Sunday, June 24, 2018

Hereditary

Year: 2018
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro


Plot: After a family matriarch dies, her family experiences a series of strange and dark happenings that become more and more sinister as time goes by.


Review: Hereditary is yet another entry into the list of new age horror films that have been released in the last few years such as The Witch, The Babadook, Get Out and It Comes At Night. I'd say that Hereditary reminds me a lot of The Witch, in its execution, disturbing imagery and how the movie ends.

A family of four; Annie, a miniature artist, her husband Steve, son Peter and daughter Charlie, is a rather fractured family, even before Annie's mother Ellen recently dies. Annie's relationship with Peter is shaky and combustible, and when another death occurs, the family is even further broken. But strange and sinister events start to happen, and the family is slowly reaching a breaking point, and Annie starts to lose her mind. Or is she?

I really can't say much here, lest I give away too many plot points. Needless to say, this is one of those horror flicks that slowly gets under your skin and crawls its way into your darkest nightmares. Those of you who are expecting jump scares and loud sounds, this film is not for you. It's a disturbing piece of horror, with a pretty good payoff at the end. Director/writer Ari Aster, in his feature film debut, does well in creating a sense of dread while keeping the audience invested in the goings on. The pace is methodically slow but it somehow works in this case.

The cast perform incredibly well here. Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne and newcomer Milly Shapiro all throw in superb performances, especially Collette and Wolff as Annie and Peter respectively. Collette puts in a tour de force performance looking terrified and distraught while Wolff is great as he slowly loses his shit. Byrne is subtle as the husband trying to make sense of things and Shapiro excels in looking tragic and strange at the same time.

The film's only flaw is the rather uneventful first half, but once the second half kicks in, your patience will be well rewarded. When there are no strange things happening, the family interactions are the film's strong point, with a dinner scene standing out.

All in all, Hereditary is a solid horror drama. I will be honest: it's not for everyone. But if you're curious and you want something different from the traditional horror fare, give this a shot. (8/10) 

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Incredibles 2

Year: 2018
Director: Brad Bird
Voice cast: Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L Jackson, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Catherine Keener, Bob Odenkirk, John Ratzenberger


Plot: When the Parr family fail to stop the Underminer from robbing the bank and causing damage to the city, they are forced to relocate and go back to being regular citizens again, until a wealthy fan of superheroes comes forward and offers Helen to become Elastigirl and put superheroes back on the map. 


Review: It has been 14 years since the first Incredibles movie, and honestly I can barely recall that film now. But Pixar and Incredibles fans can now rejoice, because writer/director Brad Bird has created a sequel that will please them and non fans as well.

In this sequel, the Parrs are forced to relocate to a motel after failing to stop the Underminer (a direct follow up from the first film, in a superb action sequence at the start). A wealthy fan named Winston Deavor calls Bob, Helen and fellow hero Frozone to a meeting and proposes to make superheroes welcome to the world again. As a start, he hires Helen to put on her Elastigirl costume and do good work fighting crime, leaving Bob as a stay-at-home dad, much to his chagrin. But while Bob struggles to look after the kids, Helen faces off against a mysterious villain called the Screenslaver.

This time around, Bird does a switcheroo, where Bob becomes the house husband and Helen goes out to save the world. Helen certainly stands out as the main hero of the story, with her eldest child Violet coming into her own as well here as a teenage girl dealing with a boy problem. Jack-Jack almost steals the show as his powers start to manifest, and he has over a dozen to play with! One thing's for sure, the whole Parr family look good on screen and they really come together convincingly as a family that sticks together despite all their arguing.

Pixar's animation is top notch so I need not say much about that. But Bird certainly succeeds in upping the ante on the action sequences. There are plenty to behold here, and they come fast and hard. Each member of the Parrs, and even Frozone gets to shine in their own way here. Not forgetting of course, Edna Mode, voiced by Bird himself, making an appearance in order to help Jack-Jack deal with his abilities.

If the film has any weakness, it would be the slightly complex plot on the Screenslaver's motives, which the younger audience members might find difficult to comprehend, especially in the way it is presented. Other than that, the film is an exciting adventure all the way.

Needless to say, Incredibles 2 is an incredible movie, pun intended. (8.5/10)

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...