INCREDIBLES 2 Review

It has been fourteen years since the Parr family, including Bob (Craig T. Nelson), Helen (Holly Hunter), and their three children-Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner), and Jack Jack (Eli Fucile)-were introduced to audiences through the magic of Pixar and the imagination of writer/director Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and arguably the best Mission: Impossible movie-Ghost Protocol). In those fourteen years since the first Incredibles film Pixar has steadily upped its output of sequels going from only a single sequel in Toy Story 2 as of 2004 to Incredibles 2 being the seventh Pixar sequel of some sort. Does this say anything about the studio outside of the fact they enjoy making money and are not immune to capitalizing on IP's the same way every other studio does? No, not really, but it does always feel like something of a missed opportunity when Pixar releases something that re-hashes a striking original rather than releasing what is hopefully another striking original. This is all to say that while The Incredibles always seemed like the most obvious choice for sequels, it was also a stand-alone film that didn't necessarily require any type of continuation. Thus bringing us to what is probably the most impressive thing about Bird's Incredibles 2 in that not only does the film seem to effortlessly pick up right where the original left off, but it validates itself thoroughly and makes its case that not only is its existence justified, but rather that the original needed this extension of the story to exist. And while this is impressive for obvious reasons it is the ideas the film dolls out as well as the engaging if rather complex without actually feeling convoluted premise that will earn Incredibles 2 this sterling reputation as a sequel that both earns its place alongside the original as well as one that improves upon it. Incredibles 2 will undoubtedly please the generation that grew up on it and are now entering their early twenties, but as someone who was among the Toy Story faithful, Pixar blossoming just before we did, I was getting ready to enter my senior year of high school when The Incredibles was released and feel no inherent connection to that original whatsoever. Due to this and the fact we live in a time where the market is saturated by super heroes it was genuinely surprising how much joy came from watching a family of super heroes strike a balance between feeding the machine and rebelling against it. Which, as Pixar sequels go, is par for the course. 

THE BIG SICK Review

I love movies about stand-up comedians. There is something to the art form that I, personally, don’t believe I’d ever be able to successfully master and that is the factor of succeeding in such a fashion where it outwardly seems like one is struggling without actually struggling at all. Stand-up is very much an art that requires one to put their whole selves on the line and bank on the fact their personality is endearing enough for the majority of the audience to find appealing and latch onto. To do this one has to express a large amount of humility while simultaneously sparking a small amount of jealousy-jealousy in the way that the audience wishes they could channel and overcome their own life’s obstacles in the same way a given comedian seems to be doing by discussing them in front of a crowded room. One can’t succeed at the job too effortlessly or they lack credibility yet if the routine doesn’t come with a certain amount of effortlessness they seemingly lack the natural “it’ factor it takes to thrive; to stand out among a sea of other would-be storytellers. It’s a fine line one must walk in order to be able to pull off a certain kind of aura and it no doubt comes down to knowing one’s self better than others might ever care to get to know themselves i.e. exposing or opening one’s self up to their own shortcomings, faults, disadvantages-whatever it may be that people believe takes them down a few pegs from the pedestal they constantly hope to achieve as a person. By all accounts, Kumail Nanjiani is a fine stand-up comedian though I’d be lying if I said I’d listened to any of his sets prior to seeing his feature writing debut in The Big Sick (and no, I haven’t seen Silicon Valley either). This is brought up for the reason that those strengths Nanjiani plays toward as a stand-up have clearly crossed over to his screenwriting process as not only have he and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, crafted a heartfelt and rather eye-opening story around cultural differences in relationships, but they have done so by telling their story and to do this in an effective manner one certainly has to know themselves and be honest about themselves with themselves if that story is truly going to resonate. Needless to say, The Big Sick accomplishes as much rather well and, not coincidentally, does so with just the right amount of effortlessness so as to be both endearing to audiences in its quest and enviable to fellow artists in its craft.

BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Review

It's important to remember that each individual comes to a movie not only with certain expectations and preconceived notions, but a different life experience up until the point they view a movie that will inform how they respond to a given piece of entertainment. I'm a child of the nineties, a product of Power Rangers and Capri Sun's; a time when what some would argue the best iteration of Bob Kane's Batman character would be brought to life. I'm of course referring to Batman: The Animated Series which ran from 1992-1995 and more or less became the defining Batman in my life-the Batman all other Batman's would be chasing from that point on. Too young for Michael Keaton's movies and too juvenile to initially understand just how bad Joel Schumacher's films were, the animated series brought to life the most genuine and credible version of the superhero my generation (or any other up to that point) could imagine. I adore the Christopher Nolan trilogy and what he did for the genre as a whole. I will forever hold that trilogy in high regard and The Dark Knight as one of the single greatest theater-going experiences of my life. Eight years after the Nolan/Christian Bale epic that will go down in history as the best live action version of Batman thanks to the late Heath Ledger's performance we now have the next attempt to bring the caped crusader to life in what is more or less the sequel to 2013's Man of Steel. Jump-starting the DC Universe in an attempt to catch up with Marvel Studios, director Zack Snyder and his team have delivered a film that seems to want to bring the tone, artistic quality, and believe it or not...the fun of that nineties animated series to life on the big screen, extended universe and all. This is where I come at the movie from. A place of balance between what was my childhood Batman (never having a large affinity for Superman given he never had as influential an animated series) and what is my more mature, realistic Batman in the Nolan trilogy. It's a parallel that worked out well for my progression from child to adult and so, the big question was: where would Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fit into this scheme and how would everything I've seen and read of these characters inform my response to Snyder's bringing together of these two icons on the big screen for the first time? For this particular viewer: I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Final Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

It appears that after Warner Bros. dropped that second full trailer in December (you know the one that caught all the backlash for essentially giving away the whole movie?) they felt the need to give audiences one more, hopefully reassuring look at Zack Snyder's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice before it bows at the end of next month. Well, it seems they've more or less succeeded. Opening with an extended sequence and the boldest look we've had at Ben Affleck's Batman yet this trailer quickly sets up a different tone than that hinted at in the previous trailer and stick with the Batman versus Superman conflict throughout. Due to the fact I still believe there was no need to show us anything more after last years Comic-Con trailer I'm somewhat disappointed there is yet another trailer for the film, but I understand the need and the strategy. All of that aside, I'm as excited for this movie as anyone, but my hope to walk into the film and still be mostly in the dark about what we were getting seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Fortunately, with this latest trailer, the new footage gives us a look at the aspect of the film audiences have been most curious about without completely spoiling anything in the fashion of the previous trailer. We get a quick tease of Batman's hand to hand combat style and then are thrown into a montage of footage we've seen before save for that last, pretty glorious shot. Of course, as I've said before, all of this is said with a sense of optimistic reservation as director Zack Snyder is a master of the movie trailer, but the final product doesn't always live up to such promises. We'll see if Snyder can deliver sooner than later now. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

New Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Back in April we caught our first glimpse of footage from Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and then in July we received the three and a half minute Comic-Con trailer that was absolutely bonkers. Offering an in-depth look at both how the film connects to MoS and why the caped crusader is so angry with the last son of krypton, that trailer seemingly sold everyone on the idea that this movie could be as epic as it sounded. Given there was still eight months to go until the actual release of the film at that time though, I knew it wouldn't be the last trailer we would see for the film. My hope, however naive it might have been, was that Warner Bros. might simply re-fashion the Comic-Con trailer into a two-minute version with maybe a few new shots included in the montage build-up that would undoubtedly come at the end of the trailer. There was no need to show us anything else, but after the release of the forty second teaser on Monday it was clear this wouldn't be the case. I'm as excited for this movie as anyone, but I still want to be mostly in the dark when walking into the movie this Spring. Fortunately, with this latest trailer, the new footage gives us a look at the humorous side of things in the all too "dark and serious" DC Universe while also offering a glimpse at the bigger plot and main antagonist outside of the titular showdown. Of course, as I've said before, all of this is said with a sense of optimistic reservation as director Zack Snyder is a master of the movie trailer, but the final product doesn't always live up to such promises. Can Snyder's ultimate super-hero smackdown live up to the greatness his trailers have promised thus far? We'll find out soon enough. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

Comic-Con Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

This post might now be late to the game, but it is content worth posting none the less. A lot of things were talked about and released over the weekend with San Diego Comic-Con taking place, but the new trailer for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel follow-up was arguably the biggest. We caught our first real glimpse of footage from the film back in April, but this new, three and a half minute trailer is absolutely bonkers. Offering in-depth looks at both how the film connects to MoS and why the caped crusader is so angry at the last son of krypton, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice looks to be every fanboys dream come true. Mind you, this is all said with a sense of optimistic reservation as director Snyder is a master of the movie trailer. I can remember seeing the Watchmen trailer for the first time in front of The Dark Knight and despite not being familiar with the source material, adoring it. The same could be said of Sucker Punch which looked insanely cool and was an original property to boot. That the final products for both of these films turned out to be somewhat underwhelming was disappointing given their promise, but also makes it tougher to get too excited for a Snyder film based on their trailers. MoS also had a fantastic trailer, but I am among those who really enjoyed that film and that affinity has not faded with repeat viewings. Can Snyder's ultimate super-hero smackdown live up to the greatness this trailer promises? We'll find out soon enough. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

My apologies for being late to the game with this one, but I've been away from the internet for the majority of the day (and man, did it feel pretty good). This is the biggest kind of news though so I imagine I should write something up about it considering it's what any die hard movie or comic book fan has been looking forward to for nearly two years now as it was at 2013's San Diego Comic-Con that director Zack Snyder announced his sequel to Man of Steel and that Batman would officially be joining Superman on the big screen for the first time. Since then it seems every bit of information surrounding the film has been teased out into news story after news story. Well, after a quick twenty-second tease yesterday (Thursday 4/16) on Twitter from Snyder the official teaser trailer leaked online late last night while Warner Bros. has now officially released that same trailer online with promises that those attending the special IMAX screenings of the trailer on Monday will still be the only ones to see extra footage. I can only imagine how long it will take for that footage to leak online. For now though, go ahead and hit the jump to check out the trailer as well as my thoughts on what we've seen so far. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Scoot McNairy, Jason Momoa, Holly Hunter and opens on March 25, 2016.