Surprisingly great, surprisingly real, and surprisingly… current? Sony Pictures Animation, the studio that brought you Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse brings its latest and greatest animated film to Netflix this weekend. It’s The Mitchells vs. The Machines–a sci-fi, apocalypse, coming of age, story about a weird family that ends up being the last family on the planet to be exterminated from the planet by the very technologies humans are so addicted to. Gravity Falls creators Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe wrote and directed this story, a visually stunning spectacle reflecting life as we knew it in 2020… and may know it again, with contributions by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (both known for the LEGO movies and Into the Spider-verse). The themes are influenced by Tron and Tron: Legacy,National Lampoon’s Vacation, and the Terminator movies, leaning hard on the plot of Terminator: Genisys. It’s loud, colorful, crazy, and it gets family relationships just right, at least of the 21st century variety. It’s also the movie I was hoping for with The Incredibles 2.
If you forgot why so many fans of superhero movies rate The Incredibles as not only their top animated movie but their favorite and best superhero movie, too, The Incredibles 2 will bring you back around. It was 2004 when we first met the Parr family, and yet here 14 years later the voice acting talent hasn’t missed a beat. Sure, we have a new actor as Dash (Huck Milner, replacing Spencer Fox), but Craig T. Nelson (Bob/Mr. Incredible), Holly Hunter (Helen/Elastigirl), Sarah Vowell (Violet), and Samuel L. Jackson (Lucius/Frozone) could have recorded this in 2005 and it couldn’t have sounded any better. And sound is half of the appeal of this solid sequel to the Academy Award-winning original, which won the Oscar for best animated film.
The music is just as incredible as Michael Giacchino’s work in the original, only his expanded themes this time may have resulted in an even better soundtrack. How did he not win the Oscar for the original? Who knows, but the Oscar-winning composer (for Up) pulls out all the stops from the 1960s spy movies, leaning on James Bond themes and using trumpets frequently grinding and screaming their way through a film that must be at least 85% action. If you are patient enough to sit through the full credits you’ll even hear the “classic TV show” style theme songs for each of the lead superheroes. The Incredibles 2 was worth the wait just for the visuals and style to be mirrored just right, thanks to returning writer/director Brad Bird leading the way. Bird was nominated for an Oscar for his writing for the original, and his new story nicely balances a fresh, new adventure with those elements fans want more of. So expect more bumbling by Mr. Incredible, more heroics by Elastigirl, more everything by Frozone, more Edna Mode, and more over-the-top, zany villainy.
Why are the original and The Incredibles 2 such great superhero movies? They certainly rip the heroics from the comic book pages, they make the family of heroes endearing but not sappy, they pepper the film with humor, and connect it all with an easy, fun story–not too much drama, but when it’s there it’s because of the maniacal nature of the most memorable comic book villains. The Incredibles 2 also benefits from not feeling obligated to use the Disney convention of adding goofy irrelevant characters added only for a dose of low-brow humor. They had room to do that with super-baby Jack-Jack, but instead of leaning on him for that, they use the character to help give Mr. Incredible a rounded story arc, providing the baby with several great scenes that steal the show. Anyone who ever had someone waking them up every night at 3 a.m. will appreciate the realism of little, smiling, happy-go-lucky Jack-Jack.
At this year’s D23 convention, director Brad Bird and Disney/Pixar creator John Lasseter revealed a first look at the coming sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles with the return of superhero costumer Edna “no capes” Mode, and we saw a full trailer back in February (check it out here). Holly Hunter’s character Helen aka Elastigirl is in the drivers’ seat for the eagerly awaited sequel, and a new trailer for the movie shows us even more.
In the original film Jack-Jack revealed his powers to his babysitter. This time father Bob Farr aka Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) takes on a Mr. Mom role, doing the same kind of botched parenting antics as Michael Keaton in the 1983 film. Most of the original cast is back, including Nelson, Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson (Frozone), Sarah Vowell (Violet), with Huck Milner replacing Spencer Fox as the new voice of son Dash. Samuel L. Jackson’s Frozone looks to be as funny as ever.
That mid-century modern artistry defines this series, as well as Michael Giacchino’s 1960s-70s spy flick soundtrack, an update to his exciting original musical score. It looks like the superheroics are coming from Elastigirl in this chapter, and the humor from Mr. Incredible.
At this year’s D23 convention, director Brad Bird and Disney/Pixar creator John Lasseter revealed a first look at the coming sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles with the return of superhero costumer Edna “no capes” Mode. Bird suggested that Holly Hunter’s character Helen aka Elastigirl would be in the drivers’ seat for the eagerly awaited sequel, and a new trailer for the movie now confirms it. In The Incredibles 2, Elastigirl is back in action!
In the original film Jack-Jack revealed his powers to his babysitter. This time father Bob Farr aka Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) learns what his baby boy is already aware of. He not only has powers, he has crazy new powers! The same mid-century modern artistic style, shown particularly in the Parr family’s new house (the original was destroyed last time around).
Most of the original cast is back, including Nelson, Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson (Frozone), Sarah Vowell (Violet), with Huck Milner replacing Spencer Fox as the new voice of son Dash. Michael Giacchino will also be back with an update to his exciting original musical score.
Check out this new trailer being aired during this week’s Olympics coverage on NBC for The Incredibles 2:
It’s that time of year again, time to take a look forward at what movies should be on your radar for 2018. Are you going to see them all? Heck no. These are the genre films we think borg.com readers will want to know about to make their own checklists for the coming year. We pulled 55 of the hundreds of films that have been finalized or are in varying stages of final production for next year’s movie calendar.
What looks that it may top the list of most fanboys and fangirls? How about Ready Player One in March? Solo: A Star Wars Story and Avengers: Infinity War in May? Sequels to Deadpool and The Incredibles in June? X-Men: Dark Phoenix in November? But don’t over look other films that look promising, like Winchester in February, Tomb Raider in March, and The Predator and The Equalizer sequels in August.
So grab your calendar and start making your plans for next year–here is the list of the movies you’ll want to see in 2018:
The Commuter – January 12 — Liam Neeson’s next action thriller finds him on a train with an offer he can’t refuse. Co-starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson.
Proud Mary – January 12 — A hitwoman played by Teraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures, Empire) has her life go sideways when a mob hit goes bad. With Neal McDonough and Danny Glover.
Ophelia – January 22 — Daisy Ridley stars as Ophelia in a twist on Shakepseare’s Hamlet told from her perspective. Co-starring Naomi Watts and Tom Felton.
Please Stand By – January 26 — Dakota Fanning, Toni Collette, and Alice Eve star in a story about a young woman with autism who sets her sights on winning a Star Trek writing competition.
Winchester – February 2 — Inspired by true events, the story of the heir to the Winchester firearms fortune finds herself haunted by the deaths of all killed by the weapons, leaving her to try to avoid them in an incredible mansion. Starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke.
Cloverfield 3 (yet to be titled) – February 2 — A crew of astronauts fight for survival on a space station. Starring Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Brühl, and David Oyelowo.
Peter Rabbit – February 9 — Fox Studios brings a great cast of voice talent to their adaptation of the classic Beatrix Potter story. With Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, Rose Byrne, and Domhnall Gleeson.
Monster Family – February 9 — A family is turned into monsters in this animated romp. Starring the voices of Jason Isaacs, Emily Watson, Nick Frost, and Catherine Tate.
Black Panther – February 16 — Ryan Coogler directs Marvel Comics’ king cat superhero Black Panther in his own standalone movie. Starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, with a reunion of The Hobbit’s Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis.
At this year’s D23 convention, director Brad Bird and Disney/Pixar creator John Lasseter revealed a first look at the coming sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles with the return of superhero costumer Edna “no capes” Mode. Bird suggested that Holly Hunter’s character Helen aka Elastigirl would be in the drivers’ seat for the eagerly awaited sequel, but a new teaser for the movie shows the Incredibles family baby “Jack-Jack” will get some attention of his own.
In the original film Jack-Jack revealed his powers to his babysitter. This time father Bob Farr aka Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) learns what his baby boy is already aware of. According to The Incredibles director Bird, who will also direct the sequel, expect a return of the same mid-century modern artistic style, shown particularly in the Parr family’s new house (the original was destroyed last time around).
Most of the original cast will be back, including Nelson, Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson (Frozone), Sarah Vowell (Violet), with Huck Milner replacing Spencer Fox as the new voice of son Dash. Michael Giacchino will also be back with an update to his exciting original musical score.
Check out this incredibly short teaser for The Incredibles 2:
We’re running down several trailers released to start off San Diego Comic-Con this week. One trailer defines what Comic-Con is all about, as Stan Lee looks at the Netflix series based on his creations. The best trailer is Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, the fantasy director’s next monster movie, this time featuring his own take on the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Another good trailer is what plays out as a commercial for the giant robot “Jaegers” in a first look at the sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising, including star John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Attack the Block). Below you’ll also find trailers for Kingsman: The Golden Circle,The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Natalie Portman in Planetarium, and the fantasy world version of the AlienNation buddy cop trope, Netflix’s Bright, starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton.
We’re also including several trailers from the past week to get you caught up. These include A Wrinkle in Time, Mary Poppins Returns, Blade Runner 2049, a teaser for The Incredibles 2 (sort of), and a Blu-ray preview for Gifted starring Chris Evans.
