Inspired by the urban legend of Cropsey, the Burning begins at a summer camp. A group of boys pull a prank on the camp janitor which goes tragically awry. Severely burned he undergoes multiple failed attempts to restore his face and body. Driven mad he returns to the camp grounds to mete out his revenge.
Truthfully, for most viewers today, the Burning probably seems like just another slasher. And, to be fair, it does not bring anything new to the genre. It came along right at the beginning of the 80’s slasher craze.
But part of what makes the Burning stand out is that it is an early Tom Savini gore fest. He picked the Burning over the sequel to Friday the 13th, and the Burning definitely wins here. Savini’s effects are gruesome and the look of Cropsey is memorable.
Another bit of fun trivia relates to the cast. Holly Hunter, Jason Alexander and Fischer Stevens all made their feature film debut and the music is composed by Rick Wakeman of Yes.
The Burning is a fun old school slasher. It does not have any real surprises, like Sleepaway Camp, but it works pretty well and has some crazy moments as Cropsey works his way through the campers.
Right before the film starts, the cast and crew pop up on screen to tell us the fourteen year wait for the sequel will totally be worth it. Not exactly needed of course. Hey, my butt is already in the seat.
The original Incredibles film was a fun comic book film that was doing that Marvel type of action four years before we got Iron Man. Probably of all the Pixar films, the Incredibles was one of the few that readily seemed to be set for sequels. But when asked, Pixar tended to defer to the availability of Brad Bird.
After the collapse of the highly anticipated Tomorrowland…Pixar got their chance.
Set shortly after the end of the first film, we discover things did not go so well. People still feel that the heroes do more damage than good. Enter brother and sister Winston and Evelyn Deavor. They want to convince the world that super-heroes are necessary, and so they convince Helen Parr to resume life as Elastigirl (noting she had a much lower history of property damage). Bob, on the other hand, becomes a stay at home dad. Bob really wants to be fighting as Mr. Incredible, but he is trying to step back and be a supportive husband ad father.
A lot of the moments I enjoyed most were with Bob and the kids. While the first film revealed baby Jack Jack to have a variety of powers, the Parr family never actually witnessed it. While Bob is initially excited, he finds it taxing, one more problem along with trying to help Dash with schoolwork and Violet come to terms with a frustrating love life. There is a genuinely sweet moment when Bob is exhausted and apologizes for not being the father he wants to be…Violet has a look of kindness as she reaches out to reassure him. It is a really sweet moment.
Flipping the situation for Helen and Bob works very well in the film. The Elastigirl scenes are fun and exciting. There is a great fight scene where she is in the position of having to keep her eyes closed to avoid being hypnotized. Bird and company make this quite exciting.
The film also gives us something new, which is other Supers beyond the Parr family and Frozone. This leads to an action packed finale where saving everybody actually falls onto the Parr kids.
The Brad Bird voiced Edna Mode returns for a fun sequence that explores Jack Jack’s abilities.
I feel Pixar has created a pretty successful sequel here that compliments the original film quite well.
The Big Sick is a fictionalized account of the beginning of the relationship of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, writer/producer Emily V. Gordon. Kumail plays himself while Zoe Kazan takes on the fictional version of Emily.
Kumail grew up in Pakistan and his family wants him to marry a nice young Muslim Pakistani woman. He is not really sure what he wants or even believes. But he humors his mothers attempts at introducing him to women, tossing their pictures into a cigar box. And when he meets Emily, they initially agree that there will be no relationship beyond their first night. It is clear Kumail would like to continue the relationship, only declaring he is not looking for a commitment after Emily states she does not have room for a relationship right now.
But they are terrible at not dating and their relationship grows. As they get closer, Emily wants to introduce him to her parents. When she discovers he has never told his parents about her, the relationship hits a huge roadblock. Here is the thing…Emily’s anger is totally justified. And yet, it is hard not to understand Kumail’s reasoning. He knows he risks losing his family over Emily. The film is very careful about this. The family is not portrayed as villains in this regard. And that is a pretty tricky feat when your family is “standing in the way of love”. But I felt for his parents, especially as they are shut out from a lot of Kumail’s life. But early on it is established that one of his cousins was shunned by the family.
So, after they break up, Kumail tries to get on with his life. But one night he gets a call from Emily’s roommate. Emily is in the hospital and nobody is able to stay with her. She is less than pleased to see him, but when she is put into a coma, Kumail finds himself being drawn deeper into her life.
In a standard rom com, Emily would wake up and be super touched and they run off together. The Big Sick does not do this. After all, when she went into her coma, she still was angry. At one point, Emily tells Kumail that it great he had this awaking…but she was unconscious that whole time.
The Big Sick straddles that line of emotional drama and comedy better than some. And there are scenes that ripped my heart out. Kumail gets a call right as he is about to take the stage…and bombs in a fiercely awkward way. He stumbles through his jokes before giving into sorrow and the sense of powerlessness in the situation. I can tell you this, knowing something terrible has happened with someone you love and being stuck in your job? It is mind numbing.
The scenes between Kumail, Holly Hunter and Ray Romano (as Emily’s parents) are very good. They all connect and grow. There is one scene, when Hunter and Romano have gone to watch Kumail’s standup (much to his chagrin). At this point, her mother still does not trust him. She resents how he hurt her daughter. But when a frat boy starts heckling Kumail (in a most racist fashion), you see a new perspective growing within Hunter. She is ferocious in this scene.
Kumail and Emily make for a good writing team here, finding both humor in their experiences as well as raw emotion.
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon
Maybe the film just connected with me in a way that I find it way better than it is. But I found the film both fun and heart wrenching.
Inspired by the urban legend of Cropsey, the Burning begins at a summer camp. A group of boys pull a prank on the camp janitor which goes tragically awry. Severely burned he undergoes multiple failed attempts to restore his face and body. Driven mad he returns to the camp grounds to mete out his revenge.
Right before the film starts, the cast and crew pop up on screen to tell us the fourteen year wait for the sequel will totally be worth it. Not exactly needed of course. Hey, my butt is already in the seat.
The Big Sick is a fictionalized account of the beginning of the relationship of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, writer/producer Emily V. Gordon. Kumail plays himself while Zoe Kazan takes on the fictional version of Emily.
Tripping Through Gateways 