Tag: movies

“Incredibles 2” Falls Short of This Parent’s Approval

“Incredibles 2” Falls Short of This Parent’s Approval

Posted on by Mama

I don’t normally do a lot of movie reviews here at Small Talk Mama, but as the mother of an impressionable seven-year-old boy I wanted to pass along a few thoughts about Disney-Pixar’s latest animated film, Incredibles 2. While this movie pulled in $180 million during its opening weekend at the box office, I personally wish we had saved the family some money and waited another 14 years to rent the DVD.

The sequel to Incredibles, released in 2004, picked up right where the first film left off and kicked into high gear immediately. Unfortunately, the theme was very similar to that of the original movie. Superheroes are still outlawed because of the collateral damage inflicted during crime fighting, so the beloved Parr family has to weigh the pros and cons of breaking the law to catch the bad guys. Sound familiar?

Basically I felt like I was watching the same movie as the original with different bad guys plus gender role reversal fun. Mr. Incredible becomes a stay-at-home dad and takes a backseat to Elastigirl’s crime-fighting prowess and new-found fame, but it is all short lived as an entire cast of crime fighters is hypnotized and manipulated by a smart and deeply disturbed evildoer. It seems that this new criminal’s only motive is revenge for a murder that happened several years in the past.

Unfortunately, this murder is more than alluded to in this PG-rated animated flick. While we don’t actually see the gun being fired, we do see the weapon, the scared faces of the victims and the evil aftermath of blame and hate. In this mom’s opinion, It was a bit too real for little ones, especially in this age of violence and disregard for human life.

The pursuit of revenge is not this PG criminal’s only fault, because you can add potty mouth to the list of wrongs. Okay, so the gratuitous cursing was not over the top for most viewers (i.e. the grownups who loved the first film when they were 14 years younger), but I sure wished I had used a bit more parental guidance before I sat down with my young son. The poor language choices simply left me bewildered and wondering why, but it did make a negative impact on my seven-year-old son.

While Incredibles 2 was not nearly as fun as the first flick, it did have some entertaining, witty and action-packed moments. As a stay-at-home mom, I did appreciate seeing a superhero father embrace domestic life without a huge amount of finesse and dignity. Unfortunately, I don’t believe this film included enough finer moments to outweigh the missteps with a younger audience, which means it fell short of this particular parent’s approval.

A Long Time Ago in an Oklahoma Town

A Long Time Ago in an Oklahoma Town

Posted on by Mama

StarWarsMoviePoster1977It’s an even day, and look, here’s my newest post for the September Sapphire Even Day Blog Challenge. Hopefully I’ll be able to hit my marks for the rest of the month. Today we have been asked to write about a book or movie that greatly affected us somehow during our lives.

So here goes. . . you are not allowed to laugh (okay, go ahead and giggle), but perhaps the movie that made the biggest impact on my life was Star Wars (yes, the original the very first time it showed in theaters). It was actually episode IV, but we didn’t know any of that at the time. The year was 1977, I would have been seven years old, and this was my first “grownup” film. My Dad took my sister and I to see the movie in a tiny little theater in Claremore, Okla., and I’m guessing that’s where my love of movies, science-fiction and Harrison Ford first began.

My Dad loved going to the movies and he passed that enjoyment along to his two daughters. Often times, he would splurge on a long-awaited film and take us to see the latest box office matinée. Even as a young adult, my Dad and I often found ourselves at the movies. I could always count on him to spend a hot summer afternoon in the cool seats of the local theater. He unexpectedly passed away several years ago, but to this day if I see a really great film I always think, ”I bet Dad would have enjoyed this one.”

I don’t know if seven is too young to develop a crush, but I hope not because I certainly had one. Forget Luke Skywalker, that Han Solo was just something to behold. To a scrawny little girl in the Midwest he was the definition of tall, dark and handsome, and he was my hero. (Imagine how thrilled I was when Raiders of the Lost Ark first hit the big screen — another of my Dad’s favorites also.)

So as I think about all the movies I’ve enjoyed, disliked or that moved me through my life, the original Star Wars of 1977 just sticks in my mind. I’m sure it’s more about remembering my Dad who first introduced me to a larger than life fantasy land in space, but perhaps it’s also about being able to escape from reality, develop a ludicrous crush or two and just enjoy a few hours of entertainment while eating buttery popcorn and sipping on a soda. Somehow at the movies, my own life is always grand.

For a trip down memory lane and to showcase the ”fabulous” special effects of 1977, I’ve included the original trailer of the film. Enjoy! :)