Perfect holiday vieweing for all the family
THE INCREDIBLES**** In 1995 Pixar Animation Studios, together with Walt Disney Pictures, released Toy Story, the first entirely computer-generated full-length feature film. Five films later Pixar presents The Incredibles, its most innovative and ambitious film yet. The story revolves around a group of superheroes, who are suddenly forced to suppress their super-humanness and blend in with average citizens after a string of lawsuits against the heroes ends up costing the city millions. Bob Parr (aka Mr. Incredible) is one of the superheroes forced to enter the Superhero Relocation Program, and the film focuses on how he and his family struggle to lead a normal life. It is not long, though, before the superheroes’ powers are once again in demand, when a new super villain enters the scene and the family ultimately comes together to fight a mighty foe. Even for those raised on traditional animation in the style of Tom & Jerry, for whom the new wave of computer animation can be difficult to embrace, any skeptical feelings are gone shortly after the first chase scene, as the viewer is completely engulfed. The characters’ faces are wonderfully expressive, and the action sequences make you feel like you’re right in the middle of a video game. By the end of the film you’ve forgotten that this is a “kids’ movie,” and completely accepted its retro-futuristic reality and well-developed story and characters. But as well as all the action, explosions and humor, the film explores the importance of family as a central theme. As writer/director Brad Bird puts it: “At its heart, I saw The Incredibles as a story about a family learning to balance their individual lives with their love for one another.” And in a world where the cowardice of divorce is almost bordering on something of a fashion statement, it’s refreshing to see the positive effects of a family working together as a powerful unit to overcome life’s seemingly overwhelming obstacles. And kids will like the film too. The 13-year-old girl sitting next to me enthusiastically declared it her New Favorite Film. German Release Date (subject to change) December 9 US rated PG for violence www.theincredibles.com DE-LOVELY*** From the opening shot of a spacious Manhattan apartment, where an old man sits solitarily at the piano, one can feel the stage lights rise on the life of a man who lived at the heart of the entertainment world. De-Lovely is the biographical film of the American composer Cole Porter (1891–1964), beautifully portrayed by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda). In the film Cole looks back on his life as if it was one of his musicals, with the people and events of his life becoming the actors and action on stage. The concept can be a bit disconcerting at times, as the film alternates from illusion to actual memory and reality, but eventually it centers on the complicated relationship between Cole and his wife/muse, Linda Lee Porter, convincingly played by Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy). The relationship starts out innocently enough in the heart of gay Paris, but then gets a bit more complicated when Cole admits a passion of another persuasion, namely that he’s gay. But they still end up getting married, more as something of an unspoken business contract than for love, although there is a deep intimacy and great friendship between them. Directed by Academy Award winner Irwin Winkler (Life as a House), the film showcases songs from some of Porter’s most popular musicals, such as “Anything Goes,” “It’s De-Lovely” and “Night and Day,” with some of today’s top musical talent, like Robbie Williams, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette and Natalie Cole. Wonderful acting by Kline and Judd keep the story moving, and when the script seems at times a bit too stiff, one can just remember that it’s a musical. And have you ever seen a musical without a happy ending? German Release Date (subject to change) January 6 US rated PG-13 for sexual content www.delovelymovie.com New release on DVD THE ULTIMATE MATRIX COLLECTION For those readers who are either too old for “cartoons” or still too young for “weird love stories about dead composers,” there is something being released this month that many hardcore Matrix fans will be hoping to find under the Christmas tree. Since I do not find Keanu Reeves to be a terribly adept actor, and as the unending story doesn’t really float my boat in the way it might for some, I declined to sit through the 10 DVDs of Matrix Mania. But I will tell you a bit about this ultimate package, because I sense there are plenty of interested men out there, and plenty of women who may want to please those men at Christmas. And for them, this package has it all. It’s ten DVDs, with stunning visual effects, including new digital transfers of the three Matrix movies, written introductions by Matrix directors the Wachowski Brothers, commentaries by philosophers and critics, behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes, a music-only audio track, extra scenes shot for Enter the Matrix video game, short films exploring the world of The Matrix, insightful new documentaries, production assets developed for The Matrix universe, concept artwork, storyboards, drawings, music videos and TV spots and trailers. I don’t think they forgot a thing. German Release Date (subject to change) December 7 US rated R for violence and sexual content www.thematrix.com