The Incredibles

It was only by chance that I saw The Incredibles (yet again :D) while channel surfing last afternoon. In a way, I was trying to get over the near disastrous impact that 4084 had on my brains and the really bad taste that Alvin and the Chipmunks – The Squeakuel had left me with a couple of days back. One way to get over a bad movie is to watch a really good one to balance things out. Sometimes you get lucky and a good one pops up on TV immediately after. This time around, I had 2 good movies on TV on a Sunday both of which I had send before but I wasn’t complaining at all because my mind was actually crying out for quality cinema in 2011. Notice that all the movies that I have seen this year haven’t been that great. So thank you very much once again to Walt Disney & Pixar for having given us this Academy Winner for 2005.


While The Incredibles may not feature in my list of top 5 Animation movies of all time, there is absolutely no taking away from it the fact that it has an Oscar to its credit and that it is an excellent example of good quality animation and screenplay. While I cannot quite understand the technical aspects of movie making such as Sound Editing (another category in which The Incredibles won an Oscar), it would probably suffice to say that the quality of sound and the use of the same is simply stunning – sorry but my understanding in this part is fairly limited .

I had always thought that The Incredibles was another comic book from the stable of Marvel or DC Comics or the likes. It came as an Incredible surprise to say the least when I figured out during my usual research after the movie that the movie was actually written by the director Brad Bird – who I coincidentally lambasted a few weeks ago for his really bad execution of Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. However, in the creation of The Incredibles he has hardly put a foot wrong. A nomination for screenplay was well deserved to say the least. I cannot actually think of too many super hero movies which were created for the screen. What he lost out to was Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind which was indeed nothing to feel sorry about.

The Incredibles gets to the fore a set of characters, super heroes, who will not catch the fancy of only the segment upto tweenagers but extend itself to much older age groups like this author. Whether it is the lead role of the beefy Mr. Incredible (Craig T Nelson) himself or the minor side role of Edna aka E (The voice of Brad Bird again – how versatile is this guy?). Even the character of Syndrome (Jason Lee) is so clearly sketched out that you cannot but appreciate it. That Bird has prequalified the Incredible nature of his characters helps significantly in building the expectation from the crowd to, “Expect the Unexpected” like any other super hero movie. So even the surprising additional sper hero qualities which appear in Violet (Sarah Vowell) would go pardoned in a manner of speaking.

The Incredibles ended with The Underminer (John Ratzenberger) making his appearance and I wonder why the follow up hasn’t made its appearance yet. It would be so much better than the “squeakuels” that we have been forced to sustain. 7.5 on 10 for The Incredibles from my side. Must watch if you haven’t yet. Playing on Star Movies these days.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2963250457/

The Proposal

Now, how many of us (men) would love to have a hot female boss? All those who said no can hang a board around their necks which says “LIAR” in big bold italics in the largest font available these days. Now I am at no point of time suggesting that Sandra Bullock is your version of a “Hot” Boss. It was just a fictional question. Now think about how many of you would want to get married to a boss that looks like Sandra Bullock and behaves like she is the bitchiest (if there was a term like that) person on mother earth? In this case, I am quite certain not too many of us would like to. But then such bosses do not really look at consensual marriages right? Especially when their existence in a country is threatened because she has over stayed the period as allowed by her visa. And worse, there is a promotion due. Well, you have the best possible concoction for a romantic comedy which is not too much of a drag per se but definitely gets a bit boring in parts.

The Proposal is director, Anne Fletcher’s (one of the regrettably few female directors we have on the block) 3rd movie if I am not mistaken. She did have notable mentions in Step Up which has gone onto become a reasonably successful franchise if I understand correctly and 27 Dresses which starred the gorgeous Katherine Heigl and was one of the better RomComs made to date. Doesn’t make Fletcher a great director or anyone in the league of the likes of a Garry Marshall. The Proposal barely makes the cut as a Romantic Comedy. Quite a few unnecessary “awww” moments that are expected to look cute but fall a bit flat. I personally thought the scene with the dog, mobile phone and an eagle thrown in should have been chopped off on the cutting board. Fletcher’s team doesn’t exceed too many benchmarks in terms of screenplay either with it being uninspiring in most parts.

And the acting is barely average. Now that I think of it, almost all aspects of this movie are barely average. Surprising to say the least that the likes of Sandra Bullock who got her Oscar in the same year as The Proposal right – for the Blind Side. I guess she reserved most of her acting talent for the more serious movie. Not that she has been a shining beacon of hope for most actresses but she is definitely more capable than what I saw in this movie. I would say the same of Ryan Reynolds who has been brilliant at picking up some of the most horrible movies ever. Thankfully for him, The Proposal wasn’t really as bad as some of the other disasters in his life. The only performance that seemed to be a bit endearing was that of Betty White as Annie Gammy (Grandma). Entertaining in bits but a bit below par on all counts to sum it up. 5.5 on 10 but watchable.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi125895193/