Becoming a teenager can sometimes feel like a wrecking ball flung directly through your brain. That’s what happens to Riley’s “headquarters” in “Inside Out 2.”
Continuing the story of the critically acclaimed 2015 film, “Inside Out,” which followed 11-year-old Riley’s personified emotions through the difficulties brought on by her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco, “Inside Out 2” sees Riley two years older and once again facing massive changes.
After a demonstration of the well-oiled machine Riley’s emotions have become using the lessons learned in the first movie — a particularly successful game of hockey — Joy takes us through the current state of Riley’s life: her new friends, her forming system of beliefs and her newfound sense of self. Things are looking up for Riley and her crew when a flashing, screaming siren shakes them out of their comfortable routine — puberty has arrived.
Here’s where the wrecking ball comes in. Riley’s brain gets restructured to make room for a gaggle of new emotions: Ennui, Embarrassment, Envy and their overzealous leader Anxiety.
On the outside of her head, Riley is headed to a three-day hockey camp with her best friends that could define the next four years of her social life. On the inside, the new emotions are butting heads with the old as Anxiety becomes convinced she knows what’s best for Riley, and Joy is getting in the way.
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I will be completely honest with you, dear reader. I hate sequels.
Unless a movie is adapting some longer piece of media that requires a few installments, I believe any movie that can stand on its own should stay that way, and if it can’t there’s certainly no reason to produce more of them. But the short list of exceptions to this rule has just gained another entry, and its name is “Inside Out 2.”
The idea that going through puberty would trigger the emergence of “new” emotions tripped me up initially and, honestly, I still think it’s a bit of a gimmick — does anyone really believe a 6-year-old never feels embarrassment or envy? But setting that aside, Riley’s difficulties with self-worth and friendship and their corresponding inward disasters rang true to the horrors of the early teenage years.
Part of what made the first movie so effective was its basis in actual psychology — filmmakers consulted with psychologists to accurately reflect the inner workings of an 11-year-old’s mind — and it turns out our brains have more stories to tell.
Set pieces like the back of the mind and the literally growing sense of self provide fresh visualizations of familiar experiences. As Joy, Sadness, Anxiety and the rest of the crew frantically scurried through Riley’s mind I found myself thinking, “Oh yeah, that is what that feels like!”
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Along with making these experiences a little more comprehensible, “Inside Out 2” also sends a pretty comforting message: Whether anxiety is right has no bearing on whether it’s helpful.
Riley is being judged by the other girls, they do think her taste in music is childish and her hockey coach isn’t happy with her performance. But like Joy reminds Anxiety at the end of the movie, Riley can only control so much, and that’s completely OK.
Growing up involves a lot of reassessing priorities. Deciding which of your gut feelings to pursue is awkward, messy and sometimes disastrous, but life goes on and, generally, things work out.
In one scene, Riley overhears some of the older girls talking about her behind her back, one of them criticizing her lack of self awareness as she insists she wasn’t that bad at her age. It’s a devastating moment for Riley, but anyone who’s made it past that phase of denial can say with confidence, “Trust me, you were.”
Other stories by Caroline
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Caroline Julstrom, intern, may be reached at 218-855-5851 or cjulstrom@brainerddispatch.com.
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Caroline Julstrom finished her second year at the University of Minnesota in May 2024, and started working as a summer intern for the Brainerd Dispatch in June.
DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is an excellent political thriller with a Christian message. The United States government has created an operation to ban the Bible and create its own “Truth Bible.” An underground Christian activist has asked Christian leader, Nate, to smuggle Bibles to seven churches in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Nate tries to enlist the help of the activist’s former friend, Jim, to help. However, Jim’s wife was murdered by government agents, and Jim is afraid for his adult daughter’s safety. Can anything convince Jim to help? And, will Nate’s smuggling plan succeed?
DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is a superbly written, suspenseful thriller. Writer Josh Strychalski has inserted some really good twists and turns. The performances in DISCIPLES are strong, and the direction by Bret Varvel, who plays Nate, is excellent. DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT has an inspiring Christian, biblical worldview. It sends a powerful message about protecting, spreading and defending the Word of God. It also sends a strong warning against government tyranny. DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is one of the best faith-based movies and best thrillers in recent years.
(CCC, BBB, ACACAC, PPP, V, D, M):
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Very strong Christian, biblical worldview about protecting the Word of God Written, the Bible, spreading its Gospel message and defending the Bible’s views of the effects of sin and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ’s work on the Cross alone (a man shows his younger brother how, if you water down the Bible’s view of sin and eliminate its messages on Hell, Judgment, Justice, and punishment, you do away with Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross for our sins), and movie strongly opposes big government tyranny and defends freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom of the press, plus movie overcomes the tyrannical government’s attack on the Bible, Christianity, the Gospel, and Christians, and its universalist, antinomian indoctrination of the American people;
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Foul Language:
No obscenities or profanities, but three or four times people pray to God, the Lord and Jesus in an informal way;
Violence:
Light violence includes government agents shoot at people, a man is shot dead and another is seriously wounded in one shooting incident, a Christian is deliberately assassinated off screen, camera cuts away as a speeding train accidentally hits a pickup truck stalled on the tracks, government agents arrest people, woman hits a woman with a shovel as the woman holds a shotgun on two people to earn some bounty money, people run from some pursuers, and brief fighting and punching;
Sex:
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No sex;
Nudity:
Image of upper male nudity from afar as man lies in ambulance after being shot;
Alcohol Use:
No alcohol use;
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Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Woman smokes cigarettes in two scenes, but no drugs; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Tyrannical government lies and creates its own bible, twisting the words of passages such as movie explicitly shows that the government has changed the words of John 3:16 to give a false universalist, antinomian gospel with no Hell and no Justice to deceive the people while it bans the real Bible (the government’s bible is also clearly much smaller).
DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is an excellent thriller about seven people intent on smuggling Bibles into Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky when a tyrannical government creates a false flag operation so it can ban the Bible and persecute Christians. DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is a superbly written, suspenseful thriller with strong performances and excellent direction, and an inspiring Christian, biblical worldview that sends a powerful message about spreading the Word of God and warning against government tyranny.
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A former pastor named Jim Edwards has withdrawn from preaching after an armed government official killed his wife at an anti-government Christian protest in Springfield, Ohio. Since then, the President of the United States has used the protest to ban the Bible and create a government-approved “Truth Bible.” The smaller, government approved Bible has watered down the Word of God. It even rewrote John 3:16 to preach a universalist, antinomian message of tolerance and “inclusion,” eliminating any notion of Justice, Hell, Judgment, or punishment.
Jim used to work with the leader of the Springfield protest, known only as “The Apostle.” The Apostle has reached out to a friend of Jim’s, named Nate Smith. Nate is still part of an underground church. The Apostle asks Nate to smuggle some hard-copy Bibles to seven churches in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Nate has a plan, but he needs Jim’s expertise help to help carry it out successfully. However, Jim declines, because he doesn’t want his adult daughter, Ashley to die like his wife did. Ashley wants to help Nate, though, even though her father ties to forbid her.
Can anything convince Jim to help? And, will Nate’s smuggling plan succeed?
DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is a superbly written, suspenseful thriller. Writer Josh Strychalski has inserted some really good twists and turns that keep viewers engaged. Josh also plays one of the Bible smugglers, who faces some emotional family obstacles. The performances in DISCIPLES are strong, and the direction by Bret Varvel, who plays Nate, is excellent.
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DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT has an inspiring Christian, biblical worldview. It sends a powerful message about protecting, spreading and defending the Word of God. It also warns against government tyranny. DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT is one of the best faith-based movies and best thrillers in recent years.
As a faith-based movie, DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT will be hard to beat when it comes time to hand out awards next year. It should be a contender in the Academy Awards, but Hollywood hates to reward thriller movies, much less thrillers with an overt Christian message about the right to worship.
Directed by Ian Nathan. Featuring James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Mark Rolston, Jenette Goldstein, William Hope, Carrie Henn, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Robert Skotak, John Lee, Graham Hartstone, Alan Dean Foster, Mark Verheiden, V. Castro, Charles de Lauzirika, Derek Dafoe, Drea Letamendi, and James Dyer.
SYNOPSIS:
How much do you love the movie Aliens? If your answer is “It’s one of my favorite movies!” then the new documentary Aliens Expanded is for you. It’s nearly five hours (yes, five hours) long and features plenty of commentary from director James Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd, the primary cast members, and plenty of other folks. Highly recommended.
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One of the great things about the modern era is the ability for people to be not only fans but super fans of whatever interests them, thanks to the Internet. If you’re one of those Aliens super fans, then you’ll want to check out the nearly five-hour Aliens: Expanded documentary, which plumbs the depths of the film in an exhaustive look at the making of it and its legacy.
Sure, we have Charles de Lauzirika’s excellent Superior Firepower: The Making of Aliens documentary, which has been kicking around on home video since the DVD days (and he shows up in this documentary), but I’m sure you’ll learn some new stuff here and there in Aliens Expanded. I think the running time just about guarantees it.
And even if you already know many of the making-of stories, there’s something to be said for just soaking in a lengthy discussion of a movie you love and revisiting the era in which it came out. I was a teenager when Aliens was released, so I can remember a simpler time when you could go to a movie, enjoy it, and chat about it with people afterward without getting distracted by the Internet, or even seeing spoilers online before you could get to the theater.
The usual suspects show up here, including, of course, writer/director James Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd, Sigourney Weaver and the rest of the cast, and some of the special effects guys. However, Aliens Expanded goes beyond that to serve up thoughts from people like Alan Dean Foster, who wrote the novelization (along with the novelizations of many classic science-fiction movies of that era), comic book author Mark Verheiden (he wrote a bunch of Aliens comics for Dark Horse that were, unfortunately, rendered moot by Alien 3), and even psychologist Drea Letamendi.
The documentary takes us through the making of the movie from its earliest days to its release and its legacy. James Cameron in particular doesn’t seem to mind giving his unvarnished thoughts on those days, including his low opinion of producers David Giler and Walter Hill and his observation that the British crew members at Pinewood Studios were “on a different wavelength.”
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Cameron is also willing to put some blame at his own feet, however, such as his telling of the story of the tea lady and her trolly. (I won’t spoil it.) He acknowledges that he wasn’t always very diplomatic, an observation echoed by others; however, the consensus seems to be that he could be blunt because he was so obsessed with every detail of making the film.
There are plenty of other great stories told during Aliens Expanded, and there’s even a moment where conflicting tales pop up: Lance Henriksen says that he brought a case full of knives to England so Cameron could choose one for that famous scene, and when he was detained by the authorities, Gale Anne Hurd arrived to save the day. Hurd’s version of the story, though, is one where she was with him at the time but they both worried about the case being opened and were relieved when it wasn’t.
I don’t point that out to throw shade at anyone, of course. It’s now been close to thirty years since that incident happened, along with many others discussed in this documentary. Heck, I can’t always remember what I had for lunch the previous day.
I should also note that the two primary cast members no longer with us — Bill Paxton and Al Mathews — get the recognition they richly deserve.
The framing device for Aliens Expanded revolves around accessing computer files, unsurprisingly, with animations that introduce each chapter and provides bridges to side stories. If I want to pick any nits with this documentary, I’d say that sometimes the transitions between topics are abrupt, and sometimes a topic is discussed before segueing to something else and then looping back around to the original subject.
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But those are minor issues. This documentary had to be a huge undertaking, and the fact that it simply exists, with participation from so many key people, is a testament to the filmmakers’ resolve.
The fans also got involved in this one, funding it during the development stage and getting their names in the lengthy end credits. Stick around through the credits to see clips of various fans talking about their love of Aliens.
1 of 5 | Glenn Powell holds onto Sasha Lane in “Twisters.” Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment
LOS ANGELES, July 16 (UPI) — 1996’s Twister was a groundbreaking visual effects spectacle but not beloved for its plot or characters. Twisters, in theaters Friday, now follows 28 years of similar effects and has not improved its storytelling.
Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) introduces her joyful storm chasing friends as they attempt to launch barrels of sodium polyacrylate into a tornado in an attempt to dissipate the storm. Don’t get too attached to them because only Kate and Javi (Anthony Ramos) survive.
Five years later, Kate is working for the National Weather Service when Javi returns with a new project. His current team wants to place military-grade tracking equipment in the paths of Oklahoma tornados to create 3D models of the storms.
The actors in Twister movies bear the responsibility of shouting lines like “Go, go, go!” and saying just enough science to justify the catastrophic scenes. The backstories of Kate and Javi are so formulaic they make the divorce papers subplot of Twister look like Chinatown.
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Kate has lost her edge since she feels guilty for putting her friends in harm’s way years ago. Twisters gives her a redemption arc so perfunctory it’s hard to feel inspired.
Javi has a mysterious corporate sponsor with whom he has several secret meetings. By the time the sponsor’s true intentions are discovered, they are absurdly villainous. Yet it takes a minor screaming a mustache-twirling villain speech suddenly at the end to drive it home.
As Kate regains her storm-chasing fortitude with Javi’s team, they compete against Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) and his team of “tornado wranglers.” The wranglers pull stunts like launching fireworks into tornados and film it for YouTube, so the film can also incorporate webcam footage of Tyler speaking to the camera.
Tyler is a charismatic rival, if not outright villain, and the only character with personality beyond their plot function. The film becomes a battle of science vs. reckless sport rather than science vs. nature, yet the film is not interested in exploring either dynamic in depth.
Kate continues Helen Hunt’s character’s motivation to use science to create warning systems for advancing tornadoes, taking it a bit further to possible prevention. That was a thin way to adapt nature into a three act structure in 1996 and Twisters‘ screenwriters felt little compunction to update it.
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Unfortunately, the storms in Twisters have less personality than the landmark sequences in the original. Now it’s just people running from wind, occasionally large objects drop near them and some get sucked away to their off-screen deaths.
There are no flying cows to distinguish the storms in Twisters.
Occasionally, the characters pause their efforts and stop to help victims of tornado disasters. It feels a little disingenuous when the film is disaster porn but purports to sincerely care for victims of catastrophe.
So Twisters is a faithful sequel in that it prioritizes spectacle over character and story just like its predecessor. Only now the spectacle isn’t what it used to be and the opportunity to improve was forsaken.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
