a little bit. We’re trying to do kind of limited run series into the movie.

“We’re basically hoping to do nine or 10 episodes with almost one character per episode, where like the first episode will just be Buster. We’re kinda picturing it like, um, well the latest joke we have is that, you know, it’s Cambridge, Massachusetts and there’s all these scientists in lab coats and they’re waiting for somebody and Buster comes through the door wearing a lab quote and says `let’s begin,’ and they say, `you don’t get to wear the lab coat, we’re experimenting on you. [garbled] And then we go through his life and we meet the people in his life and maybe he goes to see his therapist who he’s getting a good rate on because it’s Tobias and he’s lost his license. We can do cross overs and things like that. But it’s an unusual style of show I think and we get him to a certain point of peril in his life and then maybe we jump over to like Maeby and she’s living with Cornel West… We’ll do this kind of thing that builds the peril in their lives until they all come together, really, in the first scene of the movie. It requires, and Ron [Howard] has been working on this too, it just requires studios to work together, they don’t normal work together in film and TV. It’s a really ambitious project but it’s also a very simple project in a way because it kind of gives the fans a level of detail for `granularity,’ which is a big word on the East Coast.

“I really have to say, we’ve talked about this, we’re all game, we hated be coy, we’ve been trying to put together this more ambitious idea and I think we’re very close, the script is halfway done and we have to get the film companies on board… They’ve always been great to us but you know times are tough and money is tight but I’m very hopeful, there is business left to be done but creatively we have a very specific plan of how it would come out and what we would do and when we would shoot it. Our hope is that, perhaps the series is in the fall.”

Sounds beyond awesome to me. It looks like there’s still work to be done, both in terms of the script and getting the show and film made, but everyone on board sounds very optimistic, and if Hurwitz says that they’re close, that can only be good news. Bringing the cast all together for something like this – and Howard was even said to be present with his voice coming through the speakerphone in a really great touch for people at the festival – definitely suggests that they’re all committed to making it, and that the future isn’t as far off as we might think. 2012/2013 look to be great years for fans of the show.

The Huffington Post picked up this tweet from Bateman,

“It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!”

And here’s another great tweet from Arnett,

“I’m peeing with @batemanjason at the moment..and we can confirm that we are going to make new AD eps and a movie”

It really sounds almost too good to be true. But I’m so glad that it’s not. The cast said that they’ll be keeping their schedules free for filming Arrested Development’s return, which just further goes to show their commitment to bringing the show back, and then heading straight for the big screen. This time last week, I was hoping for updates on the movie, and now it’s just turned into a whole different ball game. It’s going to be an awesome return for an entirely undeservedly cancelled show. I literally cannot wait.

Arrested Development is by far one of my favourite TV shows of all time. It’s one of the funniest, smartest, and best-cast programmes I’ve ever seen, and in my opinion, there’s really nothing else like it that’s on TV at the moment.

But, like Fox has a tendency of doing – Family Guy even opened their fourth season with a long list of some of Fox’s cancelled programmes – in spite of its greatness, the show was cancelled, with its final episodes airing back in 2006.

Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about the programme being turned into a movie. Sceptics out there might be critical of the possibility, but Joss Whedon made an utterly awesome film in Serenity after Fox cancelled Firefly, and I think Mitch Hurwitz would do exactly the same thing with Arrested Development. The two shows obviously fall under entirely different genres, but they’re both awesome, and a film version of Arrested Development has so much promise.

Sadly, since the years after its cancellation, all there has been is talk, without any real movement on the project whatsoever. Hurwitz does seem to be keeping in touch with the leading cast from the show, though, and it sounds like they’re all still talking about the film, with questions popping up in interviews from time to time about the show, and whilst no definitive answers ever seem to be given, they’ve often suggested that the cast at least has an idea of what the film will be about, which is something in itself.

The past four paragraphs are essentially all just a prelude to this somewhat unimportant, but nonetheless excellent, news. The Playlist are reporting that the entire cast of Arrested Development, including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and Portia de Rossi, will be joining Mitchell Hurwitz, the show’s absolutely genius creator and writer, to take the stage for a panel discussion this weekend on 2nd October in New York.

So you might think of this as a kind of pre-news; news telling you that news should be coming. As you can imagine, gathering the entire cast of Arrested Development with its creator undoubtedly means that they’ll be asked a number of questions about the show – past, present, and future – and hopefully those questions about the future will be given some specific answers about how the film is coming together.

Whilst it was on the air, Arrested Development had some of the best cameo roles I can remember on TV, including Henry Winkler, Charlize Theron, Zach Braff, Liza Minelli, Judy Greer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller, Heather Graham, J.K. Simmons, to name just a few. Not to mention the fact that it was narrated by the brilliant Ron Howard, who isn’t mentioned as appearing alongside the cast, but would make for an amazing surprise guest if he’s free at the weekend. We shall see.

So sit tight, stay tuned, and with any luck, we’ll hopefully have something concrete to bring you about the Arrested Development movie by this time next week. I literally cannot wait. Until then, here are some great clips from the show to enjoy. (You may have need to have seen the show to really enjoy them – Arrested Development’s like that, it’s excellent.) If you’re yet to see it, now is the time to start.

It’s been almost three and a half decades since Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope hit the big screens and took the world by storm, and in all of the years following, the series of six films has penetrated pop culture across the world in a way that very, very few films or franchises are ever able to.

Like it or not, there are literally thousands of references to the Star Wars series in the films and television programmes we watch, the books we read, and the music we listen to. With so many references, homages, and parodies to choose from, it would be enormously difficult, if not impossible, to come up with a definitive list of them all.

So instead, to coincide with the films’ Blu-Ray release, I present to you the Awards for the Best Pop Culture References to Star Wars, as voted for by me. Because there are so many to choose from, I’ve cut it down to a Six of the Best awards ceremony (six rather than five for obvious Star Wars reasons). There’ll undoubtedly be many moments that haven’t made my personal Top Six, so if there’s something you think has been unjustly missed out, vote for your own favourite moments in the comments below. We’d love to hear what your favourite nods to the franchise are.

Without further ado, I give to you, my Six of the Best.

Best Costume

I thought a great moment from TV’s Friends would be a good way to kick us off. Just like Star Wars, Friends is something a lot of people love, and almost everyone is familiar with on some level. And this particular scene from the show, taken from the episode ‘The One With the Princess Leia Fantasy’, is fantastic. After confessing his secret fantasy to Rachel about wanting to see her dressed up as Princess Leia, Ross’ dream is somewhat ruined by something Chandler confesses to earlier in the episode.

The award itself is actually a tie between Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) and Judy Geller (Christina Pickles), because they are equally as excellently dressed as each other, and both deserve credit for their efforts. But sadly I can’t find a clip I can embed that features them both, so it’s just Rachel that we see below. As the first episode in season three, it aptly serves as both a brilliant introduction to the season and to these awards.

Best Lightsaber Practice

From one TV show to another, we move on to George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) and his garage home-video recording of something so many of us will have done at some point or another: lightsaber practice for our inevitable future Jedi training.

The clip is one that crops up a few times throughout the show (they did enjoy rewarding their long-time viewers with self-references on Arrested Development), so I’m a little surprised I can’t find that decent a clip of it on YouTube. Nonetheless, it’s a great moment, and whilst I can’t say I ever filmed myself doing it, nor did I get quite so into it as George Michael does here, there’ll be millions of kids all over the world who can relate to the idea of making that well-known lightsaber sound, having fake saber-rattling fights with their friends, and wanting to be a Jedi.

Hell, considering almost 400,000 people in England and Wales alone marked down ‘Jedi’ as their religion in the UK 2001 Census, he can’t be the only one doing it. So I’ll ask you now to direct your attention to about 1:45 into this video, when Gob (Will Arnett) accidentally slots George Michael’s home video into the end of his campaign video for class president.

Best Re-Enactment

If you’re a fan of any of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s work, you’ll know that the pair like to embed pop. culture references into so much of what they do, which is always good fun. Their TV show, Spaced, is full of nods to Stars Wars, The Matrix, and many other things, and whilst shooting their latest film, Paul, they also made this absolute gem.

Everyone knows that pretty much every film has little plot holes and continuity errors dotted about here and there, and Star Wars is no different. But of course that doesn’t mean we love it any less, and Pegg and Frost brilliantly show up a few of these little flaws, which I’m sure in no way detract from their love of the series, in their excellent re-enactment.

Best Animated Parody

There are of course two main contenders that come to mind for this award, and they would be Robot Chicken and Family Guy. Both shows have done three episodes apiece parodying the Star Wars series, but I must confess that I haven’t seen any of Seth Green’s take on the films with his own show, and thus my vote falls unilaterally and dictatorially behind the latter, Seth MacFarlane’s Laugh It Up, Fuzzball trilogy, which started by opening the sixth season back in 2007 with the double-length episode, Blue Harvest.

Given that there’s a full forty-odd minutes of Star Wars parody gold to choose from here, and that’s just counting the first of the three episodes, I thought I’d include two tiny snippets instead of one longer one, just because they’re both excellent. The first clip is of two of the Death Star’s employees venting to each other, and the second is our introduction to Stewie as Darth Vader, whose sarcasm is just perfect.

Best Debate On The Source Material

Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Star Wars vs. The Lord of the Rings, even Star Wars vs. Star Wars. In plenty of films, as well as in real life, there are arguments over which is better, and this particular debate from Kevin Smith’s Clerks is my personal favourite. It’s just such a great conversation. In my opinion, Smith has an unmatched talent for turning ordinarily utterly inane subject matter into something watchable and incredibly entertaining, and this is a perfect example of that.

Here, we see Randal (Jeff Anderson) and Dante (Brian O’Halloran) at first discussing which Star Wars film is their favourite, and then they get into the finer details and Randal starts talking about how innocent lives were lost in Return of the Jedi when the second Death Star is blown up. It’s the kind of brilliant observation that I love Smith for. He can turn the most ridiculous and meaningless discussion, the kind you have with your friends about nothing whatsoever, into a genius scene in a terrific film, showing right off the bat with his feature debut what a great writer-director he is.

Best Use Of The Star Wars Main Theme

And finally, from one great Lucas-sized figure in pop. culture to another, I thought I’d finish this little awards ceremony with John Hughes’ nod to Star Wars in one of my favourite of his films, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

The Star Wars Main Theme is beyond iconic. It’s something almost everyone recognises with ease, and it’s just one of the many incredible pieces of music John Williams has written, with A New Hope’s score earning him one of his five Academy Awards. And Hughes’ use of the theme here is brilliant. After Ferris (Matthew Broderick) puts Cameron’s father’s Ferrari into a parking garage, the two mechanics working there see their chance for a day of freedom, just like Ferris, and take advantage of the opportunity that has fallen into their laps, enjoying the benefits the classic car has to offer, set to Williams’ classic score.

As I wrote at the start of this article, there is an almost infinite number of moments from television and film to choose from over the past three and a half decades, making it very hard to pick just half a dozen. That there are so many is an undeniable testament to the franchise’s cultural impact, and there are very few things that could be argued rival Lucas’ creation. Film series like Harry Potter, James Bond, and Pirates of the Caribbean might well be in the same ball park as Star Wars in terms of box office revenue, but even they don’t pervade pop. culture nearly as frequently or as brilliantly as Star Wars does. In that respect, I’d say it is truly in a league of its own. And for that reason, Lucas and everyone that worked on the films deserve our undying gratitude for creating something that has spawned so many brilliant parodies and allusions that are excellent in their own right.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with one final clip from Family Guy’s Blue Harvest that pays homage to John Williams’ fantastic work on the films’ scores. The video quality’s not brilliant, but I love this piece. Enjoy.

HeyUGuys brings you the latest in World Cinema film trailers in association with Film Dates UK.

Each week we’ll be showcasing some of most anticipated foreign releases as well as highlighting a few hidden gems which may have fallen off your radar. It’s no surprise that Hollywood has turned to World Cinema for inspiration in recent years with the number of remakes getting more and more popular.

Whilst it remains to be seen how many of these remakes go on to succeed or stay true to their original story counterparts, we decided it was high-time we turned the spotlight onto the next wave of foreign films to grace our screens.

This week we have 5 new trailers for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti)

UK Cinema Release Date: Friday 29th July 2011

Synopsis: 14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items “borrowed” from the house’s human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.

Jihne Mera Dil Luteya

UK Cinema Release Date: Friday 29th July 2011

Synopsis: Life is carefree and filled with series of mischievous events for dashing and happy-go-lucky Yuvraj and rocking rebel Gurnoor at the Patiala University, until they are bedazzled by the charming and sexy Noor who sweeps them off their feet the moment she lands in their lives and everything goes topsy-turvy. A small confusion gives way to several others and before they can put 2 and go way out of bhjm hand. This triggers a series of one-upmanship and hilarious incidents, as both vie for their lady love’s attention and her heart. Adding to their woes, many hurdles are laid in their path by a college professor and an unsuccessful advocate, making it a fun, laughter packed & musical roller-coaster ride to the climax. Do these confusions get cleared after all? Whom does Noor’s heart actually crave for? Is it Yuvraj, Gurnoor, or is it someone else altogether? Get wholesomely entertained with mind-boggling music, unparalleled comedy, exciting action and a completely unpredictable love story.

Our Day Will Come (Notre jour viendra)

UK Cinema Release Date: Friday 29th July 2011

Synopsis: What do you do when you’re a red-haired teenage loser with no friends except for an older guy, your shrink? When everyone hates you, especially your family? When all your peers make fun of you and kick you around? The answer: you and your loser buddy blow all the cash you can get your hands on to buy a sportscar, you dress smart and you head for the land of redheads, Ireland. But what starts off as a search for an ideal, gradually escalates into a rampage of hate, violence and self-destruction.

Poetry (Shi)

UK Cinema Release Date: Friday 29th July 2011

Synopsis: A drama centered on a woman at the end of her life in search of new meaning.

The Light Thief (Svet-Ake)

UK Cinema Release Date: Friday 29th July 2011

Synopsis: The main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.

 Check back next week for more trailers!

THR is reporting that Jim Carrey is going to be making a cameo appearance in the finale of season seven of The Office over in the States. If memory serves, this will be Carrey’s first television role in well over a decade, since his part(s) in the ’90s TV series, In Living Color, created by Keenen Ivory Wayans, and starring no less than five of the Wayans family (Keenen included), Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Lopez.

For most people, myself included, Jim Carrey is a comedy genius, and there’s no doubt that he’ll be a brilliant addition to the already high-profile line-up of guest stars for the season finale. He’ll be joining Ricky Gervais (naturally from the British original), Will Ferrell (Anchorman), James Spader (Boston Legal), Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), Catherine Tate (The Catherine Tate Show), and one of my all-time favourite actors on television, Will Arnett (Arrested Development).

Steve Carell has been the lead character, Michael Scott, in all of the show’s seven series to date, but announced a few months ago that he would be leaving the show, and his final episode, entitled Goodbye, Michael, is airing in an extended version on NBC this Thursday. Despite Carell’s exit, the series has been renewed for an eighth season, with no announcement yet as to who will be filling the actor’s shoes. According to THR, the big names that are starring in the series finale, which will air on 19th of May in America, will be interviewing on the show for the management position left open with Michael’s departure.

Of all the names on the bill, Carrey’s is undoubtedly the least likely to fill the open position, which is a good thing in my eyes. I think Carrey is a brilliant actor, whose talent is probably best served through starring in films. His upcoming film, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, looks surprisingly good, and I think it’s the kind of film that could only really work with Carrey in the lead. And his performance in Yes Man back in 2008 was one of my favourites throughout his brilliant career, and I’m hoping we have more films like that to look forward to in the future.

The Office’s season finale will almost certainly be riotous comedic affair, and much of the best of that comedy will likely be coming from Carrey and Arnett. Putting all these big names together in the same hour-long episode is all but a sure thing, and should make for an excellent end to the season. Whether or not Carell’s replacement will be made clear in the finale awaits to be seen.

Walt Disney Pictures will release Arrietty on February 17, 2012 in the US.

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Arrietty is based on Mary Norton’s fantasy novel The Borrowers, and adapted for the screen by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki.

14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items borrowed from the house’s human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.

The voice cast for Arrietty includes Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, David Henrie, Bridgit Mendler, Carol Burnett, Peter Jason and Mirai Shida.

Arrietty was released in Japan last year under the title The Borrower Arrietty.

Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), David Duchovny (The Joneses), Minnie Driver (Barney’s Version), Will Arnett (Jonah Hex), Ty Burrell (Modern Family) and Graham Phillips (Stolen Lives) will star in Goats.

Goats, a feature film adaptation of the Mark Jude Poirier novel of the same name, will be directed by Christopher Neil, a former acting coach.

The film follows teenager Ellis (Phillips) as he transfers to the East Coast prep school where his father (Burrell) made his mark as a student.

Duchovny will play the teenager father figure; Farmiga as his mother with Arnett and Driver playing her boyfriend and best friend, respectively. Russell will play the new wife of Ellis’ father.

ThePlaylist reported this story.

This is the third Mini Movies that Universal have made for Despicable Me and it’s just as good as the other two! We’ve already had Banana where we get to see just how much The Minions love fruit, then it was all about the Home Makeover where Gru’s mansion is turned into a child friendly home and today is Orientation.

In this video, we get to see how the Minions learn to work in Gru’s factory but also discover what hazards they may have to overcome!

If you missed it, last week’s Banana videos is here and Home Makeover and can watched here. You’ll love them!

Last week, Jon put up the first Mini Movie from Despicable Me and thousands of you out there came to the site to watch it. Now, Universal have released another called Home Makeover where we get to see what happens when the Orphanage send someone round to make sure that Gru’s house is fit for Children! Don’t worry, there are plenty of Minions to enjoy!

If you missed it, last week’s video was called Banana and is excellent Click here to check it out but only after you click play on the video below. We think you’ll like!

Keen to ride the wave of positive momentum from the release of their Steve Carell starring animation Despicable Me Universal have given us a sneak peek of a new Mini-Movie.

It all sounds like the Pixar shorts, and is set to be included on the forthcoming Blu-ray/DVD pack.

Titled Banana, this footage showcases the movie’s popular yellow tictac shaped minions, and in Gary’s review of the film he included a couple of clips Universal were keen to put out showing off their new creations. You can read the review and watch those clips here.

Here’s the clip,

Steve Carell gets animated in Despicable Me, out in cinemas this week and we’re giving you the chance to win a prize pack and a family pass (2 adults, 3 children) to your local Apollo Cinema to enjoy the film.

We reviewed the film here, and to check out all the trailers and posters for the film to get you in the mood click here.

More details of Apollo Cinema’s nationwide locations are available here: http://www.apollocinemas.com/ and here’s what you could win.

All you have to do is answer the following question using the form below

Which US TV Sitcom does Steve Carell star in?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close on Thursday the 21st of October  at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Despicable Me is the new animated movie from Universal Studios and the same producer who was behind the Ice age movies. It’s a film that has promised the same quality level set by Pixar and also to offer  some really interesting characters with the introduction of the ‘Minions’ that are no doubt going to be very popular with young and old.

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences and  flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of Minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me. Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes

Despicable Me is an excellent film for both children and adults. I was thoroughly entertained with the story, the characters, the animation, the 3D and the humour and it is by far the closest any studio has come to matching the quality of Pixar films and if it wasn’t for Toy Story 3, Despicable Me would be my choice for best animated movie in 2010 and it’s a film that probably put some of the biggest smiles on my face this year.

The humor of Despicable Me ranges from silly, very funny, subtle and darkly adult orientated. All are going to love the Minions humour with their slapstick and banter they have with each other, kids are going to enjoy the sillier jokes and fart gags and adults are going to enjoy the adult themed quips like one aimed at the Lehman bank or background jokes which are not obvious but are incredibly funny whn noticed, it adds a real sense of humour to the story and added to my enjoyment of it.

The vocal casting is spot on with the talents of Steve Carrell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig and Danny McBride. All deliver wonderful lines from an entertaining script and it never felt like the stars were hired for their name rather than their ability.

Despicable has got it so right. Steve Carrell’s Gru is delivered with almost effortless deadpan humor and villainy, the young girls are voiced without annoyance, Gru’s nemesis and younger upcoming villain called Vector, voiced by Jason Segel, is wonderfully energetic, Russel Brand lends his voice to Gru’s invention creating partner Dr. Nefario perfectly and the brilliant Will Arnett voices Mr. Perkins whose the President of The Bank of Evil that funds anything to do with evil plans in the world. All the characters work well together and I found them all highly entertaining which really benefits the movie.

At the films heart is the three young girls who are taken in by Gru and their story is important to give an emotional anchor to balance out the films zany events of Gru trying to conquer the world as the greatest ever villain. The girls anguish of living in a horrid orphanage and trying to find a family who will take them in and give them love is emotionally charged and with Gru being the latest to adopt them for his own benefit it adds an enjoyable relationship story to the proceedings. Despite being clueless at parenting and having numerous dangerous objects littered around his house (as well as his vast hidden lair under his home!), the bond that grows between the unlikely family is touching and is well handled as Gru slowly learns that the girls mean more to him than succeeding as a villain and the conclusion will no doubt bring a tear to some eyes.

The thing everyone will love from Despicable Me is the Minions, they are some of the greatest character creations i’ve enjoyed in many years and you could probably watch another 90 minutes of the little yellow guys in a film on their own. They are likely to get a bigger role in the planned sequel coming in 2013 or get their own spin off, it’s inevitable. Despite saying very little they have more personality than the new labour leader and provide more laughs than most comedy films I’ve seen this year.

The 3D is used to perfection, I would say it showed some of the best examples of 3D I’ve seen this year with notable scenes being a roller-coaster ride that Gru and the girls take during their bonding session. It’s shown in first person perspective so you get the feeling your riding it and with the added effect of 3D it elevates the scene into something beautifully crafted and enthralling as scenery flashes past you as you dive into the screen and twist around upside down and it really works well. The 3D is used effectively throughout giving layers of depth and to every scene and adds another plus to the quality of the film. A scene showing the size of Gru’s secret lair is a great example of the layers of depth as the camera pans downward showing the journey of Gru traveling down in his lift, its that shows all the activity taking place around him with minions working in different sections and its a real show off of the technology and skill of the animators.

Another exceptional use of 3D was during the closing credits so make sure you stick around for them. The glorious Minions get their own moment as they play a little game of “Who can come furthest out of the screen”, with the aid of a measuring tape they take turns in using a variety of items to leap off the screen in 3D coming further and further out at you, it’s so incredibly effective and hilarious and worth the entrance fee alone and if there are any 3D doubters who have yet to be convinced, I think Despicable Me may well be the film that converts you as to what 3D can offer.

Overall it’s not perfect but it’s an excellent example of adult/child friendly animation that works very very well. Funny, enjoyable and an utter success.

Despicable Me is out on 15th October.

THE MINIONS!

There’s a final push for DC’s big screen adaptation of Jonah Hex, and if the trailers and images released so far haven’t sated your wild appetite for horses, explosions and corsets then there’s a new clip from the film to enjoy before it’s opening in the US this week.

This clip shows an unscarred Mr Hex tied up and chatting with John Malkovich about nice things like family and feelings.

Here’s the clip, gird those expectant loins UK readers – we don’t get the rest of the film until September the 24th.

In the UK, we don’t get to see Jonah Hex for another 3 months (!) which seems crazy when it’s being released in the US next week. But then again, The A-Team and The Karate Kid are out this weekend in the US and we don’t get either of them until 28th July. I guess it’s all around the World Cup which is a shame as I really to see all these movies.

Jonah Hex is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett and Michael Shannon.

Since the movie is released so soon, Warner Bros. have released a full press kit for the movie which is based on the comic book of the same name.

Synopsis: Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a scarred drifter and bounty hunter of last resort, a tough and stoic gunslinger who can track down anyone… and anything. Having survived death, Jonah’s violent history is steeped in myth and legend, and has left him with one foot in the natural world and one on the “other side.” His only human connection is with Leila (Megan Fox), whose life in a brothel has left her with scars of her own. But Jonah’s past is about to catch up with him when the U.S. military makes him an offer he can’t refuse: in exchange for his freedom from the warrants on his head, he must track down and stop the dangerous terrorist Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich). But Turnbull, who is gathering an army and preparing to unleash Hell, is also Jonah’s oldest enemy and will stop at nothing until Jonah is dead. Early rumors emerged about a zombie army or Quentin trying to rewin the war, but these were dismissed when producers said “Quentin is more of a terrorist upset about the outcome of the war not someone trying to fight and rewin it.”

Click the images to enlarge.

IGN have released the second trailer for Jonah Hex and, just like the first, it looks like it might have the potential to be a good movie.

Jonah Hex is based on the DC comic book of the same name, is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character with suppoer from Megan Fox, John Malkovich, Will Arnett, Michael Shannon, Michael Shannon and Thomas Lennon and Michael Fassbender.

Check out the brand new trailer courtesy of IGN below.

Synopsis: Jonah Hex is a scarred drifter and bounty hunter of last resort, a tough and stoic gunslinger who can track down anyone… and anything. Having survived death, Jonah’s violent history is steeped in myth and legend, and has left him with one foot in the natural world and one on the “other side.” His only human connection is with Lila, whose life in a brothel has left her with scars of her own. Jonah’s past is about to catch up with him when the U.S. military makes him an offer he can’t refuse: in exchange for his freedom from the warrants on his head, he must track down and stop the dangerous terrorist Quentin Turnbull. But Turnbull, who is gathering an army and preparing to unleash Hell, is also Jonah’s oldest enemy and will stop at nothing until Jonah is dead.

Regular readers of the site will know that earlier today we posted a trailer for the trailer of Jonah Hex, the DC comic book adaptation about a scarfaced gunslinger in the American West.

Goonie Josh Brolin is the man with half a face, and there’s support from Megan Fox, John Malkovich and Michael Fassbender, so the cast is looking fine, but to convince you to hitch a ride on the anticipation train we’ve got a look at the new poster.

I know. Not particularly inspiring is it? Keep your eyes peeled for a better look when the trailer hits at the end of the week.

This one came from Yahoo Movies, just wanted you to know.

You can tell when the marketing machines are working themselves into the ground when a trailer for a trailer is issued, and the bizarrely renamed SyFy channel are proudly premiering the first look trailer for Jimmy Hayward’s kind of anticipated comic book adaptation Jonah Hex this Thursday.

So proud are SyFy that they have released a trailer for their trailer, and while this is not a new practise there will be some fans who can’t wait to get their first look at Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex. Lucky viewers will also get a small look at Megan Fox and John Malkovich too.

The good people at Trailer Addict (via Collider) have unfurled this one on a waiting world and the footage is embedded below, and we’ll be sure to bring the full trailer when it’s up this week.

Josh Brolin has come rather a long way since starring as big brother ‘Brand’ to Mikey in the Goonies. In that time, he’s worked his way up the ladder to become a leading man in multiple films including the starring role in multiple Oscar nominated No Country for Old Men.

His latest movie is Jonah Hex which co-stars Megan Fox, John Malkovich, Will Arnett, Michael Fassbender and is directed by Jimmy Hayward. We’ve had posters from the movie previously but this is the first image to be released by  studio, Warner Bros. for the movie and we get to see in graphic detail what Jonah Hex really looks like.

Click the image below to enlarge.

We’ve seen a few teasers for Universal’s Super-Villain CG comedy Despicable Me, and now there’s a new trailer in town.

It’s a simple affair, with the army of lemon tic-tac inspired minions of super-villain Gru, and with the other trailers already seen the slightly silly world is building nicely.

There’s a whole plot to steal the moon, and a group of three orphans who plan to stop Gru, voiced by the always fun Steve Carell and the rest of the voice cast make this one to watch.

The Times had this trailer, via FirstShowing which is embedded below.