The Incredibles (Full Screen 2-Disc Collector's Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic who?
Review: I always go to watch a Pixar movie with my eyes squinted. They have all been so good that I am waiting for one to be a stinker. This movie is not that movie. I'll admit that I thought it drug a little bit in the middle, but by the end of the movie, I was absolutely thrilled. When the family finally started using their super powers, it became a whole new movie and I really enjoyed it. My favorite scenes were the ones where the Mom was using her powers. They were the most creative and technically amazing. A great movie that sucks you in and makes you enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Incredible Incredibles!
Review: I had zero desire to see this movie, but my nine year old talked me into it. I am soooo glad that she did. This is the cutest movie I have seen in a long time. I suffer through all of the children's movies for my children, but this one was different. Witty and fun. Highly recommended for children of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Solid Family Entertainment and beautiful to behold
Review: I love this movie. For me this movie is, without ANY doubt, the greatest super-hero movie made to date. This film displays action sequences that are jaw-dropping in scope, creative in execution, and as thrilling as they are beautiful. This film is a masterpiece. Toy Story and it's sequel are excellent films and I thought that there was no way Pixar could possibly continue creating that level of greatness. While A Bugs Life wasn't one of my favorites, it's still a fantastic film. Monsters Inc. continued the Pixar tradition of making a better movie. The ending line in that film is one of my favorite closing moments in cinema. It's simple, heartfelt, and provides a beautiful impression that their world will continue in a positive direction despite the end of the movie(something that kids, the target audience, need to know). Finding Nemo, like all other Pixar films, has a strong family message and it provides us with some beautiful visuals. Again, Pixar built upon it's own accomplishments and provided us with a film that will be heralded as a classic and loved by future generations. As impressed as I am with all of the other Pixar films, and as much as I love them, The Incredibles is better.

I know, I know. You're thinking "how could it POSSIBLY be better?" Well, the story and characters have always been, in my opinion, the heart of a Pixar film. Sure, everything looks amazing and beautiful, but when the audience connects with a character things become more interesting and compelling for the audience. The Incredibles is a real drama. The characters express more realistic emotions than you might expect from a "cartoon". The parents and the kids have troubles and concerns that affect their lives and each other. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible (aka Mr. and Mrs. Parr) has it's ups and downs. Their lives aren't the way they wanted them to be. Mr. Incredible hates his job. Mrs. Incredible, who is a stay at home mom, is struggling with the kids and her desire to live a normal life and keep the family strong despite their incredible past. Although they argue from time to time, and they struggle with their frustrations, they never give up. They always work to communicate with each other and with the kids. At one point the kids catch them having a very heated argument and they pause, calm themselves, and then take the time to reassure the children. They explain that their argument isn't a good way to express their frustrations, and that they love their children and each other. The kids have their troubles too. Dash, the oldest son, is frustrated that he can't use his abilities to his own advantage (he can run extremely fast). He doesn't understand why they need to hide their powers, and in addition to being fascinated with his own super-powers, he's a bit of a troublemaker and a showoff. There's a moment where his mother speaks that truth to him in love, and expresses those exact thoughts. She says it in a way that is honest and firm, but loving. The daughter, Violet, can generate forcefields that can deflect bullets or redirect light and make herself invisible. But she's having typical relationship issues that teenagers experience as they explore the minefield of social interaction. She's also a cynical, somewhat depressed person who is frustrated with the constant relocation that the family must endure to remain hidden. She's shy and insecure, which make her super-powers even more of a liability. There's a baby in the family too, but he spends almost all of the film with a babysitter. Sure, all of them have amazing abilities, but they're still people and they still have their own flaws. But they communicate with each other. They honestly express their heart in a loving way for the purpose of strengthening their family. They tackle problems together, which becomes their greatest strength when confronted with a murderous super-powered opponent consumed with envy, jealousy, and selfishness. His character is a stark contrast to the noble and loving Incredible family. The Incredibles face atypical situations that present typical family problems. But, they work together to overcome them. They are a family that faces obstacles TOGETHER! It's a beautiful thing. It presents a strong family message about love, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, devotion, honesty, compassion, and personal restraint. The story is wonderful and, as in the other Pixar films, is one of the superior elements of the movie.

The visuals are amazing! The film is beautiful to behold from the expert handling of light, color, shape, and contour, to the excellent retro-designs sprinkled throughout the world of The Incredibles. I am familiar with the world of 3D modeling and design, and I have always had a clear understanding of how things were done, but there are visuals in this film that go beyond what I knew software was capable of doing. This film is an amazing visual treat because of the astonishing talent driving the technological miracles that Pixar has invented to do what they do. While they sometimes modify existing technologies they also frequently invent their own technologies as they explore new ground in visual storytelling and motion graphics. It's not just about making things look as real as possible; it's more like a new digital impressionism. The same intent that drove Monet to explore colors, shapes, textures, patterns, techniques, and concepts that he didn't see, but only "felt" about a scene, is being felt by the artists and designers at Pixar. This is the new impressionism. It looks real enough to touch, but reality can't look or behave that way. Everything they show us is designed to provide the audience with a certain feeling about a location and series of events. They control every aspect of the visual on the screen for the purpose of controlling the impression we take away from every set, every character, and every situation. It's impressionism in motion, and it's beautiful to look at.

This film succeeds and excels on many levels and it is difficult to express any problem with this movie, however there is one thing that I think parents of small kids need to know about this movie: it is a little more violent that you may expect. This film is rated PG for good reason. It is NOT a G-rated movie, so don't take your kids expecting it to BE a G-rated movie. In this movie people die. None of the death is really shown, and there's no blood, but I was a little surprised at the number of henchmen that are killed off. Also, I referred to the villain as murderous, and there is a reason. He is a murderer and takes delight in holding that kind of power over other people. The message is never confused and you never cheer for the bad guy. They even create a well orchestrated moment where another one of the bad guys comments on how wrong the villain really is. Even still, this dark conflict and the intense emotional impact of death, murder, and hatred for others might be a bit much for smaller children to understand. It's great drama for adults and adolescents, but the littlest of tikes may have trouble with the intense action sequences and powerful dramatic undertones. Of course, I don't really count these as flaws or faults in the film. This film is made for the middle crowd, not the little crowd. So, take your family to see this movie. It's a clean, fun, exciting, thrilling, encouraging way to spend two hours with your family.

Rating:
Summary: The Incredibles Rule! Who Care What Kids Say!
Review: It drives me nuts. How could anyone dislike The Incredibles?! I surrendered to it's animated three-dimensionalglory and couldn't believe the movie was over two hours! It was engrossing, yea, even awe-inspiring.

However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit I don't have a television and moving images on a screen tends to seize my attention, but I'm still fussy as hell about what I watch. But the word on the playground (re: my daughters and their friends) is that the movie sucks. I don't know about kids today (I do know they watch alot of cartoons/music videos/play video games) but they must be jaded beyond my fathomings to not like a masterpiece as The Incredibles. Jaded and over-exposed.

What is it going to take to entain the "Y" generation nowadays. It must make the folks at Pixar coo-coo for Coco Puffs when the absolte pinacle of their artistic acheivement accrues such mixed reviews. What are they gonna do now? Stand on their heads and spit wooden nickles?

I think maybe they should slam on the brakes and go against the technology trend. Reduce the polish and production and do an epic 3 hour ascii movie or something equally canonic. A black and white ascii movie might be a counter-commercial hit... but then again I can't see Pixar doing something so financially/creatively risky. But I digress.

Me, I'm happy as heck about The Incredibles. My eight year old daughter and I had a blast (my 12 year old daughter wasn't interested... can you believe that?!). It's the ultimate family movie and quite frankly those school kids don't know what they're talking about ;)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie
Review: Just watch it and let you inner child,geek,innner James Bond/Super MOM rejoice in the pure joy that is THE INCREDIBLES!!!

And for those who have seen this at the theater, the extra special features will make you buy 2 copies. Just in case the other one becomes borrowed without your express permission.

Thank you and enjoy.

Ps. The kids will love this movie too.

Rating:
Summary: what the hell is this???
Review: The Incredibles, the widescreen 2-disc Collector's Edition, on DVD, is a true and exciting adventure into the extremely interesting lives on a home that is filled with many, many superheroes. This is the type of entertainment that parents will likely find as interesting as will their children.

I am very luck to have early access to some projects, such as films, new music CD's and even some great video games. I'm involved in a fairly large review committee for a national chain of Movie Rental stores. As a result, I've been blessed with getting the "heads up" on some movies, DVD's, etc. And if there is ever a chance to share my opinion, even if it's not perfect, I'll be more than happy to share with anyone on AMAZON. This is a GREAT SHOW-not to be missed when it comes out in MARCH!!

I watched the collection with my kids the first evening that we purchased the Collector's Edition. My kids were captivated and didn't move from their positions in front of our new television. Normally, my wife and I start to watch a film and find ourselves falling asleep, as a result of the exhaustion of parenting, but we stayed awake for this one! And on top of that, we even watched the many special features that are also part of the 2 Disc Collection. Now that should tell you something about the quality of this production!

Two of the world's greated crime fighters, Helen and Bob Parr, were known for their battles over crime and for saving the lives of many. Several years after the "end" of their lives as crime fighters, both of them move from the city and into the burbs to live a more normal life with their three children. All is well until Bob is called for special duty to a very remote island for a very top secret mission. You will find yourself amazed at how well these stories are written and how you will find yourself enjoying this movie as much as your kids!

Bob gets to the island for his secret mission, one that was delivered to him in the most amazing way. He learns that his mission is basically to save all of the world and he'll need to recruit some help-help from his superhero friends. Without the support of his family, the world would destruct and nothing would be left-not even the simple life in the burbs!

This is a wonderfully animated movie that is filled with creativity and writing that will keep the parents awake for sure. Even if you're not much into the whole superhero scene, you'll find enough exciting and interesting graphics and animations to keep you bright-eyed all night long.

I also think that this 2-Disc Widescreen Edition would make a great gift, especially for those neighbor friends who seemed overwhelmed and need a small break from the kids! Enjoy this great flick and feel free to laugh as much as your children do. It's okay to feel like a 5 year old again!

Break out the popcorn and enjoy the film! And thanks for taking the time to read my short description of an animated film that our entire family enjoyed.

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