Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: The Incredibles ::
by William the Bloody
Mr. Incredible is the best superhero there is. He's super strong and lives and breathes for the greater good. Until one day, he saves a man who leapt off a skyscraper in a suicide attempt. This man didn't WANT saving and sues Mr. Incredible for the rescue and resulting injuries. If Mr. Incredible, the best of the best, isn't safe, none of the others are either, as suddenly citizens start filing law suits against superheroes left and right. The government, perhaps remembering what the general public seems to have forgotten, agrees to relocate these heroes under the Superhero Protection Program, in gratitude for their past service to humanity, but also in exchange for never donning costumes again. Now, years later, Mr. Incredible, currently known as Bob Parr, has married Elastigirl, Helen Parr, they have three children and Bob works a boring, unfulfilling nine to five job selling insurance. Bob is sleepwalking through his suburban life, dreaming of his glory days of yore, secretly rescuing people from burning buildings at night with his old friend and other retired hero, Frozone. However, the same day Bob is fired from his job for violently lashing out at his boss, he get a secret message asking for help that only Mr. Incredible can provide. The fire in his gut rekindled at the thought of doing some REAL good, Bob agrees to wear his hero suit once again. Mr. Incredible is asked to stop a rampaging robot on a remote ocean island in exchange for a handsome fee, but he later discovers that there is an evil plot lurking in the shadows, one which could put his whole family at risk.
The Good: Pixar's computer animation never ceases to impress, and this feature is no exception. The close attention to detail in the texture of fabrics and hair is simply amazing. The mostly celebrity voice talent did an awesome job. Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible was exceptional as were Holly Hunter as Elastigirl, Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone, Jason Lee as the villain, and writer/director Brad Bird (?!?) as Edna Mode. Great jobs all around. And speaking of Mr. Bird, a high five to him for a great story about family bonding. The characters were all lovely and the evolution their personalities undergo is very realistic. The whole plane scene was so intense, I was on the edge of my seat, and that's unusual for a cartoon to have that effect on me. Michael Giacchino's soundtrack is impeccable. The heavy brass section lent in a nice James Bondian secret action sound to it. The short films included on the DVD are both wonderful. Boundin', which was co released with the film's theatrical showings and an all-new short, Jack-Jack Attack, which takes place within the context of the feature, as the babysitter is left watching the baby when his super powers first show themselves (this has a great moment with the film's villain in it).
The Bad: There was the occasional music cue that sounded just a little TOO James Bondian, as in it sounded EXACTLY like the On Her Majesty's Secret Service theme, but this was only once or twice in the whole film. The detail to the hair animation is so good, it's almost TOO good, in such a way that all the hair stands out dramatically against all the other bits. The characters' powers were a little too similar to the Fantastic Four for my taste. I mean, the daughter can turn invisible AND create force fields coincidentally JUST like the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four, on a team with someone who has stretching powers, nonetheless! Perhaps if it were either invisibility OR force fields, it wouldn't bother me so much.
Overall, I love it. I saw this film in theater and jumped at the chance to buy the DVD and watch it again right away. It still held up, too. That plane scene was STILL just as intense as the first go. The film itself is worth the price of the DVD, so all of the lovely extras (two short subject cartoons, deleted scenes, film makers' commentary, making-of footage, etc, etc) are all just gravy, adding more goodness to an already great film. If you haven't already seen it, do so right now!
A+
