# 178 The Incredibles (2004)

The Incredibles is a computer-animated film about a family of superheroes. The father (Mr. Incredible) and the mother (Elastigirl) used to be the best crime fighters in the city, but now, after a surge of lawsuits, they and their three children are forced to hide their abilities and live a normal life. One day Mr. Incredible, who cannot wait for get back into action, travels to a mysterious island for a top secret assignment.

The movie came out five years after Pixar's Toy Story 2 and a year after Finding Nemo, but to me it stands pretty much on the same level, so this time I will not agree with those who say that the studio outdoes itself with every movie it makes. It's true in most cases, but not this time because we see the same texture-less surfaces and characters that look like plastic dolls as we saw in previous Pixar's works.

Still it's a very good film that can be found interesting by both, kids and their parents. As a matter of fact it's good for all age groups because the main characters are: Dash, a kid who cares about nothing but fooling around; Violet, a shy teenage girl who is having her first crush; and a married couple who go through the same problems all couples go through. The relationships and the dialogues in this movie are pretty realistic for a cartoon.

The movie is very funny, the people who provide jokes for Pixar's films surely have a very good sense of humor. A lot of jokes revolve around getting older, losing shape, and going through a mid-life crisis. I felt like there was too much action towards the end of the film, and after a ten-minute action sequence I just start losing track of what's going on, but I know that this is common for all superhero flicks.

Interesting fact: In order to give Dash a realistic out-of-breath voice, Brad Bird made Spencer Fox run laps around the studio.

Favorite quote: "No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes!"

# 177 The Princess Bride (1987)

The Princess Bride is a story presented as a book being read by a grandfather to his sick grandson. A young woman Buttercup accepts a proposal from a prince, despite the fact that she is still in love with a farm boy who tragically died at sea when seeking his fortune. Right before the wedding she is kidnapped by three outlaws who intend to instigate an international conflict. Soon they found out that they are being pursued by the same pirate who is believed to have killed Buttercup's lover.

I watched parts of the film when I was little, but wasn't mature enough to appreciate the satirical humor. This time I thought that it's a fun, easy-to-watch movie, but it didn't linger in my mind the next day. To me the biggest flaw is that Buttercup doesn't really have a personality, her character is too stereotypical. I'm not sure if it's the script, or may be it's just Robin Wright's acting. After all, movie requires more acting skills than a 1980s TV show (at the age of six, I loved Santa Barbara).

My favorite scene is when Westley defeats the outlaws who kidnapped Buttercup. There's some good action in it, it's witty, and just really really enjoyable. Another good one is when the magician is trying to bring "mostly dead" Westley back to life. Like I have already said, the movie is a fun ride, but at the same time not that funny. In a way it's a lot like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but to me it wasn't nearly as good.

Interesting fact: Mel Smith (The Albino) has confessed to never having watched his performance in this film due to the painful experience involved in filming the role. His character required him to wear coloured contact lenses and, unknown to Smith and the costume department at the time, he was actually allergic to the lens solution used. This meant that Smith was in constant pain and discomfort throughout filming; hence, he is reluctant to relive the memory.

Favorite quote: You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.

# 176 The Night of the Hunter (1955)

The Night of The Hunter tells us a story about Harry Powell, a man who marries widows for money and kills them. While in jail, he finds out that his cellmate, Ben who is about to be hanged, had committed a robbery. After being released, Harry Powell decided to marry Ben's widow in order to find out where Ben had hid the stolen money before he was captured.

The interesting part of this film is that the main character is a religious fanatic. He did not only use people's faith to get them to do anything he wanted, but he actually believed that what he was doing was right. He also had his own weird principles I guess, for example, on their wedding night he tells Ben's widow that they will never have sex because it is sinful. I highly doubt he acted this way because he found her unattractive, I mean, after all the things he had done to find the money, sleeping with a woman he didn't like wouldn't be much of a problem.

The rest of the movie is a disaster. At first I thought that may be The Night of the Hunter is considered to be good because it was way ahead of its time back in 1955, but then in Wikipedia I read that it was not a success with either audiences or critics at its initial release, and Laughton never directed another film, nevertheless, the film has found a wider audience over the years.

This leaves me at loss. The beginning with the drifting heads is cheesy. All the women in the movie are absolutely dumb, what is up with their fanatic devotion to Powell? He's definitely not very slick, so why does he always come out on top? And whereas the first half of the plot was not that bad, and at times even thrilling, the second half, after the kids flee down the river turns into a social drama. And that's where the movie stopped making sense to me, and left me wondering why it had gained such widespread acclaim.

Interesting fact: So disappointed was he by the poor reception of this film on its initial release both critically and commercially, Charles Laughton vowed never to direct a film again, and he never did. The film he was planning to direct next was going to be a screen adaptation of "The Naked and the Dead.

Favorite quote: "Salvation is a last-minute business, boy".

# 175 Casino (1995)

Casino is a story of two mobsters, Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro) and Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro (Pesci). It tells us about the mob involvement in the gambling industry in 1970s - 1980s. While Ace attempts a civilized lifestyle, Nicky, his childhood friend, doesn't want to give up his criminal life, getting even more violent, and ends up being banned from every casino.

It isn't original as it takes the formulas of  Goodfellas (# 14 on IMDb Top 250 list) and applies them to a very similar plot with the same actors. But you know, these formulas really work, because we see them over and over again, and they never fail to be interesting. In all of his criminal dramas Martin Scorsese shows us the details of different levels of organized crime. In this film the photography speaks for itself: most of it was shot in a shiny casino or an expensive hotel, so, of course, the main characters are the top-level criminals who run the whole city.

Despite of all the similarities, the movie still stands on its own. It was a little hard to follow, but I guess I can say this about most of Scorsese's movies. I've never been a fan of Robert De Niro, but in Casino he did an great job. Talking about his acting, I was really impressed by the scene where Ace is arguing with the senator after his license hearing was adjourned.

I really like how the director portrayed the character development, as well as the change in the relationship between Ace and Nicky. They've always been good friends, but now one of them is willing to change, and the other one is pulling him back. We see the tension between them grown, and, later on, it bursts into a conflict. Another tragic flaw was Ace falling in love with a "hustler" (Stone). At first I though this relationship would turn into some sort of "Scarface" drama, and he would lose interest in her as soon as they got married. But contrary to what I had expected, Ace turned out to be a very patient husband. His character is indeed very likable in this film.

Interesting fact: When released, Casino had the most uses of the word "fuck" (422) in a feature length film (2.4 times per minute on average).

Favorite quote: [a plane just landed on the golf course] The Feds were watching Nicky play golf for so long that they ran out of gas. Just what I needed, right in front of the control board.