By
Steve Herte
Incredibles
2 (Pixar/Walt Disney, 2018) – Director: Brad
Bird. Writer: Brad Bird. Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter &
Sarah Vowell. Color, animated, Rated PG, 118 minutes.
Today’s
animated features, as compared to yesterday’s cartoons are
generally far superior and the genre is still evolving, thanks to
computer technology. Granted, some companies insist on putting out
flat, moving images with unnaturally big eyes and mouths that do not
match the word shapes they’re saying, but they pale in realism to
the three dimensional sophisticated images created recently. In The
Incredibles 2, Pixar takes animation even closer to reality
by using cinematic effects like a foggy, dark evening, camera angles
from different viewpoints, such as the handlebars of a motorcycle and
in-focus foreground/out of focus background to add credibility to the
experience. Yes, the characters themselves defy human physiology, but
that’s where the reality ends.
Too
bad the main premise of the story is unoriginal. After a disastrous
chase to capture the villain Underminer (John Ratzenberger) ends with
his Jules Verne-like tunneling machine comes within inches of
destroying City Hall, Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and
his wife Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) are brought before Mayor
(Barry Bostwick) and the city council and are told that an
international agreement has been ratified to make Superheroes illegal
and that they and their daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell) and son
Dashiel/Dash (Huck Milner) and their good friend Lucius Best/Frozone
(Samuel L. Jackson) are forbidden to exercise their super powers to
catch criminals. Didn’t the Avengers and the X-men experience
similar prohibitions?
Then
along comes Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk), a smooth-talking promoter
of Superheroism and his sister Evelyn (Catherine Keener) who own and
operate a high-tech corporation called “New Urbrem”. Winston
wants to put superheroes back in the world’s good graces and take
Helen under his wing, using his company’s vast utilities to make
her a successful crime fighter. She meets other superheroes from
around the globe such as Voyd (Sophia Bush) – a blue-haired
valley-girl type who can create interdimensional holes,
Krushauer/Helectrix (Phil LaMarr) – a burly Eastern European type
who can crush major structures just by pinching his fingers together
and Reflux (Paul Eiding) an elderly, pot-bellied man who can spew
corrosive lava from his mouth (I laughed every time he did his
thing). Helen’s first successful case was capturing Screenslaver
(Bill Wise), a skeletal, masked hacker.
Meanwhile,
Bob is stuck taking care of three children. Violet accidentally
unmasks herself to Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird), a boy she likes at
school and Bob has Rick Dicker (Jonathan Banks) do a Men in
Black mind erase on Tony. But Tony forgets he ever met
Violet and that sets up a problem. When you have a son with super
speed like Dash it’s really hard to keep up with him and avoid
mischief. Add to that, baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile) is starting to
demonstrate his super powers. We get to see six of them, but Bob
later confesses to Helen that Jack-Jack has seventeen different
powers. What we see are lasers projected from his eyes, a jet
propulsion that rockets him into the air, a trans-morphing into a
demon, a fiery flame ball when he’s angry, self-levitation and
interdimensional travel. Needless to say this saps Bob’s super
strength quickly.
Bob
lets Jack-Jack stay with Edna Mode (Brad Bird), who gives him some
solutions to caring for Jack-Jack. Edna’s character reminded me of
Hetty Lange, played by Linda Hunt on NCIS Los Angeles with
a little Bette Davis thrown in.
But
Helen’s new fame is short lived, because as much as Winston wants
to put superheroes back in favor, his sister Evelyn has developed
special goggles to enslave all superheroes and put them out of
business once and for all.
I
loved it. A sequel that outdid the original. I especially
liked Eli Fucile’s baby sounds and the many ways the animators got
Elastigirl to stretch and reform herself to accomplish her mission. I
look forward to another Incredibles movie.
Fraunces
Tavern
54
Pearl Street (Corner of Broad Street), New York
How
the great have fallen! I’m beginning to believe in the theory of
Devolution. I’ve witnessed restaurants devolving. Mars 2112 went
from a great concept with good food to a kitchy family noise-box with
badly maintained special effects and bad food. The 21 Club went from
the place to be to the place to avoid. Tavern on the Green went from
a class act to a tourist trap with food vastly inferior to the first
incarnation. And now this.
Back
when I first dined at Fraunces Tavern in the seventies, the décor
was charming and comfortable, wing chairs and real draperies, all the
charm of the eighteenth century. The food was excellent and the
service gentile. I felt at home. That all changed in the nineties on
my second visit. The wing chairs gave way to hard, wooden,
uncomfortable Captain’s chairs. The food was still good, but some
of the old-world charm was lost. Now all that’s left of the
original 256 year old restaurant is the smell of antiquity, a scent
you notice as you walk through the door on Pearl Street.
My
lovely dining companion and I waited by the Captain’s station to be
seated. I had requested a window table and we kind of got that. I
could see out the window, but only me. We met our server, Sarah (a
very nice colonial name) and ordered drinks. My friend ordered a
regular iced tea and I, finding out that (once again) Beefeaters gin
was not in stock, chose to have my martini made from gin they distill
on site. It wasn’t the perfect martini, but it was better than if
they had made it with those floral gins the general public like. The
iced tea was served sugarless and was a little bitter.
After
Sarah told us the specials of the day we were left to peruse the
rather large menu, in book form, bound in leather. We had both seen
the menu online and my companion had a taste for Brussels sprouts.
When Sarah returned we asked about them. That’s when Sarah
discovered that my friend was reading the Lunch Menu, not the dinner
menu. Not feeling as hungry as I, my friend ordered a main course and
a side. I ordered my usual three course dinner. Sarah asked if two
dishes should come out together and I told her no, space them out.
My
Oysters on the Half Shell arrived first with a cocktail sauce,
horseradish and a mignonette sauce. The Malpeques were good sized,
tender and not too briny. I almost forgot to take a picture of the
dish before they were finished. By that time I had decided on the
wine. The 2016 “Chasing Lions” Cabernet Sauvignon was a good,
almost full-bodied red that would be fine with my meal.
And
then it happened. My appetizer, both main courses, and both side
dishes were served at the same time. There was obviously no room on
the table for this ridiculous amount of oversized dishes. Sarah must
have heard me remonstrating with the server when he said, “It’s
not my fault.” And I answered, “It’s somebody’s fault!” She
removed my main course for later serving. The lame excuse was a
computer problem. I was shocked. Computers neither take food orders
nor cook nor serve food. People do.
The
Scotch egg, a signature dish, had a crispy coating involving a three
sausage blend, porter cheddar, dirty mustard and local honey. It was
delicious, but for one egg sliced in half, the plate was three sizes
too large.
The
Pan Roasted Salmon was a crispy golden brown rectangle with shimeji
mushrooms, dill-lemon crème fraîche, and Swiss chard. My friend had
them remove the celeriac carrot purée. I tried it. I still don’t
like salmon.
When
my main dish was brought out a second time, the Filet Mignon sizzling
on a Stone (volcanic, according to Sarah) with dirty rice with cherry
tomatoes and pearl onions had three sauces; mustard, vinaigrette and
chimichurri. The second steak looked a lot better than the first one,
more searing on the outside. Inside it was perfect. I tasted all
three sauces but only the chimichurri sauce seemed to go with the
meat.
My
friend’s Sautéed Market Vegetables was an attractive dish with
cauliflower, carrots, broccoli rabe and sliced asparagus. All
vegetables were good color, crisp and flavorful.
The
Mac and Cheese side retained its heat nicely and consisted of
cappelletti (little hats), three cheeses (two were Fontina and
cheddar) and topped with bread crumbs. It was well prepared, cheesy
and the pasta was al dente. Not the best I’ve ever had but far from
the worst.
There
were two interesting desserts on the menu, so we ordered both. The
Sticky Toffee Pudding with vanilla bean ice cream must have been
great. I didn’t get a taste. The Meyer Lemon Tart with raspberry
gelée and citrus berries was a crispy golden triangle of lemony
refreshment. Very nice. I finished off with my usual double espresso
and a glass of Jameson Irish whiskey.
Although
everything worked out in the end food-wise, I will probably not
return to Fraunces Tavern. I still get misty over the first visit.
Seeing that once beautiful room now populated with bulky,
heavy-looking long tables flanked by (obviously) church pews (they
still had the slots on the backs for hymnals and prayer books) and
the window tables not positioned correctly, was just too much. My
lovely restaurant has devolved into a tourist family place.
For the Dinner and a Movie archive, click here.
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