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. 

JOY Review

Everyone has a story. Even the woman who invented the miracle mop. In Joy, Jennifer Lawrence is the 1995 version of Joy Mangano as we become privy to the beyond hectic journey it took for this now entrepreneur and titan of industry to become such. In these terms, this is a real rags to riches story and would probably be a very compelling one at that if it were simply left to these devices, but in the hands of director David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) it has to be more than that-it has to be mythic almost. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with this approach as a unique or different take on any type of material is always appreciated, but Russell's style is especially effective with some stories while not always finding it's rhythm with others. Joy lands somewhere in the middle of this scale as certain aspects of our titular characters life service Russell's frantic style well while other times it seems to be fighting with the tranquility that the film so desperately craves. In a word, the film is relentless. And to a certain extent it should be in order to give audiences a real sense of what this character had to overcome to get to where she is today, but it is always key for journeys such as this to provide moments of calm reflection that, again, help to give audiences a sense of scope. Here, these moments are treated as flurries of flashbacks or mounting issues that are proclaimed one after another in sometimes painfully awkward dialogue. This technique works to a certain extent given there are moments when the relentless clawing and nagging of every supporting character in the movie ceases and something good is actually allowed to happen to Joy without them mingling and messing things up, but these are too few and far between. The real issues arise when it became clear we, as an audience, want to dig deeper into the psyche of our main character than the actual film does. Why does Joy continue to allow her family to pull her down? That Joy, unlike say Russell's The Fighter, never digs into the reasons as to why Joy can't leave these thwarted and painful relationships behind is ultimately what makes the project feel more barren than it wants to be.

New Trailer for JOY Starring Jennifer Lawrence

20th Century Fox has released a second trailer for David O. Russell's (Silving Linings Playbook, American Hustle) third pairing with actors Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper called Joy. The film tells the story of Lawrence's titular character who creates something of her own family dynasty after seemingly being smothered by generations of tradition and pressure to live a certain kind of complacent life. While I wasn't as high on American Hustle as most, Silver Linings Playbook was one of my favorite films of 2013 and one I can still return to without hesitation. While the effect of Hustle has somewhat made me less excited for this next Russell picture it's ignorant to think this won't at least be interesting and well put together. I'm always excited to see what this trio of collaborators (Robert De Niro is back as well) have come up with if nothing else and to that point Joy at least looks to have more of a focus than the rushed Hustle did. The directors signature style is still intact, but there is also a distinct look to this film with some glaringly beautiful shots with an interesting emphasis on the specific-seeming musical choices of both trailers. Joy will no doubt be seen as another Oscar contender with Lawrence already garnering talk of a Best Actress nomination and what I hope might be another nod for Cooper as he's been the true beacon of the previous two O. Russell features and I can't help but feel Burnt will be something of a misfire (I'll find out next week). For now though, Joy also stars Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Elisabeth Röhm, Dascha Polanco and opens on Christmas Day.

Teaser Trailer for JOY Starring Jennifer Lawrence

Well, the love-fest between director David O. Russell (Silving Linings Playbook, American Hustle) and actors Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper continues with Joy. Joy has somewhat famously become known as the "The Miracle Mop Movie," but tells the story of Lawrence's titular character who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right after seemingly being smothered by generations of tradition and pressure to live a particular type of life. While I wasn't as high on American Hustle as most were, Silver Linings was one of my favorite films of 2013 and one I can still return to without hesitation. To this effect, I'm fairly excited to see what this trio of collaborators have come up with next and, if nothing else, Joy looks to have more of a focus to it than Hustle while still being highlighted by several strong performers. O. Russell's signature style is intact, but there is a distinct look to this film with some glaringly beautiful shots and an aesthetic that makes the time period more than relevant. The musical choices feel a bit odd and overbearing here, but hey, it's just a trailer (and a teaser at that) and most importantly, it gives a sense of what the movie might be as well as the broad gamut of emotions it will run. If nothing else, I can only hope the film is an excuse for O. Russell to pull another exceptional performance out of Cooper as he has been the beacon in both of their collaborations prior. Joy also stars Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Elisabeth Röhm, Dascha Polanco and opens on Christmas Day.

ENEMY Review

I'm not sure what to make of Enemy. It is unclear what exactly I'm meant to take away from the picture, but what is clear to me is that I can't stop going over certain scenes and trying to put together the significance of the actions of the characters, of the shot choices, the color palette, the deeply intentional mood and score and why it builds at certain points and simply sits and broods at others. I want to understand it completely, but I don't and I know even if I offered up a theory of what I thought the final scene means it would likely be completely different from the person who was sitting next to me in the same theater. It is a film and a story meant to elicit conversation, meant to stir up academic-like discussion and it is clear from the opening moments we are in for something extremely meditative that while equally as stark and emotionally haunting (if not more so) than director Denis Villeneuve's previous effort, Prisoners, is much more in tune with its scale and its compact story. Where Prisoners was a sweeping epic of large themes Enemy plays its hand close to the chest and is all the more intriguing for it. As each new scene plays out I couldn't help but to wonder what each little thing meant, what I was intended to take away and if it would result in some revelation I'd already imagined in my mind or if it might come completely out of left field and take me with real surprise. The film opens with a quote simply stating that "chaos is order yet to be deciphered" and as we watch the strange story unravel I couldn't help but to keep repeating this little phrase in my mind and wonder in what sense it was meant to apply to our main characters. The same could be said about any number of things that different people will pick out to latch onto, what is the deeper psychological meaning of the constant references to hands? I'm not sure still, but one thing that remains clear is that I found the film to be completely fascinating and I can't wait to watch it again, to dissect it further and to see just how many different conversations I can have about it.