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The Incredibles (2004) was a masterpiece in my in and truly set its self apart from most animated and superhero movies at the time. However, Incredbles 2 did not have the same effect: personally i believe that the film primarily sold itself on the well expected hype that would come from the fans of the first film along with all of the new viewers who were sold the film by all of the extremely positive reviews of the first film. Incredibles 2 relies heavily on the nostalgia of fans which disappointed me as it came across as lazy from a narrative point of view; while I believe that the animations were undoubtedly incredible (i couldn't resist) that isn't enough to distract from the rather lacking story line. While the first film felt fresh with a new perspective on the super hero genre, having them outlawed rather than praised and focusing on the effect that their city wide battles would cause on the real world, the sequel just felt like a slight rehashing of the original, with a twist added in that doesn't surprise nor shock viewers. Syndrome was an amazing antagonist: from his lack of actual super powers, to his somewhat realistic motivations, he was an all-round great character that people love to hate. Screenslaver, while also a fairly adequate antagonist, is less interesting due to a poor backstory that isn't covered too much, uninspired and unrealistic motivations and we don't get the sense that Screenslaver is as invested in their evil doings when compared to a maniacal villain such as Syndrome. We learn about how Syndrome tested and tinkered with his evil creations to achieve his goal and become the ultimate anti-hero, this gives the audience a better understanding of Syndrome and how motivated he is to achieving his goal. In comparison, Screenslaver doesn't get too much development, we don't get to see any progress of their evil plans, we don't get to see any past failed attempts, and we don't get to understand how their motivations lead to their plans. Overall i found Incredibles 2 to be unoriginal and a cash-grab if anything. I can definitely see that a lot of money, time and effort went into making this movie, especially the animation, but the story felt rushed and uninspired, i never truly related to the characters or felt for them in any way. I found the film to be enjoyable nonetheless however i believe the story and some of the characters needed to be improved upon and needed to be further developed.

Hey guys - check out our trailer for our "Who-dun-it" feature film. You can also visit www.stillwaterthemovie.com for more information. https://youtu.be/jTvlCvPPKdw

Originally uploaded about a month ago... Finally! Incredibles 2 hit the cinemas. I remember the first Incredibles being something I watched as a kid as much as I could (though it was dubbed in Turkish most of the time...) - but was the sequel worth the wait? Did I like it? Well, if you care to know... give the review a watch. :-)

Who are we? We can't protect them. For me, "Upgrade" deserves the title "Best SF of the Year". And unhesitatingly I call "A quiet place" the best horror of 2018. Even though it's more Science-fiction than horror per se. I've been watching horror movies all my life and have already finished a whole list. Frankly, I was terrified of creeps like Dracula and Frankenstein until I was about 14 years old. If I even had seen a small fragment, I would go to bed shaking like a leaf and I'dd crawl behind a giant teddy bear. In my youthful fantasy, this bear was my protection against the creatures of the night. And when I saw "Evil Dead" for the first time and, to my astonishment, watched it without too many problems (as if I was numb), I knew my fear of horrors had disappeared from the face of the earth. Since then, I watch a horror with a certain kind of indifference. Last week I saw the articles about the trailer for "The Nun" and the fact they've removed it from YouTube after jump-scare complaints and people saying it's too scary. At the end of the trailer, I wondered when it would start to be frightening. Well, never. But "A quiet place" ... that's a different story. You want scary? This movie is. It's not that I broke out into cold sweat constantly or that I wet myself because of the rising tension. But I admit. At a certain moment, I sat on the edge of my seat and the tense atmosphere, in the end, made me gasp for breath. I can't remember a film in which the constant threat and fear were so explicitly present. And the constant silence in this film is deafening. Yet a daring choice to use this necessary silence in a horror film where usually sudden loud sound effects cause a jump-scare. The scriptwriters of "A quiet place" didn't have a lot of work with dialogues in this film. For the greater part of the film, they used hand gestures and occasionally they were allowed to whisper. A necessity, otherwise you won't be having a long and prosperous life. Those things have ears my kids are missing. At the start, you're wondering (at least if you go in without any prior knowledge) why this family behaves in this way and what the result will be if they don't stick to the imposed rules. Believe me, you will soon find out. First in a really cruel way. And then through the sporadic displaying of news articles that Lee (John Krasinski) collects. In my opinion, the things that harass this family and react to any random sound are the most frightening creatures I've ever seen in a film. They are as murderous and cruel as a Xenomorph from "Alien". I looked breathlessly at the design and anatomy of these deadly creatures whose most important body organ is a freakishly large and sophisticated auditory organ. They made quite an impression on me. So fascinating. It's almost perfect. In retrospect, this film is almost perfect. On all levels. In terms of content, it's a brilliant story. The special effects are amazingly good. The acting is sublime. Each character delivers decent acting. John Krasinski as Paterfamilias and who acts as a protector for his family. And he also (in complete silence) tries to develop a working hearing aid for his deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds). Without a doubt, the best interpretation is delivered by her. And not only because she's actually deaf in real life and thus plays this role in a realistic way. But as part of the story, she captures the imagination the most. Emily Blunt plays the pregnant, caring mother Evelyn who's about to give birth. A happy event that brings the necessary headaches. And lastly Noah Jupe in a perhaps smaller role as the youngest son Marcus, but still of crucial importance. And then there's Cade Woodward. But unfortunately, his contribution was really short-lived. All of them deliver a top performance. Don't say I haven't warned you. So be warned. This brilliant film is an outright nail-biter and will make your blood run cold at certain times. And this thanks to the tight script and the scary atmosphere supported by a threatening soundtrack. Sometimes a horror cliché is used. In a world of silence, for example, an upstanding nail in the wooden cellar staircase will cause the necessary consequences of course. But that's the only thing, in a film which excels in originality. What you do realize after watching this film, is that we humans live in an extremely noisy world. And there's no "mute" button you can use when such creatures come to visit you. I bet it'll be quiet subsequently. No doubt about that. My rating 9/10

(Release Info London schedule; September 8th, 2018, Curzon Bloomsbury, 11:00) "The Rider" After a tragic riding accident, young cowboy Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau), once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, is warned that his competition days are over. Back home, Brady finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose; to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America. Young cowboy Brady Blackburn, once a rising star of the rodeo circuit and an uniquely gifted horse trainer, is warned that his riding days are over after a horse badly crushed his skull at a rodeo and put him in a three-day coma. Back home on 'The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation', South Dakota, Brady struggles with the physical and emotional complications of the accident. He is comforted by his inimitable little sister Lilly (Lilly Jandreau), who has 'Asperger’s Syndrome', while tensions between him and his gambling father, Wayne (Tim Jandreau), approach a breaking point when Wayne resorts to selling Brady’s favorite horse to keep their trailer home. With few alternatives and little desire for a different way of life, Brady feels a growing sense of inadequacy unable to ride and rodeo; the essentials of being a cowboy, and the defining elements in his life. Frustrated, Brady starts to drift away from his rodeo friends and spend more time with his friend Lane (Lane Scott), who's in intensive rehab after his once promising bull-riding career ended in a tragic accident. As time goes on, Brady can’t stay away from his horses. He decides to start riding and training them again. However, the complications of his head injury soon puts him in dangerous situations and eventually back in the hospital. After another painful loss in his life, in an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady recklessly returns to the rodeo. Locked in a battle he can’t win, Brady has to decide between healing with the help of his family and friends, or risking it all to keep the only sense of self he’s ever known. This film is about a group of Lakota cowboys living on 'Fhe Pine Ridge Indian Reservation'. Despite the fair complexion some of them have, they're born and raised on the reservation and are both 'Oglala Lakota Sioux" and bonafide cowboys. They wear feathers in their hats to honor their Lakota ancestry, Indian cowboy, a true American contradiction. Brady Blackburn is a twenty-year old Lakota cowboy. He's a member of 'The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe' and currently resides on 'Pine Ridge'. He's a saddle bronc rider and a horse trainer, who lives like a man of the land. He hunts on horseback, fishes in the white river, spends most of his days working with wild horses, breaking and training them until they're fit for selling. Like a fish to water, Brady seems to understand every movement of the horse, as if they're locked in some kind of telepathic dance routine. He's been doing it since he was eight years old, and it's miraculous to observe. On April 1st, 2016 Brady enters 'The PRCE Rodeo' in Fargo, North Dakota. He's to compete in the 'Saddle Bronc' section and feels confident after a string of successful rides during the season. But that night Brady is thrown off. The bucking horse stomps on his head and near fatally crashed his skull. Brady’s brain bled internally. He has a seizure and fell into a three day coma. It's about Brady’s struggles, both physically and emotionally, as he comes to terms with his injury. Brady now has a metal plate in his head, and suffers from other health issues associated with a severe traumatic brain injury. The doctor advises him to never ride again. If he hits his head again, it could be fatal. But Brady is back breaking wild horses in no time. Beyond the financial hardships that came with the injury, Brady’s response make think us about the psychological impact these injuries have on young men like him, what it must be like to live in the heartland of America, unable to match up to the ideal image of a cowboy, an image these young men have tried to live up to their whole lives. Everyone in the film comes from in and around the reservation. This includes Brady’s father, Tim, an old school cowboy who taught Brady all he knows. His bright and spirited little sister, Lilly, who has 'Asperger’s Syndrome', and expressed herself completely free of inhibitions. His rodeo friends, all sharing in Brady's hopes, fears and dreams, and one of his best-friends Lane, who's completely paralyzed after an accident that ended his promising bull riding career. Brady, who works as a professional horse trainer, trained horses for the first half of each day in order to have them ready for a horse sale. The film captures a lot of authentic footage of Brady training and interacting with horses, while fully taking advantage of the magical South Dakota sunset. The film captures moments in an organic yet cinematic way in order to further integrate a complete sense of reality into the narrative. Through Brady’s journey, both on and off screen, the film explores the culture of masculinity and to offer a more nuanced version of the classic American cowboy. It's an authentic portrait of the rough, honest and beautiful American heartland. Utilizing long, visually stunning takes, "The Rider" explores the prairies of the American heartland with urgency and authenticity while delivering an emotionally involving drama about an existential dilemma.

The Happytime Murders (Brian Henson, 2018) In a Trump ridden, post-Brexit world it’s safe to say we need more fun. We focus so much of our daily lives on the mundane or the shambles of the globe, that cinema creates the perfect environment for anyone and everyone to zone out of reality for a couple of hours and immerse yourself into a beautiful fictional world… If you are searching for such an escape, do not watch The Happytime Murders. The art of puppetry began in the 5th Century in Ancient Greece with the intent to communicate the needs of human societies through entertainment. Of course, in more recent popular culture puppets sing at Christmas in The Muppets Christmas Carol (Henson, 1992) and teach children the correct names for the primary colours in Sesame Street. However, someone somewhere in the distant land of Hollywood decided puppets now need to be focussed at an adult audience, perhaps a film where sex, drugs and murder are the foundations of hysterics and Melissa McCarthy has a puppet liver. (Yeah, you read that right). The film’s narrative follows Phil Phillips (voiced by Brain Barretta), a puppet disgraced ex-cop trying to get by in a world where puppets and humans co-exist. When cast members of an old hit TV show The Happytime Gang start getting murdered, Phillips is forced to team up with his ex-partner Connie Edwards (McCarthy). Of course, at first they hate each other - fighting in hot tubs and cursing at each other on the streets of L.A. - but then they are reminded why they were friends and begin to have each other’s backs. So, other than the puppets, why is the film so shockingly bad? Let me tell you. The comedy in The Happytime Murders is not clever or witty. It is schoolboy humour focussing on sex and profanity. The writers have placed puppets in human situations and expected the comedy to flourish itself, not focussing their efforts on the script or screenplay. Unfortunately, taking colourful puppets and characterising them as sleazy guys in a strip club does not make for an entertaining scene. Furthermore, the narrative itself is uninspiring. The outcome of the plot is as predictable as the jokes. McCarthy seems to attract parts which are rouge, out of control characters that always end up finding empathy, overcoming their selfishness and saving the day. Think about it: The Heat (2013), Identity Thief (2013), Tammy (2014)…You see McCarthy in the film’s trailer and you know what the movie will be. No surprises there. The plot also overlooks some characters which have narrative potential. Bubbles (Maya Rudolph) is set up to simply be Phillip’s secretary, dressing in mismatched patterns and sporting a lovely perm, she is odd but forgettable. However, in one scene, where she and Edwards break into a suspect’s house, she knows to pick a lock. And she does it pretty quickly! As a member of the audience you are eager for more of Bubbles from this point in the movie, is she an ex-con? Does she have some skeletons in her closet? What is her obsession with bananas? Bubbles is evidently not just the stereotypical secretary character the writers would have you believe her to be. The cast list for The Happytime Murders shocked me, are there really this many well-known actors and actresses desperate for roles in Hollywood? For example, Elizabeth Banks who in the film plays Jenny Peterson, an out of work actress turned stripper. Banks is probably best known for her role in The Hunger Games (as Effie Trinket, 2012-2015), as Betty Brant in three of Marvel’s Spiderman films (2002-2007) and for her work producing, directing and starring in all three Pitch Perfect movies (2012-2017). Why is Banks in this trainwrek of a production? I would really like to know. Overall, I would not recommend The Happytime Murders. The immature humour and predictable plot forced four people to grab their bags and leave the screen I was in (it really was that bad). Hopefully Hollywood bosses will leave puppets for junior audiences for the time being, and reward us adults with the blissful escapism which we all need.

Ok so low budget straight to dvd sequel it was never going to be as good as the original and to be frank it isnt. majormajor plot holes like the start when a fishing vessel gets a warning that they are in dangerous water they look round and theres nothing but the horizon in any direction moments later when they are dead theres our hero there on a lilittle dingy/speed boat. Where the bloody hell did he come from. Anyway back to the turn your brain off for 1hr 34 minute film that is deep blue sea 2. The action scenes are ok but nothing spectacular that hasnt been done better before and the hamfisted acting from the cast isnt terrible but never going to be oscar worthy but with the script there given they do an ok job. There all good eye candy and mostly make for good shark food. The arrival of baby sharks is absolutly terrible and go on to make the movie worse than what it realy is. Overall its a straight to dvd sequel so maybe i was expecting to much and being a big fan of the original. So il give it a 5 out of 10 for effort.

(Release Info London schedule; September 18th, 2018, Empire Leicester Square, 20:00) "A Simple Favor" "A Simple Favor", a stylish post-modern suburban noir directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily Nelson's (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town. Stephanie is joined by Emily's husband Sean (Henry Golding) in this stylish thriller filled with twists and betrayals, secrets and revelations, love and loyalty, murder and revenge. Assume nothing about the two mothers at the center of this fresh and deliciously twisted stylish thriller. Surfaces may be bright and polished, but no one is what they seem. At the core of this story is an unlikely film noir protagonist, the sunny and practical suburban mommy vlogger, Stephanie. Stephanie’s perky search for domestic bliss, friendship and killer recipes accidentally leads her into a mad tangle of dirty secrets and fatal lies when she meets ultra-glamorous mom, Emily. When Stephanie is first approached by Emily to come over for a playdate, she's intrigued. Emily is mysterious and alluring with her super-posh lifestyle; a city job in high fashion, a sexy British author husband and an impeccably modern, showcase house. Stephanie is flattered when Emily seems to quickly latch onto her as a confidante and new best friend. She appears to be the ultimate insider, and Stephanie feels like she has cracked into a world of her most extravagant mommy dreams. 'I need a simple favor', Emily says one afternoon. Without hesitation, Stephanie eagerly agrees to take Emily’s son, Nicky, home with her after school one day. However, simple becomes complicated when Emily disappears completely, leaving Stephanie with her son and not a single clue. Following her own moms, everything yourself credo, Stephanie takes it upon herself, with the help of her social media followers, to find her missing friend. She has no idea just how convoluted this mystery will become as boundaries of friendship and loyalty are tested and lurid truths are unburied. Stephanie is about to enter an inky-black, nerve-wracking journey into deception, duplicity and transgressions, including her own. Stephanie is someone we all know, the mom whose whole life is all about being a people pleaser and always doing nice things for others; and who's taken advantage of because of that. We root for her, even as she’s having her eyes opened to the darkness all around her. She also has a lot of blinders on, and those blinders get peeled off the hard way starting from the moment Emily disappears. As successful and controlling as she's, Emily’s life turns out to be anything but stable. When we first meet Emily, she’s very provocative and unflappable, but then we find out she’s also incredibly vulnerable. Her personality is multifaceted. She’s lived so many different and dangerous lives. Stephanie goes through the biggest transformation in this movie because she starts out as what we think is the perfect mom, but when she feels screwed over, that's when she starts to crack open and take on the best attributes of Emily; the drive, the ambition, the not-taking-no-for-an-answer. She becomes more skeptical of human nature and uses it to good effect. Stephanie is upbeat and always seeing the bright side, so she can be a little insufferable. When it comes to her relationship with Emily, she’s willing to put up with a lot of abuse because it’s preferable to her loneliness. And Stephanie also wants validation from Emily. That's something a lot of women experience to some degree in some friendships. In Stephanie and Emily, you've two very different women, a stay-at-home mom and an ambitious career woman, who would never have been friends had it not been for their sons. To up the visual fun, the film turns Stephanie from a blogger to a vlogger. While the book switches points-of-view, the film keeps Stephanie as the center of the action in every scene. We then watch her as her can-do mommy persona weathers a breathless storm of suspicion, catastrophe and psychological warfare. Stephanie tries so hard, yet she knows she’s mocked by the other mothers. Her vlog followers are really her only friends, but they’re her surrogate friends. So she's lonely and she’s also haunted by sins in her past, and all that has informed her desire to become the perfect mom. Emily is so fashionable and slick, but it’s also a façade. Intriguingly, both Emily and Stephanie have dark pasts, but they hide them in very different ways; Stephanie by baking healthy cookies and Emily by working in high fashion, which is all about surfaces and mystique. This is the ‘beatific wife' or this is the ‘bossy bitch,’ but in this film you might think Stephanie is the chirpy mom you want to make fun of, but then you start realizing maybe your perception isn’t quite right. Stephanie has other sides to her and she’s got all these secrets. Sean (Henry Golding) is Emily’s dashing, but disillusioned husband, who seems to be befuddled by her disappearance, and increasingly turns to Stephanie for solace and support and more. Sean was once a celebrated writer and the talk of the town in New York so this led to him being chased by Emily. She was very seductive, powerful and strong, but it became a toxic relationship because eventually she became his everything when he stopped writing. When Emily goes missing, and he’s so distraught, he finds compassion and comfort with Stephanie, and it’s something he’s never experienced. Adding to those twists and turns from more innocent points of view are Stephanie’s son, Miles (Joshua Satine) and Emily’s son, Nicky (Ian Ho); both who echo their mother's rivalry as things get more and more complicated. Nicky is a little spitfire who knows more than anyone believes, and Miles is like an extension of Stephanie, in that Stephanie has hidden away from him anything that is sad and dark. Darcey Bell’s 2017 debut novel 'A Simple Favor' quickly drew notice as one of that year’s most addictive reads, keeping readers up late frantically turning pages. It also stood out as something distinctive and of-the-moment. For within it's twisty web of betrayal and revenge, also lay a cutting exploration of a mommy blogger navigating the overwhelming age of modern motherhood; complete with all it's fierce protectiveness, social media competitiveness, loneliness, envy and endless search for getting it absolutely perfect. The book takes a different attitude. The book always has it's tongue firmly planted in it's cheek. The film upend the woman-in-peril storyline that has become a staple of entertainment. Instead, she toys with our familiarity with the structure, but also subverts it. This movie is a twisting suspense thriller, but also a tasty satire on our constant striving for the flawlessly-curated 21st century life. The film really defies comparisons, which is what people are going to like about it. There are pieces you can isolate or compare to other things, but ultimately it really feels new and fresh with influences from many genres. The lure of "A Simple Favor" ìs that it seemed to have all the ingredients; a nail-biting plot, diabolical imagination, tongue-in-cheek humor, characters of never-ending psychological complications and a deceivingly serene suburban setting; to let him stretch the expected shape of the thriller form. The film is definitely funny, but it also takes you through a whole range of emotions and major twists and turns that haven’t explored before. Thrilling things happen in the daylight rather than in darkly lit rooms. In the suburbs, there's not a lot of hiding among the white walls and bright windows. You see what's going on, at least in the open. It's a story about the nature of secrets, how they ripple outward, informing our relationships and lives, but it’s also about women’s choices. This is a theme that underpins the soaring popularity of domestic noir as a cultural phenomenon; that women are required to choose a role to play in life and also penalized for breaking out of those roles. This story looks at how different women decide between career and children. What are the compromises we make on both sides, and what do we lose when we make them. Unfolding in a deceptively placid Connecticut greenbelt, "A Simple Favor" brings a distinctively sunlit, color-splashed façade to the darkest of movie genres. It's the idea of a 21st century suburban noir and to starkly contrast the beauty and lightness of the film’s visual design with the ceaselessly turbulent turns of Stephanie and Emily’s story. The story as harking back to 'The Golden Age of Hollywood’s' thrillers with their comic-tinged theatricality, but also unsettling undercurrents. “A Simple Favor" pays homage to those hyper stylized, thrilling films with a tense storyline and characters who are purposely a bit over the top. We've different iterations of ourselves that we put out into the world; our social media personality versus who we're at home vs who we're at work, etc. In this film there’s an interesting examination of that, who we're vs who we present ourselves to be. Women are nurtured to strive to maintain a certain level of perfection, whether outward or inward, but we're all imperfect and that’s a conversation that’s much more awesome than perfection. Exposing true selves is something the characters ultimately do in this film. And you love them all the more for it. The result is a film that keeps the audience guessing and questioning what they’re seeing and feeling for nearly every second of its running time, right up through the final frame. Each reveal in the film is more fun and shocking than the last and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s the kind of film that has so many hidden foreshadowing moments that it will be really fun to watch over and over.