"Incredibles 2" Review by Tim Hellman

'INCREDIBLES 2': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Pixar and Disney's long anticipated sequel to their 2004 animated superhero blockbuster 'THE INCREDIBLES'. The plot follows the Parr family once again, as they battle a new enemy, who wants to turn the public against all 'supers', while they also try to deal with normal family life as well. The film was once again written and directed by Brad Bird, and it features returning voice cast members including Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell and Samuel L. Jackson. Huck Milner, Catherine Keener, Bob Odenkirk, Sophia Bush and Bill Wise also join the cast this time. The movie has received nearly unanimous positive reviews from critics (like it's predecessor), and it's also expected to be a huge hit at the Box Office once again as well. I enjoyed it, but definitely not as much as the original.

The Parr family is still acting as the superhero team known as 'The Incredibles' when the authorities become too concerned about the damage being done during their battles with supervillains, and the team is ordered to halt their actions. Then they're contacted by a superhero fan named Winston Deavor(Odenkirk), and invited to his house for a proposition, along with their friend Frozone (Jackson). There Winston and his sister Evelyn (Keener) offer Helen Parr (Hunter) a superhero job fighting crime, in order to win back the support of the public. Helen accepts the job offer, and Bob Parr stays home to watch the kids while she works. Helen has to battle a new supervillain in the process, and Hank finds parenting even harder than crime fighting, especially when he learns their baby Jack-Jack has even greater superhero powers than they all do.

The movie is really well made once again, and always beautiful to watch. The action scenes are mostly exciting too, and the humor is clever and witty (all once again). It's also great how progressive these films are, especially this time having the wife superhero be the one fighting crime, while the husband stays home to watch the kids. Of course he also finds parenting to be even harder than crime fighting too. That's all great about this movie, but it still didn't live up to my very high expectations of matching the original (or even coming close to it). It doesn't capture the same magic, and after the original film was so refreshing and somewhat groundbreaking at the time of it's release, there wasn't much this sequel could do to live up to it of course. It's still really well made though, and entertaining enough.

"Inside Out" Review - Written by Tim Hellman

'INSIDE OUT': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Pixar and Disney's new computer-animated fantasy film, about a young girl that's guided through the struggles of moving, and the frequent absence of her father, by her emotions; which are personified, with individual personalities of their own. The movie was directed by Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen and it was written by Docter, Carmen, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley (Docter has co-written and directed other popular Pixar flicks, like 'UP' and 'MONSERS, INC.'; as well as co-wrote 'WALL-E' and 'TOY STORY' 1 & 2). It features the voice talents of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan. The concept for the film has been done many times before (most notably on the 90's TV sitcom 'HERMAN'S HEAD') but it's still a very imaginative and well made kids' film!

Riley (Dias) is a young girl, growing up in Minnesota, who has five voices inside her mind; guiding her every decision, and feeling. They're Joy (Poehler), Sadness (Smith), Fear (Hader), Anger (Black) and Disgust (Kaling). Joy is in charge of keeping Riley primarily happy, but she's constantly struggling with how to deal with Sadness. When Riley is forced to move to San Francisco, at age 11, and her father (MacLachlan) is constantly away at work, things become really challenging for Joy. Especially when Joy and Sadness are thrown out of the headquarters, inside Riley's mind, and have to make a journey back to it, in order to restore Riley's mental stability.

I grew up on 'HERMAN'S HEAD'; I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid, so when I first saw the trailer for this film, I wasn't very impressed. It seemed like a rip-off and it also just didn't look that good to me. So I had low expectation for the movie, until I heard all the rave reviews for it, from critics and audiences alike. After seeing the film, I can say it's not a blatant rip-off; and it does have plenty of fresh ideas and creativity of it's own. Although the premise isn't original, it does deal with it in a interesting and entertaining way; the whole world, inside Riley's mind (the film creates) is very fascinating. I do wonder though, if we all have people inside our heads, guiding us through life, do they all have people inside their heads too, guiding them, and so on? The humor is kind of childish but it does have a very positive message; about dealing with depression, and life struggles, that I think could be beneficial for every kid to see. It might not be one of the most original Pixar films, but it is one of it's best (in my opinion).