MOVIE REVIEW: Incredibles 2

The 14 year wait for the Incredibles sequel was all worth it. Picking up where the first film ended, the superhero family aka The Parrs are forced to be integrated back to a normal life after the world banned superheroes for the wreck and havoc they caused after fighting villains. Bob Parr (Craig T. Nelson) aka Mr. Incredible, his wife Helen Parr aka Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their kids Violet and her brothers Dash and Jack Jack all felt disheartened but they can't do anything about it.

A glimmer of hope came from media-savvy mogul Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) who's a big fan of superheroes and hope to bring them back on the global stage. With his PR instincts, he feels that Elastigirl is the perfect fit to be the face of a superhero renaissance. She accepted it for the family thus relegating her husband Bob to be a stay at home dad taking care of their young kids. Deavor too has an inventor sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener having fun in her role) who's always behind his endeavors. 

Together with family friend Lucius Best aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), it's fun to see him and Bob doing household duties and taking care of the kids. Moviegoers and fans of the first film will surely Jack-Jack's antics. Incredibles 2 came in the right time in Hollywood. It's all about women empowerment as the ladies in this animated film gets the best roles and the actresses (Hunter and Keener) gets the best lines as well. Fan favorite superhero costume designer Edna Mode (Brad Bird) is also in the sequel with one funny scene.

It's good to know that the director of the first film Brad Bird is back in the director's chair. With a smart script and entertaining characters, Pixar is back with it's best sequel since Toy Story 3.

MOVIE REVIEW: Ocean's 8

Ocean's 8 is the perfect movie at this very moment when women power is being questioned most especially here in the United States and back home in the Philippines. Led with Sandra Bullock who plays Debbie Ocean, the sister of George Clooney's character Danny in the previous films and Cate Blanchett who has the Brad Pitt role as the BFF, Ocean's 8 is one lighthearted fun heist fare catered in the age of social media.

After they assembled women with different backgrounds, ethnicity and skills, they plan to rob a very precious necklace that will be used by one of the celebrities (Anne Hathaway) in the annual MET Gala in New York City. Vegas is so old school, the gala with stars and those who became stars because of self promotion is the in thing to be in. The premise has a feel-good vibe to it because we actually get a chance to cheer women to get something from self-absorbed people. It's fun to see the three Oscar winners sharing screen time with a cast as diverse from Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina who is poised to be a breakthrough star this year with a role in the upcoming Crazy Rich Asians, Sarah Paulson and Helena Bonham-Carter. They all have awesome chemistry and I wouldn't mind seeing them all together again in a second act.

MOVIE REVIEW: Upgrade

Upgrade is the first pleasant surprise of this year's summer movie season here in the United States. The only prominent name in the cast is the breakthrough star of last years Oscar winning Get Out Betty Gabriel. With barely any promotions and under the radar in theaters compared to other blockbusters released at the same time, this sci fi action thriller with some good comedy is just good old classic B movie filmmaking.

The lead actor of the film Logan Marshall-Green is that guy we usually say that we saw in some other movies but we don't know his name. Upgrade will change all of that. In my book, he is a taller lankier version of Tom Hardy. His recent filmography includes Spider-Man Homecoming and Prometheus. Marshall-Green portrays Grey Trace a mechanic who after a carjack gets his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) killed and had him turned into a quadriplegic. With the help of his help of his big time tech client Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson) and his highly advanced computer chip Stem, Grey can recover at a fast rate. Now this is where all the fun begins as he seeks revenge.

Part Ex-Machina part Netflix's Black Mirror with a dash of John Wick, Upgrade is one smart, tight, sci-fi action thriller that's worth your time at the movies. There's never any dull moment and you'll be definitely cheering on Grey Trace as he fights back from all the evil that surrounds him. It also helps that it's also unpredictable until the very end. Kudos to Australian director Leigh Whannell who also wrote one of the best horror films in recent years Insidious. Blumhouse Productions has done it right again with Upgrade.