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Reagen Sulewski: I can sort of see the complaints about the introduction of the villain, but I think (SPOILER ALERT!) Muntz works as a way of showing what a singular obsession can do to a person (END SPOILER!) And as always, Pixar managed to give its villain some depth, so I've got no problem there.

Kevin Chen: Trying to remain as spoiler-free as possible, I'll say that the villain was needed as an active force for Carl to vie against. From a pure storytelling standpoint, I think that man versus man contention provides for better character opportunity than man versus nature. But from a thematic standpoint, the villain is absolutely necessary because his purpose is a funhouse mirror distortion of Carl's. And I'll second Reagen's point that this is not a Snidely Whiplash villain who is evil for evil's sake. He has a very simplistic motivation, but it's one that's rooted in his character and is supported by the screenplay.

Kim Hollis: I am completely with Kevin and Reagen on the subject of Muntz. SPOILER ALERT! We see his downfall in the beginning of the film and realize by the time Carl encounters him in Brazil, that he has had decades to let that embarrassment fester and boil inside him. Of course he would be exactly what he is, particularly as he's been without significant human contact.
As far as the movie itself, I just loved it from beginning to end. I agree that there is a sadness to it, but it's completely appropriate in a movie that focuses on aging. In fact, I think it's a really brave film - braver than even WALL-E and Ratatouille. Pixar took a chance on a story about an old man and it works completely.

Honestly, June doesn't look better.

Kim Hollis: May's storied lineup featured six potential tentpole releases. Now that the month is over, what are your impressions of how May played out?

Josh Spiegel: I think the only big surprises of the month came with Memorial Day Weekend. I wasn't very surprised with the performances from Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels & Demons, or Up; however, the fact that Terminator Salvation will most likely not reach $150 million in domestic gross, and Night at the Museum 2 may not hit $200 million domestically is quite stunning. Having finally seen the fourth Terminator movie, I'm not too shocked as most audiences have wisely avoided the new film. Night at the Museum 2, however, is having a more inexplicable drop. Obviously, opening the week before a new Pixar movie comes out isn't the best ploy that 20th Century Fox could have taken, but the amount of awareness was much higher for this film than for Up. Still, considering the big tentpole film I saw this month, I'm glad about the outcomes: the two good movies have succeeded (though, of course, the jury will be out on Up for a few more weeks), and the others haven't.

Brandon Scott: On the positive side, its clear that Star Trek is the big winner (master of the obvious, I know), but I feel as though Angels & Demons, Wolverine, and Night at the Museum 2 are probably performing about AT expected levels. Up will still have to play out, while T4 is a major disappointment. While I was incredibly skeptical upon first learning of T4's making and imminent release, I thought it was really looking at reinvigorating the franchise based on all of the hype that was coming with it. In this regard, it clearly failed to deliver. I actually think after films were blowing away expectations at the box office early in the year, things have actually settled down in the summer. We may not have that $300 million release that we have had since 2000 and that would be a disappointment, no doubt.

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