Z/Web

Today was a very good day. I got up early and finished work on my magazine. That felt good to get that done. There’ll be more to do, but that was the primary deadline. About eleven a.m. I relaxed for the first time in a while, realizing that I was finally settling in. Getting some work done helped secure that feeling. I decided I deserved a break and would go see a movie for the first time in nearly two months. For someone who normally sees two or three matinees a week, it feel like a year since I’d been in a theatre. Since this theatre was in a different part of town from where I’ve been, I took a different route there, which proved interesting. It helped me figure out an even shorter route for the future. I saw National Treasure and then came back and watched The Incredibles later. I came home for dinner, and it was nice to relax. I put together the cabinet for my bedroom, unpacked a few things, and assembled a small lamp I’d bought for the guest room. The cats are more relaxed as well. I think they’re starting to think of this as home as well.

This was very different from what I expected. I liked it a lot, though I wasn’t sure until about half-way through. From the promos I was expecting a sort of parody of superheroes. It appeared to be about hapless former superheroes who were now overweight and out of shape or something. But to my surprise these superheroes were really super. What’s happened is that lawsuits have made superheroes illegal, so Mr. Incredible and his superfamily have retired to normal mundane jobs and pine for the days when they used to save the world on a regular basis. They are forced to hide their superpowers and pretend to be regular folk, and that’s where the humor comes in. Eventually, of course, the entire family must combine their powers to stop a supervillain. The plot’s a little more routine than most Pixar films, but there is still heart in the story. The humor’s dry and understated, rarely the laugh-out-loud variety, but there’s plenty to smile about. Some of the lines are really funny but delivered so quickly and effortlessly that you don’t realize it until moments later. Overall, I was very impressed. Pixar’s done it again. While it’s a very different movie from previous outings, it’s another classic. Definitely one of the best of the year.

The conspiracy and clue-based premise of this movie is an obvious rip-off of the horrible Dan Brown code books, so I didn’t expect much. I got what I expected. It’s a routine adventure, with flimsy characters and plot, a rapid pace that leaves you confused and mindless, and a red herring ending that’s not especially satisfying. The ride’s not horrible, however. It’s mildly interesting, and there are moments of humor and a few good lines that make it enjoyable. I wasn’t overly impressed or depressed; it’s routine. I did like the luminous Diane Kruger as the love interest: her spicy character and beauty made the adventure more intriguing, though it wasn’t enough to overcome the movie’s inherent flaws. Still, it’s mildly enjoyable, though certainly don’t go into this expecting any kind of intelligence.