Be Kind, Please Rewind

He is Cryptonite. He’s the...

Vidiot

Week of November 9, 2018

Hipster Clark Kent has a Superman bun. First up...

Incredibles 2

The downside to being in a super-powered family is that your siblings will always reveal your secret identity to your arch-rival.

Unfortunately, when the alias of the heroine in this animated-adventure is exposed, it threatens everyone.

When Violet’s (Sarah Vowell) alter ego is revealed she withdraws from the spotlight. Meanwhile, her mother, Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), has ventured out on her own to prove to the public that superheroes are beneficial. On the home front, Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) has become the main caregiver to the rest of his powerful brood.

Picking up right where the original left off 14-years ago, this overdue sequel fails to succeed, or even match, its predecessor. Lacking sufficient laughs and worthwhile action, the script to this follow up suffers from serious lulls, recycled plot points and a lackluster villain.

Besides, the point to having super-powers is so you can fly away from your family.  Red Light

Christopher Robin

The most important lesson Winnie the Pooh can teach children is how to spot depression in donkeys.

Thankfully, this fantasy about Pooh manages to keep sharp objects away from Eeyore.

Years after he left his stuffed animal friends behind to attend boarding school, Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) is now a businessman struggling to keep his job and his family from falling apart. However, one day while his wife (Hayley Atwell) and children are in the country, Christopher is visited by his old plush bear Winnie the Pooh, who wants to reinstall Christopher with the joy and optimism missing from his adult life.

While the lifelike menagerie is a sight to behold and the narrative of rediscovering your childhood is serviceable, the nostalgia angle has been done to death in a number of superior family films. 

Incidentally, you can convert any child’s toy into an adult toy by simply adding handcuffs.  Yellow Light

BlacKkKlansman

One telltale sign African-Americans have secretly invaded the KKK is if members take a knee during the Confederate National Anthem.

Fortunately, the black Klansman in this dramedy is only orally affiliated with the hate group.

Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) makes a name for himself as Colorado’s first black police officer by answering a Ku Klux Klan membership ad. Pretending to be white while speaking with David Duke (Topher Grace), Stallworth infiltrates the organization. But when the Klan asks to meet in-person, Stallworth has a white officer (Adam Driver) impersonate him.

Inspired by Stallworth’s book, director Spike Lee takes a number of liberties with the source material in order to make the story timely and more impactful. While the levity of the script is startling, the performances are first-rate.

Conversely, you can tell the Black Panther Party has been infiltrated by whites when mayonnaise appears on the condiment table.  Yellow Light

***Race Warrior***

The Black Klansman

The easiest way to gain acceptance into the Ku Klux Klan is to show up wearing a MAGA hat.

Unfortunately, this drama takes place decades before those symbols of hate were manufactured.

In retaliation for a black man sitting at a lunch counter in Alabama, the KKK bombs a black church. Among those killed in the terrorist act is the daughter of Jerry (Richard Gilden), an LA jazz musician, who subsequently gets revenge against the hate group by becoming a member, and tearing it apart from the inside.

One of the few movies to confront racism in America at the time, this low-budget feature from 1966 was directed by schlock horror movie-maker Ted V. Mikels, who avoids blaxploitation clichés to deliver a powerful, albeit problematic production - namely the white actor portraying Jerry.

Incidentally, the first sign that Jerry is a white guy comes when he tries to play jazz.

He’s a Hepcat Nap. He’s the...

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