By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Fourteen years after the original, Brad Bird’s digitally animated superhero franchise has a super sequel, “Incredibles 2,” revolving around the Parr family.
Bob, Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson), is the traditional strong, protective patriarch and Helen (voiced by Holly Hunter), is his flexible wife — aka Elastigirl.
Violet (voiced by Sarah Vowell) is their angst-laden teenage daughter, while Dash (voiced by Huck Milner) is her rowdy, impulsive younger brother, and Jack-Jack (voiced by Eli Fucile) is the baby. The family’s best friend is Lucius Best — a, k.a. Frozone (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson).
This story begins where the last movie left off: superheroes are still forbidden from saving lives. So when they dispense with destructive, drill-riding Underminer (voiced by John Ratzenberger), they’re unceremoniously banished from suburbia and forced to live in a cheap motel.
To their rescue comes savvy telecommunications entrepreneur Winston Deavor (voiced by Bob Odenkirk) and his cynical sister Evelyn (voiced by Catherine Keener), who convince Elastigirl to kick off a campaign to reinstate superheroes.
Feeling empowered, Elastigirl’s first crime-fighting target is a mysterious, masked villain, known as Screen saver, who uses television to hypnotize, then brainwash masses of people, turning them into mindless zombies.
Meanwhile, Bob’s predictably uncomfortable playing Mr. Mom. He finds Dash’s ‘new math’ homework baffling, and he’s exhausted trying to wrangle three rambunctious kids. A male chauvinist, he’s jealous that his wife gets all the action and attention.
During Mom’s absence, Jack-Jack suddenly exhibits his own, unique superpowers. Which means stylist Eda Mode (voiced by Brad Bird), needs to design suitable attire for him. “No capes!”
Worst of all, unmasked Violet’s seen in her superhero costume by a boy at school on whom she has a crush. That sticky situation must be remedied by the family’s trusty government ‘handler’ Rick Dicker (voiced by Jonathan Banks), utilizing a ‘mind wash.’
Imaginative and inventive, the retro-futuristic design is terrific, as is Michael Giacchino’s score.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Incredibles 2” is an exciting 8, fun family fare.
Opening with a scene reminiscent of Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001), the caper comedy “Oceans 8” introduces the late, lamented Danny Ocean’s younger sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock), leaving prison after five-years, eight months and 12 days behind bars.
Swinging into action, Debbie purloins beauty products from Bergdorf Goodman, forges a posh Manhattan hotel registration, liberates a suitcase off a bellman’s cart and contacts her cool wing-woman Lou (Cate Blanchett) to explain an intricate scheme she’s been working on during her incarceration.
She’s after serious ‘bling,’ namely Cartier’s Toussaint, a dazzling, six-pound diamond necklace, worth $150 million, which will be around the neck of vain, It Girl actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) at the upcoming Met Gala. Their job is to exchange it for a perfectly crafted cubic zirconia copy.
But that involves a team effort, so she recruits Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), a career-crazed couturier; Nine Ball (pop star Rihanna), an intrepid hacker; Tammy (Sarah Paulson), a proficient fence; Amita (Mindy Kaling), a diamond expert; and Constance (Awkwafina), a pickpocket/hustler.
Why an all-woman crew? “A ‘him’ gets noticed; a ‘her’ gets ignored. And, for once, we’d like to be ignored,” Debbie explains.
Helmed by pedestrian director Gary Ross, who collaborated on the superficial, gender-flipped script with Olivia Milch, there are lots of cameos, including Heidi Klum, Kim Kardashian, Katie Holmes, Dakota Fanning, Hailey Baldwin, Maria Sharapova, Olivia Munn, even Anna Wintour.
Early on, Debbie is determined to wreak vengeance against her smarmy ex-boyfriend, Claude Becker (Richard Armitage). And after the jewel heist, James Corden appears as a savvy insurance investigator.
On the Granger Gauge, “Oceans 8” scores a sparkling 7, an adventurous, fun chick-flick.
If you’re into grisly, gruesome, dystopian sci-fi, consider “Upgrade,” a low-budget, revenge saga from writer/director Leigh Whannel (“Saw,” “Insidious”).
One evening when automobile mechanic Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) takes his tech-exec wife, Asha (Melanie Vallejo), to visit a reclusive client, billionaire inventor Eron (Harrison Gilbertson), Asha’s self-driving car goes awry — after which she is killed by a gang of thugs and he is left as a quadriplegic.
Grief-stricken and severely depressed, Grey is suicidal — until Eron offers an experimental ‘biomechanical modification’ which, when inserted into his spinal cord, will ‘upgrade’ his paralyzed physique.
Known as STEM, it’s an Artificial Intelligence entity — voiced by Simon Maiden in a formal monotone that resembles HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” STEM enables Grey not only to regain control of his body but also to experience extraordinary physical prowess.
“Do not get overconfident, Grey,” STEM warns.
Keeping his brand-new mobility a secret from the detective (Betty Gabriel) investigating his case, Grey becomes a vigilante, determined to find the hoodlums and wreak vengeance.
There’s a particularly ridiculous scene in which a bad guy sneezes, emitting a swarm of sharp nanobots that fly up an adversary’s nose, shredding his brain.
FYI: When Grey goes to the apartment house to find ‘Jamie,’ one name on the list of buzzer is ‘J. Wan,’ a subtle tribute to James Wan, and ‘Eron’ is obviously supposed to evoke Tesla’s Elon Musk.
Made by the same action/horror-specialty company that did “Get Out,” it’s nowhere near as effective and intriguing.
On the Granger Gauge, “Upgrade” is an auto-piloted 5, yet another schlock techno thriller
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
