Tag Archives: movies

Review: Incredibles 2

Posted on by
2

I loved the first Inredibles movie so it wasn’t difficult to go see this new one. It starts off the day after the first movie ends, and everything has changed for our heroes. Mr Incredible no longer has a job. They no longer have a house. And supers are back in the limelight again… for good or bad? Only time will tell.

What I loved about the first movie, and now this movie, is that the story revolves around the family more than their super powers. In the first movie it started with Mr Incredible sneaking around behind the families back and dealt with their lives as a family trying to live without their super powers. I could relate to that. Maybe I don’t have a super power but I do have a talent and something I love. Something that I wasn’t able to do for years. And when I was finally able to use that talent again, to really dive into it, I felt so much relief. Like a flood gate opening. I imagine that’s what the supers felt when they were finally able to use their powers again. The thing that made them special.

So when they are given an opportunity to work as supers again of course they jump on it. But…there’s a catch. Isn’t there always?

I loved that they focused on the family so much. When the start at the beginning Mrs Incredible tells Mr Incredible she will go to work, he’s done his time and she knows how much he hated it, now she’ll take her turn. This is something that happens in many families where times get tough and mom and dad have to sacrifice what they want so that the kids can just eat, and go to school. I also loved the fact that this is one of the few Disney (through Pixar) movies where both parents are there, love each other, and working together even if sometimes they fight. It’s almost like they are a real family.

There was also a lot of great action in the movie. A lot of new super heroes with different abilities. And a really great villain with a perfect back story.

I also love the fact that their heroes aren’t perfect. They make mistakes, miss their shots, or break things. Like real people.

Overall a fun movie that I enjoyed seeing. If you liked the first one you’ll probably enjoy it too.

Advertisement

5min – Movie review – Split

Posted on by
Reply

I started this morning with checking emails, and going down the rabbit hole of reviews and twitter messages. Not a productive morning. Or maybe it was. I guess it depends on how you look at it. Social media is a necessary evil of trying to get people to notice you, so there is that.

Last night we watched Split finally. It is a movie about three young girls that are kidnapped by a man with multiple personalities. They talk about how a person who has to go between personalities will sometimes have physical differences depending on which personality s/he is in at that time, and they describe it as “taking the light” from the others. being an M Knight Shyamalan story we were waiting for the twist. But there really wasn’t one this time. It lays out the movie from the beginning, and I could see the ending coming. I don’t know if this makes it better or worse for that. The “twist” might have been the cameo at the very end from an earlier movie.

I liked the story, and the ending made sense. I am glad they were very subtle about the abuse of the main character in her past, but you knew it was there. Not good. But integral to the story. Split was a little slow for my taste, taking a very long time to get to certain things. But that’s normal for a Shyamalan story. Signs, the village, and lady in the water were the same way. Slow. Meticulous Calculated. That’s Shyamalan for you.

But overall I enjoyed it.

And that’s my five.

Suicide Squad: Review (no spoilers)

Posted on by
Reply

I know, the critics hated it. Suicide Squad got trashed by critics while the fans seemed to really enjoy it. Odd how that works.

I will admit, I’ve been a big Batman fan from a very young age, and I absolutely, unequivocally, LOVE Harley Quinn. I always have, I always will, I own the comics series she’s that awesome. Just a little crazy, completely without fear, and always trying to find some bit of normalcy even when everything’s not quite going right.

I think the Joker was actually the weakest part of this movie. Set aside the actors performance, the writing for the Joker just wasn’t as deep and thoughtful as the other characters.

I was actually very pleasantly surprised how they managed to put in origin stories for almost all of the Suicide Squad members, and how they were caught to begin with. Then they went a little deeper, showing what made some of them tick. That brought the characters alive, giving them more dimension. The villain (who I won’t be naming) added to that depth, showing what the characters actually wanted in life. Their deepest desires.

I watched a review before going (spoiler free, thankfully) that said the movie had a over arching theme of love. I think the movie’s theme was actually love verses hate. The main villain and the woman who put the Suicide Squad together are both operating out of hatred for something. They want to destroy (or be able to destroy) the things that make them afraid. The Suicide Squad, oddly enough, is representing the choice of love in their various incarnations. In Quinn’s case it isn’t the sanest of loves, but it still is love.

This isn’t a dark brooding story like The Dark Knight, and it isn’t a non stop action movie like some of the Avenger movies. This is an action movie that has a lot of character development. It shows the men and women of the Suicide Squad coming to grips with their place in life, and becoming a team.

Also, I have to admit the main actors, Will Smith and Margot Robbie really do fantastic jobs. Viola Davis does a great job of making me really hate her character, Amanda Waller, too.

Geeky Goodness

Posted on by
Reply

There are a lot of things filled with geeky goodness going on right now. Like Adam Savage doing a recreation of the space suit from the Martian. And check out this awesome photo of the crescent moon, Venus and a two tailed comet all in the same shot.

So I thought I’d share a few of my favorite geeky things from this week.

I’ve been playing a lot of Stardew Valley lately. It’s a farm sim with a mystery hiding under the layers. While the game has a simple pixel graphic look and feel to it, there are a lot of things to find and places to explore. (But if you play it read this article first. It will save you some headaches.)

And on the subject of games, No Man’s Sky is coming out in June! I’ve been looking forward to this game for a while. It is a (sort of multiplayer) universe simulator. You can fly around in your space ship, or land and discover new planets, and resources. Then you can run like hell from the centennials trying to make sure you don’t destroy planets. I will definitely be getting this game. It is one of the few $60 games I will get.

Then, on a sad note, the final episode of Mythbusters is going up, but they are going out with a bang. Their also sending Buster off with a show stopping bang as well. (I just hope this means the newer seasons will be available on Netflix eventually.)

Deadpool was AWESOME, by the way. I’m also looking forward to Batman vs Superman and Captain America Civil War. But there are A LOT of superhero movies coming out this year. TMNT, Suicide Squad, and a new Independence Day movie… Ya, it’s a good year for movies.

 

Yes, I wrote that!

Posted on by
Reply

The new SPRT, episode 4, is out.

SPRT

We had an interview with author Lisa Grace about her movie deal, and how she weathered the trials and tribulations of dealing with lawyers, producers, and publishers to bring her indie book series to the movies.

Also, John ate his words.

If you recall, last week I published “The Pretty Leaf” for free because one of my co-hosts, John Ward, took a shot at flash-fic. And here John is, saying how great “The Pretty Leaf” really was.

I’ve had some great responses from people about “The Pretty Leaf”, and I’m really glad I wrote it. I hope you will share it with others, comment, like, or even print out to give away.

Stories are better when they are shared.

 

My co-hosts–  Carl Sinclair |  Wade Finnegan  |  Bill Dowis  |  John Ward