‘Incredibles 2’ is, well, incredible

Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, June 19, 2018

“Incredibles 2” (Animation/Action/Adventure: 1 hour, 58 minutes)

Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell and Samuel L. Jackson

Director: Brad Bird

Rated: PG (Violence and brief mild language)

Movie Review: “The Incredibles” (2004) was 14 years ago. Audiences have had to wait since then for an update about the Parrs, a family of superheroes. “Incredibles 2” is not as original as its prequel, yet it is still solid entertainment. 

Bob Parr, Mr. Incredible (Nelson), has always been the dedicated breadwinner, the hardworking patriarch of his family. The world has banned superheroes, citing them as too dangerous. 

In an attempt to show the need for superheroes, Helen, Elastigirl (Hunter), is given a gig saving the world with plenty of media hype. While Helen saves the world multiple times, Bob is at home with the couple’s children, Violet (Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner) and Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile), who is developing multiple superpowers simultaneously. Their lives transpire as a villainous threat looms in shadows.

“Incredibles 2” is fine entertainment for children and their parents. The movie has inspirational themes. Father and mothers switching roles to support their families, the mother as the family’s chief financial source and a ban on superheroes delves into the realms of politics. 

The movie intermixes these themes nicely with its focus, superheroes using their incredible powers to deter evildoers. 

At heart, this is an action flick that offers plenty. It has humor, adventure and likable characters voiced by a talented cast. It scores points on multiple levels.

Grade: B+ (Incredible, again!)

“Tag” (Comedy: 1 hour, 41 minutes)

Starring: Ed Helms, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson and Hannibal Buress

Director: Jeff Tomsic

Rated: R (Profanity, crude sexual content, drug use, violence and nudity)

Movie Review: Based on the Wall Street Journal article entitled “It Takes Planning, Caution to Avoid Being It” by Russell Adams, the movie is based on a group of men who have been playing tag for decades. 

The comedy takes it to a whole other level. While some laughs are present, it dwindles down to overdone antics, which appear adolescent in nature.

Five friends have been playing an organized game of tag for decades. Led by Dr. Hogan “Hoagie” Malloy (Helms), four of the guys travel across the country to find fitness expert Jerry Pierce (Renner). Jerry has never been tagged, and the other players want to change that for the first time.

“Tag” has its moments. It is funny and intriguing but often feels like an action movie more than a comedy. The stunts go to an extreme. The comedy often dwells in childish antics.

Grade: C (Tag, you’re — not — it.)

“Superfly” (Crime/Action: 1 hour, 56 minutes)

Starring: Trevor Jackson, Jason Mitchell and Lex Scott Davis

Director: Director X

Rated: R (Profanity, violence, nudity and sexuality)

Movie Review: “Superfly is a remake of Phillip Fenty’s 1972 screenplay (Director Gordon Parks Jr.) that starred lavishly attired, longhaired Ron O’Neal. 

The 1972 movie was a blaxploitation film that changed the manner mob bosses are observed. The latest “Superfly” is invitingly charming, yet its good plot uses some clichéd themes to capture modern audiences.

Priest (Jackson) has a plan of retiring as a successful young drug dealer. He just needs one big deal to escape his illegal life. To do this deal, he will have to survive several attempts on his life.

Director X, also known as Julien Christian Lutz, (“Across the Line,” 2015) and writer Alex Tse (“Watchmen,” 2009) give audiences an inviting movie. It easily provides a stylish production with flashy characters and an adequate performance from Trevor Jackson as the lead.

The movie could be better. The characters are more stereotypical than necessary, but that is the nature of blaxploitation photoplays. The action scenes are not as intelligently done as other parts of the movie, and some scenes are uneven.

Still, “Superfly” is likable. It is easy to get lost in this crime caper.

Grade: B- (Not super but it is fly enough.)

“First Reformed” (Drama: 1 hour, 53 minutes)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried and Cedric the Entertainer

Director: Paul Schrader

Rated: R (Thematic elements, gore, profanity)

Movie Review: “First Reformed” is all about Ethan Hawke as the Rev. Ernst Toller. He plays this role with zeal, an earnest performance about a guy in torment over his faith and environmental concerns. 

Paul Schrader aptly directs writes this feature about a man’s actions versus his beliefs, where Hawke is brilliant.

The Rev. Toller is a pastor in crisis. The ex-military chaplain struggles with the loss of his son and his church’s diminishing parishioners. Toller is already in crisis mode, but this deepens when two members of his flock ask for his advice. 

A married couple, a pregnant Mary (Seyfried) and a disillusioned environmental activist Michael (Phillip Ettinger), approach Toller about their concerns about the future and their unborn child. Toller’s views change regarding what the church should be doing, and this philosophy becomes his new religious goal.

Because you cannot expect the next scene, the drama is like real life. The movie pulls no punches. Certain thematic elements may be too strong for some members, but the movie requires audiences to contemplate the characters’ motives. 

Schrader (“American Gigolo,” 1980) helms a good cast in a beautiful manner in this drama that uses camera angles and some long moments of dialogue to create a commanding movie. 

Hawke’s dedication to the role is breathtaking. He puts soul into a movie about a man whose soul is troubled. Hawke’s character is a straightforward man. He struggles to help others as his own life is in shambles. 

Hawke plays the character convincingly. Amanda Seyfried, Victoria Hill and Cedric Kyles, a.k.a. Cedric the Entertainer, ably join Hawke.

“First Reformed” is about how love can save us or set us free. The movie could push the envelope a little bit more, it stops just when it nears an apex. It’s done on purpose, but it feels like the movie stopped too early and took an easy out. 

While this may be a good point to stop it if you want observers to keep pondering, what was about to transpire inspires curiosity. One must contemplate if the last scene continued for about five minutes longer.

Instead, Schrader’s screenplay leaves audiences wondering after some influential visuals and dialogue. He knows how to write a good drama, notables are “Raging Bull” (1980) and “Affliction” (1997). He wants to create an open dialogue. One where audiences get to fathom their own conclusion.

Grade: B+ (A first-rate reformation.)

*Playing in larger cities