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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Beautiful Creatures 2013

Beautiful Creatures is a 2013 American romantic fantasy film based upon the novel of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The film was adapted for the screen and directed by Richard LaGravenese and stars Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert. Plot …. In Gatlin, South Carolina, Ethan Wate awakens from a recurring dream of a girl he does not know. In voice-over narration, he describes his enjoyment of reading banned books, his despair of his small-town existence, and his dreams of leaving for college. Arriving for his first day of junior year, Ethan notices newcomer Lena Duchannes, who resembles the girl he has been dreaming about. The other students do not take kindly to her and spread gossip regarding Lena's reclusive uncle, Macon Ravenwood, and suggest that her family includes devil worshippers. Overhearing these whispers, Lena tenses and the classroom windows shatter, amplifying the fears and suspicions of the class and the townspeople at large that she is a witch. On a drive home, Ethan nearly runs over Lena, whose car has broken down. He gives her a ride home and the two bond over their shared love of poetry and having both lost their mothers. Ethan drops Lena off but later finds a locket and returns to the mansion to give it to her as a present. The touch of a locket triggers a shared flashback to the American Civil War, after which Ethan awakens at his home. Macon disapproves of their love and fondness of each other, and conspires with Ethan's family friend, Amma, to keep the two separated. However, Ethan continues to pursue Lena until she confesses that she and her family are "casters" capable of performing a variety of magical spells that change the weather or create illusions. On her 16th birthday, Lena's true nature will steer her towards either the light or the dark; Lena fears the latter, as it entails being consumed by evil and hurting those she loves. Ethan insists she is responsible for her own choices and reassures her that she is a good person. Matters are complicated by the arrival of two immensely powerful dark casters who aim to push Lena to the dark: Ridley, Lena's provocative cousin/childhood friend, and Sarafine, Lena's mother, who has possessed Mrs. Lincoln, the mother of Ethan's friend Link. Sarafine foresees that Lena will become an even more powerful caster and intends for Lena to use her newfound power to purge the Earth of humans, leaving casters to rule in their wake. Lena and Ethan use the locket to re-experience the whole flashback, which reveals their ancestors, caster Genevieve Duchannes and mortal Confederate soldier Ethan Carter Wate were in love. Ethan Carter was shot in battle and Genevieve revived him using a forbidden spell that caused her to go dark and curse all the Duchannes family's women. They consult with Amma, who is in a seer/keeper of a caster library beneath the town library. The most ancient of these books, the Book of Moons, reveals the secret to undoing the curse: one of Lena's loved ones has to die. Unwilling to take Ethan's life, Lena has a final moment together with Ethan in which Lena makes it snow and then erases all his memories of their time together. Ridley seduces Link and gives him a bullet to use in an upcoming Civil War reenactment of the Battle of Honey Hill which will take place on Lena's birthday. During the reenactment, Link and Ethan agree to "kill" each other so they can ditch the reenactment. While at the ceremony for her 16th birthday, Lena feels the shock of the curse being broken and runs off to Ethan, clutching his dying body as Ridley and Sarafine encourage her to surrender to grief and accept the dark. Lena lashes out in anger, sending lightning strikes through the crowd of reenactors until Ethan transforms into Macon, who had previously disguised himself as Ethan to become the needed sacrifice. His dying words encourage Lena to "claim yourself"; she then causes the moon to disappear so it cannot claim her for the dark. Lena allows Ridley to flee and pulls Sarafine from Mrs. Lincoln's body, using her power to seal Sarafine's spirit away. Months later, a still-amnesiac Ethan stops by the library to visit Amma before leaving for a college campus tour with Link. He apologizes to Lena for not having got to know her during their time in Gatlin. Lena is then seen in the caster library, where it is revealed that she has claimed herself as a half dark/light caster. Meanwhile, just after Link drives past the town line, Ethan sees the burned welcome sign, and somehow remembers everything that has happened between him and Lena. He gets out of the car and yells Lena's name. Lena hears and before the movie ends, it is shown that somehow Lena was freed of her dark side.

The Host 2013

The Host is a 2013 American romantic science fiction film adapted from Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol,[3] the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, William Hurt, and Diane Kruger. Released on March 29, 2013, the film has been generally panned by critics, and was a modest box office success. plot.... In the future, the human race has been assimilated by extraterrestrial psychic parasites called "Souls". Melanie Stryder, a human, is captured by a Seeker (Diane Kruger) and infused with a soul called "Wanderer", in order to discover the location of one of the last pockets of non-assimilated humans. However, Melanie survives the procedure and begins to struggle for control of her body. Wanderer discovers that Melanie was captured while scavenging for food with her brother Jamie and her boyfriend Jared Howe, and that they were looking for Melanie's uncle Jeb, who lives in a cabin in the desert. Wanderer loses control of Melanie and the Seeker decides to be inserted into Melanie to get the information herself. With the help of Melanie, Wanderer escapes and makes her way to the desert, eventually found by a group of humans, including Jeb. She is taken to a series of underground caves, discovering that Jared and Jamie are living there too. Wanderer is kept isolated from the others, who are hostile towards her because she is seen as another alien, and a potential threat. Eventually, she begins interacting with the humans, who start to slowly trust her, and develops feelings for one of them, Ian O'Shea, all the while beginning to believe the Souls shouldn't steal other people's free will. Although Melanie had instructed Wanderer not to tell anyone she is still alive, the survivors learn the truth from Jamie (the only person she was allowed to tell). Meanwhile, The Seeker learns that the community is located somewhere in the desert and follows Wanderer there, but fails to locate them. After nearly being captured by the Seeker, Ian's brother Kyle attempts to kill Wanderer, but is stopped by Ian and another human, Wes, after which Jared also learns that Melanie is still alive. Wanderer is horrified to learn that Doc, the community's medic, has been experimenting on people infused with Souls, removing the Souls from their bodies and killing them, and isolates herself from the group, but agrees to help Jared infiltrate a Soul medical facility to steal technology to cure the ill Jamie. In the process, they are attacked by the Seeker, who is then shot and captured by Jeb. The Seeker is taken to the caves, where she is removed from her host and contained in a pod stolen by Wanderer, who then sends the Seeker to a distant planet. Wanderer teaches Doc how to remove the Souls from people's bodies without harming them, and asks to be removed from Melanie's so Melanie can have her life back. Melanie protests, having bonded with Wanderer, but Doc goes through with the procedure. However, rather than letting Wanderer die, Doc inserts her into Pet (Emily Browning), a human who was left brain-dead after the Soul inside her was removed, thereby ensuring that Wanderer can live without harming another soul. Wanderer, now in Pet's body, begins a relationship with Ian, while Melanie reunites with Jared. A few months later, Wanderer and the others meet another group of humans who have been joined by Souls who have decided to live peacefully among them.

Beauty & the Briefcase 2010

Beauty & the Briefcase is an ABC Family television film produced by Image Entertainment that originally aired on April 18, 2010.[1] Based on the novel Diary of a Working Girl by Daniella Brodsky,[2] the film stars Hilary Duff as a fashion journalist who works undercover to write an article on dating businessmen. Plot… Joanne, a fashion photographer, helps her friend, Lane Daniels, an aspiring writer, get in to see Kate White, primary editor at Cosmopolitan Magazine, to pitch a story idea - which doesn't go well. On the way out the door, Kate and Lane discuss how hard it is to find a good man, which leads to Kate assigning Lane the task of joining the business world to find a man amongst all those eligible 'downtown' bachelors, and writing an article about that. She is to go under-cover and look for her 'magic man' (one for which she has a lengthy checklist of desirable attributes, as opposed to her friend Joanne's checklist which consists of: 1> breathing, and 2> through 7> cute). With a fraudulent résumé, Lane bluffs, bumbles, and sabotages her way into getting an administrative assistant position in the Corporate Strategic Planning department of a major investment firm. She is to work for Tom Rinehart, Managing Director, who is a bit of a quirky 'stick in the mud' when it comes to personal 'risk-taking'. Lane sets about to finding men she can date, and does so, without quick success at her goal. One night, she and Joanne bump into Liam at a bar, and she is immediately impressed. He is handsome, British, polite, witty, spontaneous, a world traveler, etc. - having most of the qualities on her checklist. She goes on a date with Liam and is seriously interested. But she also has a previously planned date with Seth, a co-worker. They go out, but Seth isn't Liam. Meanwhile, Tom discovers Lane's qualifications for the job are none-existent, but she is trying to do the work, so he warns her to stop lying and "get back to work". A more immediate problem is that Kate told Lane to date only businessmen in suits, and that is not Liam either. Kate tells Lane to focus on Seth, but Lane decides to continue seeing Liam, while using the name and persona of Seth in her article. One night, Lane and a friend bump into Tom at the corner market. The friend thinks he's cute, but Lane tells her he has a girlfriend, and she has not thought of him as a prospect. Following Kate's directive, Lane has lunch with Seth at work one day, and is bored to death. Due to her 'fashion sense', Lane is assigned to handle the 'visuals' for the upcoming big meeting with the boss. She also discovers Tom is no longer with his demanding girlfriend Whitney. Tom asks Lane to help him do a 'makeover' for the big meeting, so they go out to shop and have fun doing so - Lane gets him to buy something other than plain white dress shirts, along with a new tie, shoes, and handsome suit. For a moment there is some obvious sexual tension between the two. While Lane is off to pick up mock-ups of the 'visuals' at the printer, Tom, on returning to the office, accidentally finds Lane's article. When she returns, he angrily confronts her (and Seth) about her deception. Seth is totally confused. She leaves, thinking she is fired. Out that night, commiserating with Joanne, Lane discovers Liam is a total fraud, a waiter in their restaurant. Lane realizes all her lying has caused her bad karma. The next day, to her surprise, Tom calls her and tells her to get into the office to present the 'visuals' at the big meeting. She does, and it goes well, but the boss informs all there that there are going to be major cut-backs and a closing of the entire department due to 'economic realities'. As all are down-faced, Lane speaks up to the boss, and advises Tom to pitch his ideas about 'going green' to save a lot of money. The boss listens and asks for more details to be delivered later. Everyone is happy Tom has saved the department. Lane apologizes to Seth, and he confesses he could never do the things she described in her article, as he is allergic to chocolate. Tom and Lane part, he wishing her luck about her article. She is depressed, as the outcome she was hoping for did not materialize, and the article assigned to her is not what she now has. Lane also realizes the search for a 'magic man' is a pointless fantasy, and that real love is not about perfection. Kate calls her in, and Lane thinks she will be fired again. Kate surprises her by informing her that the article is now a cover story. Kate tells her the real story was about how Lane had 'to figure things out for herself'. Kate also cleverly makes Lane sheepishly realize Tom IS the magic man she has been looking for. Lane runs to his office to find him, and professes her love for him. He replies he loves her too, and they embrace and kiss. Lane's next Cosmo article is about 'how to help your boyfriend become more fashion savvy'. Tom's 'greening division' is a success, and she helps him out with his presentations from time to time. And she really loves Tom, especially due to his quirky personality.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

from prada to nada 2011

From Prada to Nada is an American romantic comedy film directed by Angel Gracia and produced by Gary Gilbert, Linda McDonough, Gigi Pritzker and Chris Ranta. The plot was conceived from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The screen play was adapted by Luis Alfaro, Craig Fernandez and Fina Torres to be a Latino version of the English novel, where two spoiled sisters who have been left penniless after their father's sudden death are forced to move in with their estranged aunt in East Los Angeles. Plot The film opens with Nora studying law and Mary shopping. They head to their home, Casa Bonita, for their father's birthday. While dancing with their father, he falls and dies. At the funeral they meet Gabe Dominguez, a half brother who resulted from an affair their father had years ago. At the reading of their father's will, they discover that they are bankrupt. Nora and Mary sell their house to Gabe, who lets them live with him and his wife, Olivia. They meet Olivia's brother, Edward, when he visits for lunch. During lunch, Olivia tells the sisters that they must move out of the house. Before they leave, their maid gives Nora a box left by their father. The two sisters go to East L.A. to live with their maternal aunt, Aurelia, where they are introduced to Bruno, their aunt's neighbor. Later, Nora opens the box from her father and finds letters addressed to Gabe, which his mother returned unopened. Nora decides to quit law school and get a job and tells Mary to finish college. Their aunt sells Mary's car and Prada purse ('from Prada to nada'). Edward arrives and gives Mary and Nora stuff from their old home, offering Nora a job in his law office - which she declines. Nora finds a job on her own, and on the bus ride to work she meets a woman who has been fired from her job as a maid. When Nora arrives at her new job she learns that her boss is Edward. Nora and Edward work together on the case for the cleaning ladies, winning a judgment when they discover that there has been a fraud with their payroll. Mary returns to college, where she meets and flirts with teaching assistant Rodrigo. She gets a ride home from him, directing him to her childhood mansion rather than her aunt's house in East L.A. They later share a kiss over lunch and, later still she admits that she no longer lives in the mansion, suggesting to Rodrigo that he buy her old house. Mary visits Bruno's house and make a deal that, if Bruno can make the aunt's backyard look good for a party dedicated to Mexican Independence Day, he can have a dance with Mary. On the day of the party, Bruno watches how Mary dances with Rodrigo. Bruno later declines Mary's offer of a dance to complete the decoration agreement. Edward later arrives at the party, finding Nora drunk on tequila. They go into the kitchen where they kiss. After that, Nora feels bad because she is not supposed to act like that and tells Edward that she needs to focus on her career. The next day Nora finds out that she has received a promotion, that involves a transfer to another department, away from Edward. When Rodrigo drops Mary at her aunt's home after she spends the night with him, he tells her he is going to Mexico for a few weeks. When Nora asks Mary if she loves Rodrigo, Mary tells her that she just wants to go back home and that Rodrigo can make that happen, for which Nora calls her a whore and Mary retorts that she would rather be that than a spinster like Nora. Mary and Nora start to ignore each other. Nora quits Edward's law firm and opens a free legal service from her aunt's home. Upon Gabe's insistence, Olivia invites the sisters to attend Edward's engagement party at their former home. When they arrive at the party they are welcomed lovingly by their former house staff. Mary and Gabe go their father's office - the one part of the house that Gabe wouldn't let Olivia remodel. Mary gives Gabe the letters from their father and he tearfully realises that their father wanted to be in his life. Meanwhile, Nora tells Edward why she doesn't count on personal relationships, due to losing both her parents and that her rejection of Edward wasn't because she didn't love him. Mary sees Rodrigo at the party with another woman who turns out to be his wife. Rodrigo tells Mary that he did, indeed, take her recommendation to buy the house. Heartbroken, Mary leaves the party and tries to go home but has a traffic accident. Gabe comes over to visit his sisters in the hospital and reveals without sadness that he and Olivia split up. Mary returns home in a wheelchair and neck brace. The next day, when she goes over to Bruno's house, Mary discovers detailed designs for the wheelchair ramp he made for her, her old car mirror that he fixed and realises Bruno showed more genuine care for her than Rodrigo ever did. When she finds him in the back yard teaching kids how to paint, the two admit their feelings for each other and share a kiss. Edward arrives with another removal van full of furniture. He reveals to Nora that they bought the house across the street from her aunt. He presents her with the front door key, attached to an engagement ring and declares his love for her. The film ends with all the family and friends celebrating at Nora and Edward's street party wedding.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Olympus Has Fallen 2013

Olympus Has Fallen is a 2013 American action-thriller[5] film. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, it stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman.[6] The film depicts a North Korean-led guerrilla assault on the White House, and focuses on a Secret Service agent who tries to stop them. Olympus Has Fallen was released on March 22, 2013 by FilmDistrict and received mixed critical reception but earned over $160 million against a $70 million production budget. plOt .... Former U.S. Army Ranger Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is the lead Secret Service agent assigned to head the Presidential Detail. He maintains a personal, friendly relationship with President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), First Lady Margaret Asher (Ashley Judd) and particularly their son Connor Asher (Finley Jacobsen). During a Christmas evening drive from Camp David to a campaign fundraiser, a tree falls in front of the President’s convoy, making the vehicles skid out of control on black ice on a bridge. The lead vehicle in the convoy falls into an icy river while the Presidential limousine teeters on the edge for a minute before falling as well with Margaret still unconscious inside. Banning is able to save President Asher, but Margaret and two other agents die in the crash. Eighteen months later, Banning works at the Treasury Department, within eyesight of the White House. He has been demoted from the Presidential Detail as the sight of him triggers Asher’s memories of the night Margaret died. During a meeting between Asher and South Korean Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo (Keong Sim), Korean-led guerrilla forces, aided by treasonous members of Prime Minister Lee’s own detail, which include Dave Forbes (Dylan McDermott), an ex-US Secret Service agent turned private contractor, mount an air and ground assault that results in the capture of the White House. The remaining Secret Service agents within the White House mount an unsuccessful counterattack but inflict casualties on the terrorists. Asher and several top officials are held hostage in the White House bunker where Prime Minister Lee is killed. Before he is killed, Agent Roma (Cole Hauser) alerts the Director of the Secret Service Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) that “Olympus has fallen.” The attack has been masterminded by Kang Yeonsak (Rick Yune), an ex-North Korean terrorist who appears to be motivated by hope for a reunification of Korea. Kang seeks to use Asher’s hostage status as leverage to force the U.S. military to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula, allowing the civil war to end. He also seeks to destroy all of America’s nuclear weapons in their silos and turn the United States into an irradiated wasteland as revenge for the death of his parents when his mother was killed by an American landmine and his father was executed for crimes against North Korea. To accomplish this, he requires the access codes to a system in the bunker called Cerberus: a fail-safe device that self-detonates any U.S. nuclear missiles during an abort, which are held by three top government officials within the bunker, including the President. Asher orders the other two officials to reveal their codes to save their lives, certain that he will not give up his code. During the assault by Kang’s forces on the front lawn, Banning joins the side of the White House’s defenders. He falls back into the White House, disables the internal surveillance and gains access to Asher’s satellite phone, which he uses to maintain contact with Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), the Speaker of the House who is now the Acting President. Authorized to proceed, Banning’s first act is to save Connor, who Kang plans to use to force Asher to reveal his Cerberus code since Trumbull notes that Asher would not be able to hold out under those circumstances. Despite resistance, he finds Connor hiding in the walls, thanks to the training Banning had given him, and sneaks him out of the White House before beginning reconnaissance and reducing the terrorists’ numbers one by one. This includes Forbes, but not before convincing the traitor to report to Kang that Banning is dead. Meanwhile, Trumbull orders an aerial SEAL assault on the White House, but Kang’s team deploys an advanced anti-aircraft gun system in his possession owned by the United States, called the Hydra 6. Discovering this, Banning advises Trumbull and Army Chief of Staff General Edward Clegg (Robert Forster) to abort the mission, but it proceeds and Kang’s henchwoman Lim (Malana Lea) annihilates the assault force before Banning can stop it. Kang retaliates for the attempted infiltration by killing Vice President Charlie Rodriguez (Phil Austin). After Banning disables Kang’s communications, the terrorist tries to execute Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan (Melissa Leo) outside the front door in front of the media, but Banning rescues her and takes out several more of Kang’s men in the process. With Kang’s forces dwindling, he fakes his own death as well as Asher’s death by sacrificing several of his men and the remaining hostages. Kang, Asher, and the few remaining terrorists stay in the bunker, unknown to the outside world. Kang eventually cracks Asher’s code knowing that hacking all three codes would have taken more time than Kang had, but focusing on one gave him the time he needed. With that, Kang activates Cerberus as Banning realizes that his apparent suicide was staged. As Kang attempts to escape, Banning kills the remaining terrorists and Kang shoots Asher in the stomach. Banning and Kang then engage in a violent knife fight which ends in Banning killing Kang by stabbing him in the head. He then ultimately disables Cerberus with the assistance of Trumbull. Banning and Asher escape the White House. After the events, Washington begins to heal from the attack and Banning once again becomes head of the Presidential Detail with Banning observing President Asher as he addresses the public.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

TuRbO ... 2013

Turbo is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated sports comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox respectively. It is based on an original idea by David Soren, who also directed the film. The film features an ordinary garden snail whose dream to become the fastest snail in the world comes true. The film was released on July 17, 2013. PloT..... Theo, a.k.a Turbo, is a garden snail who dreams of being the greatest racer in the world, just like his hero, 5-time Indianapolis 500 champ, Guy Gagne. His obsession with speed and all things fast has made him an oddity and an outsider in the slow and cautious snail community, and a constant embarrassment to his cautious older brother, Chet. Turbo desperately wishes he could escape the slow-paced life he's living, but his one chance to live proves a near fatal disaster when he tries to recover a prize tomato and needs to be rescued by his brother, Chet. Demoralized Theo wanders onto a freeway to admire the traffic and gets into a freak accident when he gets sucked into the supercharger of a drag racer, fusing his DNA with nitrous oxide on a street race. This incident finds Theo vested with the power of incredible speed and accuracy, as well as some of the characteristics of a car, such as eyes that light up like headlights, and a shell that blinks red like taillights and makes car sounds and music from a radio. Unfortunately, Theo's first attempt to show this power off ends in a disaster that gets himself and Chet fired from the garden crew. As the siblings quarrel, Chet is snatched by a crow, but is pursued and rescued by Theo at a run down strip mall where they are then captured by Tito, a "Dos Bros" taco truck driver and is brought to race with other snails. Theo astounds both human and snail alike with his speed and earns the respect of the snails, led by Whiplash, with his crew Smoove Move, Burn, Skidmark, and White Shadow, who have impressive skills of their own. Inspired by this extraordinary snail, Tito dreams to revive the strip mall with Theo as an attraction, and eventually with the help of the snails who manage to divert and strand a tour bus and drum up impressive business. At this success, Theo convinces Tito to try to enter the snail in Indianapolis 500 as a competitor. While Tito's brother, Angelo, still declines to support him, the neighbors agree to put up the entrance fee and accompany them to Indianapolis. Once there, Tito is refused entry into the race, but a chance meeting with Guy Gagne gives Turbo a chance to show off his speed which astounds the race track at the snail qualifying for the race. This impossible feat soon becomes a sensation on social media and the owner of the race gives in to the pressure, egged on by Gagne himself, to let the snail compete. However, the night before the race, Turbo is demoralized when his hero, Gagne, sneers at his attempt to race while Chet confesses that he cannot bear to see his brother endanger himself. Regardless the next day, Turbo is in the race, but the dangerous racetrack and the far more experienced competition leaves him trailing in last place. At a pitstop, Whiplash and his crew give Turbo a vital pep talk, advising him to race like a snail. Back in the race, Turbo realizes what they mean and uses his small size to maximum advantage with maneuvers around and under the competition that no human racer can emulate. With the snail rapidly gaining in the standings, Gagne races dirty and tries to kill the snail while Turbo finds to his alarm that his speed power is starting to fade. Finally, in the final stretch with Turbo in the lead, Gagne tries a desperate maneuver to beat the snail and gets into a major crash that snarls all the competitors in a major pileup. Similarly, Turbo is thrown, injured with a damaged shell and finds to his despair that his speed power is gone. Alarmed at seeing Turbo giving up and retreating into his shell barely a few feet from the finish line, Chet puts himself into incredible dangers to meet up with Whiplash's crew to get to the racer. Seeing his brother and friends arrive riding crows to encourage him to continue, Turbo resumes the race. Unfortunately, Gagne singlemindedly pursues him by dragging his wrecked car after the snail and attempts to crush him. At the last second, Chet tells Turbo to tuck into his shell and roll at Gagne's latest blow and the force allows him to tumble past the finish line to win. At this victory, the strip mall becomes a major attraction with all the businesses becoming spectacular successes including extremely elaborate snail races with Whiplash's crew getting special propulsion aids for their shells, while Chet is content as the track referee. As for Turbo, his happiness is enhanced with discovering that his shell has healed, and with that, his superspeed power has returned.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Despicable Me 2 2013

Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated family sci-fi, crime comedy film and the sequel to the 2010 animated film Despicable Me. Produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures, both films are directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Steve Carell, Russell Brand, and Miranda Cosgrove reprise their roles. Kristen Wiig, who played Miss Hattie in the first film, voices agent Lucy Wilde. Ken Jeong, who played Talk Show Host, voices Floyd Eagle-san. New cast members include Benjamin Bratt as Eduardo and Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom, head of the Anti-Villain League. The film premiered on June 5, 2013 in Australia,and was theatrically released in the United States on July 3, 2013. PLOT….. A secret laboratory near the Arctic Circle is stolen by a mysterious vehicle using a giant magnet. The Anti-Villain League (AVL) becomes suspicious because the lab contained a mutating chemical compound, PX-41, which transforms living things into indestructible killing machines. The organization decides to recruit Gru, a former villain, to help the AVL prevent the mutating chemical from getting into the wrong hands. Lucy Wilde, an AVL agent, forcibly abducts Gru after stunning him with her lipstick taser. Two of Gru's minions who try to thwart her plans are captured also. They travel to AVL's underwater headquarters where Gru meets the league's director, Silas Ramsbottom. He asks Gru to assist them in their efforts to track down the perpetrator and the missing mutagen. Gru refuses, preferring to concentrate on his new venture of producing bottled jellies and the responsibilities of being a father to his three adopted girls, Margo, Agnes and Edith. Before he leaves, Lucy admits she was impressed by his work as a villain and gives her business card to Gru, urging him to contact her if he changes his mind. Upon return to his lab, Gru realizes that his minion-run production line had churned out bottles of awful-tasting jellies. Also, his research scientist, Dr. Nefario, confesses to Gru that he misses being "evil" and has been offered employment elsewhere. After giving Dr. Nefario a 21 fart-gun send-off with the minions, Gru contacts Lucy and takes on the task of recovering the stolen mutagen. Traces of chemical scent given off by the mutagen narrow the search to the confines of The Paradise Shopping Mall. Gru and Lucy work undercover as the owners of a cupcake shop in the mall. Gru suspects one of the owners of a restaurant in the mall, named Eduardo, is an old super-villain called El Macho, who supposedly died after skysurfing a TNT-laden shark into an active volcano. Lucy and Gru decide to break into his restaurant but are spotted by Eduardo's pet chicken and narrowly escape being detected by Eduardo when he returns back to his shop late in the night. However, they find only a jar of secret-recipe salsa in his safe and nothing relevant to link Eduardo to the crime. While the team investigates wig merchant Floyd Eagle-san, Margo begins to develop a crush on Eduardo's son, Antonio, to Gru's frustration. The whole family is invited to Eduardo's Cinco de Mayo party at his mansion, and Gru's protectiveness of his daughter leads him to make baseless accusations to the AVL's Silas about Eduardo and his son, damaging his credibility. Later that day, a determined matchmaking neighbor, Jillian, sets a reluctant Gru up on a date with her rude and superficial friend, Shannon. During the date, Shannon discovers Gru's wig and threatens to humiliate him, but Lucy saves him from embarrassment by shooting her with a tranquilizing dart. They take Shannon home, and Gru realizes he is in love with Lucy. When he arrives at the mall the next day, the Anti-Villain League arrest Floyd Eagle-san, who protests vehemently that he was framed, after the AVL team uncovers the empty mutagen jar in his shop. Silas tells Gru that the case is now closed and that Lucy will be reassigned to Australia. A heartbroken Gru tells Agnes that she was right that he loves her. However, Gru is unable to muster the courage to ask Lucy out before she leaves. The family then goes to Eduardo's party. Gru follows Eduardo and discovers that he was correct about Eduardo being the presumed-dead super-villain El Macho. Gru also discovers that Dr. Nefario has been working for Eduardo and that the duo has been capturing and mutating some of Gru's minions into purple-furred monsters using the stolen mutagen serum. Eduardo offers Gru a chance to conquer the world, but Gru makes unconvincing excuses and hastily leaves with the girls. Margo has also broken up with Antonio as he became interested in another girl. For breaking her heart, Gru encases Antonio in a block of ice with his freeze-ray. Lucy, while in the plane bound for Australia, realizes that she wants to be with Gru, and jumps out to hang-glide to the party. Eduardo discovers her true identity and captures her after his chicken retrieves her AVL ID badge from her purse. Dr. Nefario calls Gru to tell him that Lucy has been captured. Gru disguises two of his minions in purple paint to escort him as their prisoner into Eduardo's compound in a rescue attempt. Gru manages to restore the minions who were under El Macho's control using the awful-tasting jam infused with Dr. Nefario's antidote and defeats a mutated El Macho with Lucy's lipstick taser. While Gru tries to untie Lucy, who is strapped to a TNT-loaded shark rocket, Eduardo's pet chicken triggers the launch remote, sending the pair flying towards the lava-spewing volcano where El Macho faked his death. While on the rocket, Lucy accepts Gru's date invitation before the pair dives into the safety of the ocean, just seconds before the rocket explodes. One hundred and forty-seven dates later, the two are married and the girls finally have a mother. The minions close with a rendition of "Y.M.C.A" and "I Swear" (mistakenly sung as "Underwear") while the family dances. However, soon after the final picture is taken, a mutated purple furry minion appears, surprising the family. During the credits, three Minions are seen "auditioning" for the upcoming Minions movie. However, a black wall showing the credits keeps falling and blocking their way.