Incredibles 2 Movie Review

Whenever a follow-up to a movie that was a huge hit a decade ago comes around, people tend to get worried that the hands of time will consume any chances of its success. I'll admit that I wasn't expecting Mad Max: Fury Road to be as huge of a hit as it was. The Incredibles was one of Pixar's biggest hits back in 2004, and people were begging for a follow-up ever since. You'd think that 14 years later, that demand would have died down, but judging by the fact that my girlfriend and I ran into a sold out showing on our first attempt to see this, I'd say that demand is still in place, and it's completely warranted, as The Incredibles 2 is not only better than the first film, but it's easily one of the best films of the year.

THE PLOT
Superheroes are still illegal, and the Parr family is running into issues with Bob being out of a job and the supposed Superhero Reinstatement program that protected them at the end of the first movie is being shut down. However, a representative played by Bob Odenkirk wants to help make superheroes legal again by using Elastagirl as a symbol of good hope to spark the public's interest in superheroes again. So, while she goes on missions, Bob stays behind and watches the kids with, as you can guess, disastrous results. However, bigger problems come about when a "mysterious" villain known as ScreenSlaver is hatching a plot to keep superheroes illegal forever.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

-Family Matters

One of the biggest things that could have been improved upon in the first movie is how much time they spend with this superhero family. In this film, there's much more focus on the family as a whole. Helen gets separated for the most part, but seeing Bob look after the kids leads to tons of family drama and discussions that flesh them out more as not only characters, but as a family of characters. One of my favorite scenes is towards the beginning when the family is having a discussion about the current situation of superheroes.

-Jack Jack is a Riot

I couldn't exaggerate this less even if I wanted to. The hilarious bit with Jack Jack attacking Syndrome that lasted about 30 seconds in the first movie is expanded upon greatly in this film, and I cannot remember the last time I laughed this hard in a theater before. I can't say much else without spoiling anything, but needless to say he was one of the best highlights of the movie.

-The Action is Energetic and Fun

One of Brad Bird's biggest advantages as an animation director is his ability to create larger-than-life scenes while maintaining a tangible physical world, and this film is no exception. While the first movie had some memorable and energetic action, the best bits came from the family (Dash running on water, that part where the family was fighting together, etc.), and the rest of the action mostly involved Mr. Incredible punching things. This film has a lot more of the family fighting, along with some new superheroes, and the amount of creativity that went into those scenes makes for some fun action.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK ABOUT IT?
-The "Mysterious" Villain

One reoccurring trope in a lot of Disney films nowadays is the surprise villain, someone who you think is a good guy but is really a bad guy, and this film unfortunately falls under that category. The only difference is that with Disney's other films, the tone of the character changes as soon as they reveal that they're the bad guy. Here, they try to keep the tone consistent with the character, but without spoiling anything, it comes off as too obvious too early. I looked at the character and I knew in an instant that (he/she, no spoilers) was the villain. The reason the surprise bad guy in the first Incredibles worked was because we didn't see him (at least, not as the bad guy) until his reveal; we saw the people who work for him, but not him individually.

CONSENSUS?
Despite the flawed villain, I still had a blast with The Incredibles 2, and while it's nowhere near Pixar's best film, I would definitely call it their best sequel. Check it out while you still can!

RATING:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - I am Groot! (Translation: It's Good!)

The first Guardians of the Galaxy was a game-changer even by the standards of Marvel's everlasting cinematic universe. On top of doing with one movie what the Avengers did with six, it combined exciting sci-fi action with lasers, starships, and weird-looking aliens with the raunchy style of many well-acclaimed indie comedies. As a result, critics and audiences fell in love with it, and it changed the scope of blockbuster filmmaking practically overnight, so much so that the new Thor Ragnarok trailer tried to replicate its style. So naturally, a sequel was inevitable, and that's what we're kicking off what's looking to be a pretty kick-ass summer with this weekend. How does it turn out?

Not half bad. Not as good as the first, but when it is good, it's really, REALLY good. There are a few parts that drag a little bit, but we'll get to that in a second.

The story picks up where the last one left off, with the Guardians now helping the Nova Corps protect the galaxy against threats. After saving the Sovereign race from a raging monster, their leader, Ayesha, finds out that Rocket has stolen some precious batteries from them and sends out an attack. They're saved, however, by a mysterious man who they find out later is Peter's father, Ego. (*chuckle*) They decide to follow him to his home planet so that he and Peter can reconnect and have the connection they've always wanted to have. During this, however, Ayesha has hired up Yondu (Rooker from Walking Dead as part of the Blue Man Group from the first movie) to hunt down the Guardians and retrieve the batteries.

The first two-thirds of this movie not only match what made the first movie great, particularly whenever an action scene kicks in, but in some areas, it even elevated it, particularly in comedy. As funny as Groot was in the first movie, Baby Groot here is a freakin riot! Groot has been known to be clueless and to improvise, and those qualities have been elevated with this adorable miniature! The opening title sequence is him playing music while the others fight the monster I mentioned earlier. On top of that, though, as indicated by the trailer, Drax the Destroyer moves past his serious nature from the first movie, and as a result, he's just off-the-wall hilarious here! Practically every line he says holds just the right comedic tone, timing, and delivery!

Then the last third kicks in, and that's where the film started to drag a little for me. The first movie kept a good balance between drama and comedy; every scene with its intensely dramatic villain was followed by a scene with the Guardians cracking wise at each other, and that's what elevated it from being just an average, everyday comedy to one of the best sci-fi blockbusters ever made. Here, even though the emotion is heartfelt and I do still connect with these characters, it just doesn't feel as fresh or rad as the first film and will most likely throw people for a loop. The film, aside from an overload of five post-credit scenes, ends on a rather bitter note that would have been much more fulfilling if it ended on a more comedic or inspiring note. I didn't hate the last third, but it definitely felt inconsistent and not entirely what was advertised.

Regardless, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 holds up as a worthy entry into the Marvel legacy. When it wants to be funny and exciting, it can be very exciting and REALLY funny! It drags a little bit in its last third, but the first two thirds still deliver plenty of punches to go around. It's a great way to kick off the summer, and a great way to continue Marvel's winning streak! (With movies, anyway.)

My rating:

The Fate of the Furious - Hollywood's Most Expensive Self-Parody

I'm not gonna lie.... I never caught on to this ongoing gag that the Fast and Furious sequels were essentially self-parodies up until this point. Granted, the sequels are certainly more exciting and stylish in the second half of the series than they have been in the first, but to go as far as to call them self-parodies would be a stretch; 5, 6, and 7 are not really any more over-the-top than any other action-packed blockbuster these days. However, this is not the case with the 8th film in the series, as the film drenches itself in self-parody and extravagantly over-the-top stunts..... And I loved every second of it! The Fate of the Furious is, thus far, one of the more exciting blockbusters I have seen this year!

The film starts with Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel, and Letty, played by Michelle Rodriguez, on their honeymoon, which soon gets interrupted by a woman known as Cipher, played by Charlize Theron, who, through some secret leverage, forces Dom to turn against his crew and commit a series of crimes that would send the world at war once more. However, Letty holds hope that Dom isn't doing this intentionally and proposes that they attempt to retrieve Dom to get some answers out of him.

If you're going into this flick expecting something practical or plausible, let me shut off those expectations here and now. The stunts here are so unpractical and insane that anybody with a Physics degree would most likely lose their mind. On the flip side of that, though, they're so insane and over-the-top that you can't help but not only keep your eyes on it, but feel the thrills and excitement of every stunt. Where else are you going to see tanks and new model cars chasing after a submarine in the Arctic? Seriously, name one other movie.

As far as comedy goes, there's a lot more of it than there was in the previous flicks. Granted, Roman Pearce had a lot of funny lines in the previous movies, but while he still has his share here, many of the other characters have their slices of the banana pie as well. The Rock and Jason Statham in particular have this ongoing chemistry that is just a riot every time they're on screen together.

The only problem I have with this flick is the villain, Cipher. Her character is very one-dimensional, not having very many clear motives for what she does other than to just send the world into chaos just because somebody has to be the antagonist, and Charlize Theron's performance is very one-note, having a monotone vocal and facial expression in which it just sounds like she's reading her bland lines. Some might argue that this is just part of the self-parody aspect, but in that instance, I probably would have liked a more over-the-top, funny villain (like Jason Statham in Furious 7) over this stick in the mud.

All in all, though, I had a blast with The Fate of the Furious. The stunts are impressive in their over-the-top fashion, the characters are a lot of fun, and the direction is slick as always. It's not a perfect movie, but it's thrilling and hysterical in spite of its flaws.... in some instances, even due to its "flaws". I recommend it for anyone looking for a fun time at the theater!

My rating:

10 Internet Memes That Should Have Their Own Movie

(Note: This blog entry is mostly satirical. If Hollywood actually makes any of these movies (except for the last one), I will bash my head up against the wall until it is physically impossible for me to see anything, let alone movies.)

So, this little brat is getting her own TV show now.... Hoo-freakin-rah. (Funny, I kinda thought Fox News WAS her TV show.) This got me thinking, though... If we're putting the greenlight on this annoying little girl, why not shine the light on all sorts of memes? I mean, heck, if Emojis can have their own movie, why not? So, today, I'll be counting off the Top 10 internet memes that I think deserve their own movies!

Now, for this list, I've picked mostly original memes, and not anything based off of a movie or TV show; Spongebob has two movies already, Futurama has four, and don't even get me started on the Muppets! These are the fresh, new memes that hold the potential for some solids blockbuster epics!

1.Harmabe

I'm surprised Disney Nature hasn't gotten the rights to creating a documentary biopic on this beloved creature! Think of all the potential for high-stake drama in this scenario.... A gorilla trying to protect a child that fell into the cage, and he gets shot? Oh, what a powerful epic that would make!

2.Roll Safe

I can see it now.... A Black Dynamite-style exploitation movie about a man who has less common sense than the average man, but at the same time, more so. "Those terrorists can't blow up the orphanage if I don't see an explosion." Smooth!

3.Boardroom Suggestion

Think about it: A powerful drama about a man on a board of directors whose ideas are so poorly received that he gets thrown out the window every time he brings up an idea.... Oh, the social commentary it would have on the crappy ideas that the media keeps putting out! (Which is probably why a movie about it will never get made.)

4.Baby Godfather

Heck, if they could make a movie like The Boss Baby (which I WON'T be reviewing or seeing, BTW), they could sure as heck convert one of the greatest films in cinematic history to this adorable little convention! Just imagine a baby waking up to find his teddy bear's head in there with him! Shoulda gave the BG that ride-on tractor, buddy.

5.Awesome Face

Picture this: In a world of sad faces, one face dares to be different from the rest.... And that face is AWESOME FACE! If he's not gonna get his own movie, let's at least hope he gets even a brief cameo in the new Emoji movie.

6.Antoine Dodson

See here. End of conversation.

7.Stick Figure Guy

We've seen him spit cereal, accept challenges, flip tables, and even take his finger down speechless. Whatever the case, this guy's been so famous that he basically has to get his own movie! I mean, it would be the cheapest animation anybody could put out! Seriously, Hollywood.... MAKE IT HAPPEN!

8.Trollface

Even more famous than Awesome Face is Trollface. It may seem like a stretch, but I could see this guy being in a Wreck-It Ralph kind of movie where he strives to be a more upbeat internet meme only to find that there would be no internet without his snarky trolling! Oh, what a social satire that would be....

9.Grumpy Cat

Ah, our favorite mad face.... I'm not gonna lie, there were a lot of cat and dog memes to choose from, but again, Grumpy Cat has become so famous across the internet that it would be inevitable to at least attempt a movie with him. Imagine an entire hour and a half where his family does everything in its power to cheer him up, and he still can't smile for a second. What a wild road trip that would be!

10.Stephanie Lenz

Alright, let me take off the satirical glasses for a second and be real.... A real-life court drama based off of the Stephanie Lenz case could be essential in this day and age. Now, for those who don't know, Stephanie Lenz posted this video onto Youtube of a baby dancing to the Prince song, Let's Go Crazy, and received a copyright strike via Youtube's copyright claim system. She took this case to court, and as a result, a new law was set up stating that copyright owners must consider fair use before filing a take-down notice. The copyright/fair use battle has been an enormous issue in today's internet society, and I feel like it's high time that a filmmaker out there, independent or otherwise, delivers on the potential to turn that conflict into a powerhouse drama.

Do you agree with this list? What other crazy ideas do you have to turn internet sensations into cinematic sensations? Post yours in the comments below! Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Ghostbusters (2016) (Power Rangers Style!)

Saban's Power Rangers (2017) - A Mighty Morphin Blockbuster for All Ages

Talk about false advertising being a good thing for once! That is to say, this was definitely NOT what I was expecting from everything I've been seeing. The trailers and posters for producer Haim Saban's new reboot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made the film look like a drag to say the least. It looked murky and dreary, trying to be overly droopy and dramatic when that's not what Power Rangers was known for. The classic 90s series about five kids who are recruited to morph into high-tech suits and fight monsters was partially an amusing cheeseball about teenagers dealing with after-school special problems and partially a flashy, high-energy action series, so naturally, it was a gigantic hit with the kids, and naturally, it held a huge nostalgia factor, and therefore, it had to be rebooted. Despite my worries, however, I can safely say that the high energy and amusing charisma of the original show carries over here, as Power Rangers turns out to be a fun, exhilarating, and surprisingly well-developed adaptation of the show.

The story follows five teenagers who, through many strange circumstances, come across a strange rock that reveals to them five crystal coins that give them amazing superabilities such as super strength, invincibility, and the ability to leap long distances. Through further investigation, they all come across a ship where they meet Zordon, an alien who used to lead a team of warriors known as the Power Rangers who protect the Earth from an evil mistress known as Rita. To make matters more complicated, though, Rita also returns to life and starts searching for a giant crystal that, if tampered with, could destroy the Earth as we know it. So, the five have to learn to fight and work together before Rita finds them and the crystal.

Looking at the film from a critical standpoint, the plot is cheesy and makes no sense, the characters are flat and one-dimensional, and the style over substance doesn't add up to much. However, looking at it as a Power Rangers movie, the plot follows the original show to a needle point, the characters are a lot of fun and very relatable, and the style over substance is what makes it kick so much a**. If you go into this expecting some groundbreaking masterpiece of cinema, all I can say is you're better off Netflix-ing The Imitation Game. This is Power Rangers, dude!

There are two things in particular, though, that I felt not only helped make this a better adaptation of the show, but perhaps even surpassed the show itself. The first thing is the kids here. You relate to every single one of them through surprisingly compelling drama alongside, like I said before, vastly more charisma and amusing antics than what was presented in the trailers. The funniest one by far was RC Cyler as Billy; this kid made me laugh just about every time he was on screen! On top of that, though, they all meshed just as well as they did on the show, and the way they come together and decide that they have to get along and work together was a compelling arc.

The second aspect that definitely surpassed the show was Rita. In the show, she was mostly watching things from a distance while her monsters attacked, and she was mostly there just to scream and rant. Here, though, she's way more involved in the action, even having a few hand-to-hand combat scenes herself, and the way she's portrayed is intimidating beyond belief. This is one of the many aspects I expected to hate about this movie, but she was portrayed beautifully.... Err, disgustingly.... She was a great villain.

Honestly, it's hard for me to say that the film has problems, given that the show wasn't exactly five-star material itself. It's not going to turn any heads or earn the franchise any new fans (although definitely bring the kids, because they'll love it), but as far as what these filmmakers were trying to adapt, the new Power Rangers definitely takes new turns where it's needed and stays true to what made the show so enjoyable to begin with. For that reason, I'd say it's worth a shot for any fan of the show.

Brett Ratner's Rotten Mark (aka The Tomatometer and How to Use It)

Source: http://movieweb.com/rotten-tomatoes-destroying-movie-business-brett-ratner/

So, Brett Ratner recently posted about how the famed website Rotten Tomatoes is destroying the filmgoing community as we know it. Being a fan of the site myself and seeing it as a tool if used correctly, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring on this matter.

For those who don't know, Rotten Tomatoes is a website that gathers up an enormous amount of online reviews from famed critics and gives a percentage of how many of those reviews are positive. So, films like Schindler's List, The Godfather, Jurassic Park, and Pulp Fiction range from 90-100%, while films like The Last Airbender, Pixels, and Movie 43 range from 0-20%.

For some, it's a nifty tool in helping figure out whether or not they should see a movie, but for others, it's a pretentious representation of how big of snobs critics can be. Brett Ratner's argument in particular for this deals with Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad, which, if you've seen my reviews of those, you know I personally did not like either. But it's not just a case of critics not liking something he liked; he feels the ratings for both ended up affecting the box office numbers.... which, considering how many bombs we had last year, they both stood out as the more financially successful. Just sayin.

Regardless, I can understand where he's coming from. There was one point where I looked at the percentages for every movie coming out, and after a while, I couldn't help but feel like my opinion was affected by that percentage. Now that I'm doing movie reviews on my own blog, I can't always look at the percentages for that reason.

I won't speak too much on how to look at critics in general, as the Nostalgia Critic made a great video on that here, but if you're like me and you let the Tomatometer mold your opinion, here are a few things I do to avoid that and form my own opinion.

1.If a trailer alone intrigues me, I see it and avoid (or at least ignore) the ratings

Suicide Squad has one of the best trailers I have ever seen. Hands down. When I went to see it, I was expecting it to be this insanely fun anti-hero movie with witty lines, wild action, and breathtaking performances, even with critics ultimately giving it 20-30% on Rotten Tomatoes. I entered in with a clean slate, and my review of it was based off of my personal experience with a jumbled, incoherent, and often times boring flick.

Regardless, I ignored the reviews, went in based off of my anticipation from the trailer, and ended up leaving disappointed. Sometimes, though, that's not always the case. I personally enjoyed the Hotel Transylvania movies, despite those getting poor reviews. The two G.I. Joe movies are enjoyable in their own rights, despite their reviews. My point is that film is a personal experience and should be left at that.

2.If I'm not sure if a film looks good, I'll look up the ratings and see if they're good

Most of the time, this tactic doesn't surprise me. I wasn't sure if the new CHiPS movie looked good, and the film ended up getting a low percentage. Sometimes, however, there can be a few surprises. Last year's Central Intelligence, for instance, had a horrible trailer (I swear, when I saw Dwayne Johnson as a fat man, I had nightmares for a week!), but when I saw that it had a fairly high percentage, I gave it a watch and ended up having a fun time!

This is why I say that Rotten Tomatoes is a good tool. If the trailer alone intrigues me, I see the film regardless of ratings, but if the trailer alone doesn't intrigue me, then I wait for reviews to come out to see if critics can persuade me to see it. (Many people went to see Paul Feig's Ghostbusters for that reason.)

3.After seeing the movie, I go onto Flixster and compare my opinion with others

Having a free form opinion is one of the greatest feelings in the world while also being one of the worst. Trying to understand why so many people loved the live-action Beauty and the Beast when I thought it was sub-par at best is both intriguing and confusing. But let me tell you: As confusing as that is, it's nowhere near as empty or soulless feeling as conforming to the norm.



But back to Ratner's point: Is the Tomatometer affecting box office numbers? Not likely. If that were the case, Paul Feig's Ghostbusters should have been a smash hit. Viewers are most likely just seeing what they want to see, and seeing as how ratings and reviews haven't affected the box office numbers for Grown-Ups, the Smurfs movies, the Transformers movies, or again, the Hotel Transylvania movies, I doubt they're affecting them now. Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman most likely got the numbers they got more because of word of mouth; as much as the DCEU still holds a large fan base, there's also a large amount of people freaking out over the misrepresentations of Doomsday, Lex Luthor, and the Joker.

If you are one of those people using the Tomatometer to automatically say whether or not a film was good rather than basing it off of your own personal experience.... Stop that. Just.... Stop that. However, I don't think such an epidemic is so bad that the entire site should be shut down, and I certainly don't think it's destroying the business. If anything, it's enhancing the business. As mentioned in the source article, Erza Miller mentioned that the bad ratings for the DCEU are only making the cast and crew more determined to make Justice League a success, and that's exactly what the Tomatometer should do: encourage filmmakers to make their projects better, and encourage filmgoers to see projects that have challenged even the most astute critics.... or at the very least, amused them. Just remember, a filmgoer's experience is not based on a percentage, but their own personal, emotional experience.

Hey folks, wanna stay updated on my blogs, or see my reactions to all the latest news updates and trailers? Click on any of the links at the top of the page to follow my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Flixster accounts! Or to see my older video reviews, check out my YouTube channel, also linked above!