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After careful consideration, Quint casts his vote for THE INCREDIBLES! Which way did he lean' Find out here!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here, gathering my strength and packing my bags for a week-long adventure in LA. I'm just hoping that whatever happens at the polls, whether my guy wins or not, LA doesn't riot while I'm there nor does any terrorist group try to hit LAX at any time tomorrow!
But before I pack my riot gear and all the duct tape I can carry-on, I wanted to give you folks a short, short review of THE INCREDIBLES, which I've seen twice now. The fact that I've watched it twice already should tell you all you need to know. Simply put, THE INCREDIBLES is everything you hoped for when you heard Brad "IRON GIANT" Bird was teaming with Pixar and much more. This movie is going to make so much money, I don't know if there'll be enough bean counters in Hollywood to take on the challenge of counting it all.
THE INCREDIBLES is what any superhero movie should be. It has the heart, it has the danger, it has the characters, the music, the poses, the moments, the pacing, the bad guys... The family dynamic is absolutely brilliant. The main theme of family working together is pulled off without ever having to revert to preaching to the audience or boring them with over long and over sentimental scenes.
The voice work:
Craig T. Nelson... I grew up with POLTERGEIST and COACH, even though I never really liked COACH all that much it was one of those shows that was ALWAYS on and I, for some reason, watched. He rules the Earth in POLTERGEIST and he's note-perfect as Mr. Incredible. When he gets super-pissed in the film, he changes his voice... does something that makes him sound as cold-blooded as Ann Coulter naked in a freezer. It's shocking because throughout the whole film he's a typically nice guy. I surely hope he gets a boost from the almost guaranteed super-success of this flick.
Holly Hunter... I like Holly Hunter, but she's not my favorite actress of all time. That said, I didn't recognize her at all as Elastigirl. She plays it perfectly, my favorite parts being her very Black Cat/Spider-Man rooftop flirtation with Mr. Incredible at the beginning of the film. She plays the character that's hardest to like, because as a mom she's trying to repress the superpowers of her children and keep their whole existence safe. In other words, she tries to stop the fun. It's a testament to what Ms. Hunter did with the voice work that you can not only feel for Elastigirl, but also come to love her.
Spencer Fox and Sarah Vowell... these two completely unknown kids voice Dash and Violet, the two super-kids. Dash is easily my favorite character. He's in love with his superpowers, in love with adventure and his boyish, unadulterated excitement is contagious. Violet has a little more of a self-image hurdle to overcome, which is fitting as her power is invisibility (and the ability to make force fields... so, Invisible Woman, but as a Wednesday Addams-esqe young teen), but her discovering her true ability and reveling in it is spectacular to watch... She has a quiet "birth of a superhero" moment that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end... just watch when she puts on the mask. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of Violet and Dash costumes come next Halloween, and deservedly so.
Samuel L. Jackson... Well, he is the man and always has been, even before Tarantino underlined his god-like status in KILL BILL v2. He plays Frozone (aka Iceman with soul and an attitude that won't quit). He rules the earth, as usual, but be ready for him to appear for very little of the runtime.
Jason Lee... This man deserves much applause for not simply reverting to his "wacky Jason Lee as known from Kevin Smith's films" persona. It took me about 3/4ths of the movie for me to place a name with his character... And boy is Syndrome a great villain. Over the top, but not stupid, intelligent and completely aware of what's going on around him. He's got a great backstory, too, which we see in much of the first act of the film.
There are some other great talent involved, including Wallace "Inconceivable!" Shawn and director Brad Bird himself as Edna Mode, who is probably the easiest to quote character.
The film is darker than you think it is. It opens with a gunfight. Superheroes die, both on-screen and off and henchmen get battered and blown up. There's a reason this film got a PG and it makes all the difference in the world. Bird's imagination is in high form in all aspects of the film. The design of the island lair, the waterfall door, the "stingray" entry, the lava passage... all perfect and shows a side to superhero films that isn't on full display, even in the best live-action fare like SPIDER-MAN 2. Does Bird top IRON GIANT? I can't say, yet. I can tell you that THE INCREDIBLES made a bigger impact on me upon first viewing, but IRON GIANT has proven it's a modern classic upon multiple viewings, something INCREDIBLES hasn't had the chance to do yet.
I don't think there's much else I can say without giving too much of the film away. THE INCREDIBLES is everything you could ever want in a superhero flick... scratch that, it's everything you can want in ANY flick. Go, enjoy the movie. I know you will!
Anyway, I'm off. Wish me luck on avoiding mass hysteria/riots/bombings in my travels! I've got some goodies for you folks in the near future, so keep them balls o'jelly in your head aimed at the site, squirts. 'Til that day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
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wow...not much to say...I want to see this movie...
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This could be great. Has the potential to be Fantastic (no pun intended). People are going to bang on about how much money it makes, but I'm just excited to see one of the first realisations of superheroes on a comic-book scale in the movies. Live action is one thing, but it can never capture the appeal or boundless imagination that animated stuff can do....
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Nov 02, 2004 3:45:09 AM CST
"Ann Coulter naked in a freezer"...if Dahmer was still kickin' y
by smarkjobber
Besides the Coultergeist reference, I must thank you for finally mentioning Jason Lee and the rest of the voicework. No other review has shed much light on that aspect.
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Nov 02, 2004 4:15:27 AM CST
I can't decypher Quint's ramblings - did he like it? hahaha
by scrumdiddly
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Nov 02, 2004 4:33:42 AM CST
One quibble.Sarah Vowell is not an unkonwn kid. She's a world-f
by hercules
The crusty seaman's right about "The Incredibles," though; it's another first-rate piece of work from Pixar, and Sarah's great in it. The folks behind the "Fantastic Four" movie have got to be pissing their pants.
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Check this out, it's great.
http://www.nickgibbons.com/fastDriver.html -
Blasto, as in Gremlin Blasto? If so, I remember that game.
I look forward to seeing this movie. -
Nov 02, 2004 1:21:09 PM CST
Sarah Vowell?? SARAH FUCKING VOWELL????? That's awesome, why i
by minderbinder
She's hilarious, you can often hear her on This American Life, the best damn radio show in the land. If only they could have had David Sedaris do the voice of the brother...
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Pixar picks the voice talent that works best for the character and Dreamworks picks the voice talent that looks best on the poster. I had serious doubts when I heard they picked Ellen Degeneres for Nemo's Dory, but she did an amazing job and I can't imagine Dory sounding any other way. Quint makes it sound like solid choices all around again. I am so looking forward to seeing this film Friday.
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He's Officer Tenpenny in the hit PS2 game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas", he's in "The Incredible", he's in "Star Wars Episode III", he's EVERYWHERE! --By the way, if you want a star-studded, excellent game, play GTA:SA. Where else are you going to find a cast that includes George Clinton, Axl Rose, Ice T, Chris Penn, Charlie Murphy, James Woods, Debi Mazar, Bijou Phillips, China Chow, Andy Dick, and Chuck D., among others..? Where else are you going to get a great 90's-style gangsta movie plot mixed with gameplay that includes driving, gambling, parachuting, flying, pimping, taxi-driving, gangbanging, home invasion and burglary, dating sim, and more? I highly recommend it, and I think this game is the starting point of the true blurring of the lines between movies and games. This is not more of the same... This is a huge, deep game that has something for everybody. Samuel L. Jackson approved of it, man! SAM JACKSON! Come ON!
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fact. do not put that shit and animation in the same context.
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All too easy.
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Nov 02, 2004 5:03:32 PM CST
"Look Diane... Before. After. Before. After. Before. After."
by docpazuzu
Craig T Nelson and Poltergeist do rule the Earth.
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I don't get why people like that shitty movie so much. FUCK iron giant.
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Brad Bird should have written and directed it. That's all.
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Brad Bird should have written and directed it. That's all.
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Brad Bird should have written and directed it. That's all.
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Brad Bird should have written and directed it. That's all.
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They didn't want to give him flame powers. For some reason.
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Nov 03, 2004 6:19:57 AM CST
Looks very funny ... with computer animated superhero goodness.
by jdanielp
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Nov 03, 2004 8:19:07 AM CST
Learn more about Sarah Vowell here: http://www.barclayagency.com
by memyself
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Or does anyone else hear Axl Rose bleating "Welcome to the Jungle" in the GTA/SA commercials and think of Chris Griffin from the Family Guy?
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and it will get my mind off the horrible loss the world took today as George Bush won the Presidency, the end is coming soon for many now thanks to all the great American voters!
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Nov 03, 2004 8:11:59 PM CST
Sam Jackson gets a lot of work because all he cares about is $$$
by bigtuna
He's a freaking sell-out! I don't know why so many people say he's such a great actor. He acts the same in every film. I've heard him say he does so many movies because his wife spends a lot of his money and likes to shop. This guy only cares about the paycheck.
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Nov 04, 2004 1:34:37 AM CST
There's a nifty ART OF THE INCREDIBLES book in the stores now (a
by frankdrebin
The sketches for Syndrome's island lair look very cool.
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Nov 04, 2004 7:29:51 PM CST
Samuel "How much do you pay me and does this script make my char
by salvatoregravano
Anyway, his only role I actually remember well is the anonymous thug in "Coming to America" - a scene in which Eddie Murphy rapes Jackson with a broom.
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Just got back from the first showing in my town. I was blown away. I even took my 2 year old son along for the ride and it held his attention throughout. There are several GREAT moments on screen. This is how all super hero movies should be made. They're getting closer and closer to being able to make CGI people look like real at a fraction of what it used to take. Imagine Thor, Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers in CGI. Of course, it takes more than illustrators and computers . . . we need great writers. People who can tell an intelligent story with great well-developed characters. Perhaps one day someone with the power to do just that will jump in and get it done. Perhaps that day was today. Hey Hollyweird, look what Brad Bird did with new Super-Heroes, what can you do with established ones?
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just a great all around film very very funny
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I saw the Incredible today. Highly recommended. I thought it borrowed a lot from James Bond movies. I also recognized bits from Johnny Quest, Star Wars and others. There were lots of parallels to Sky Captain, but instead of being heavily influenced by films of the '30s and '40s, it was influenced by movies of the '60s. Like Sky Captain, it had bad guys on a remote island with big rockets and robots, threatening the earth. Although not as original a concept as the previous Pixar films, it think it's the best.
Some people have said how Pixar is close to making realistic people. What nonsense. Pixar's rendering has never been the state-of-the-art. Pixar excels in animating emotion in their characters, but realistic humans is not their forte. They have yet to match the realism already achieved in Final Fantasy. Unfortunately, the animation of emotion and speech in Final Fantasy was not up to par with their texturing. Pixar makes 3D cartoons, not 3D realism. Fortunately for us, they make good stories as well. -
Just awesome. Saw it yesterday with my 15 year old...just waiting for the ROTS trailer that they DIDN'T play...but the movie was just GREAT!
Pixar RULES! -
Anyone notice that Syndrome is a thinner dead ringer for Harry?
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