Tomorrowland (2015)

I mainly saw this because I'm a huge Brad Bird fan. The guy has had an amazing track record so far, and I can't wait for The Incredibles 2. Unfortunately, Tomorrowland is the first bump in the road for Bird.

It's not all bad. I love good world building and creative design. There's a lot of that here. There are some creative effects, and for the most part the look of the film is polished. I saw this on IMAX, and while it wasn't in 3D (probably a good thing), I enjoyed the visual experience.

It also has a great cast with some charismatic kid actors for a change. It's uncommon to see a movie where most of the main characters are kids and it's not terrible or the acting seems amateurish. I would say to watch out for Raffey Cassidy as she gets older. Maybe it's because she's English, but I can see her popping up in a few period pieces. She kind of reminds me of Saoirse Ronan. Even Pierce Gagnon from Looper has a small role. As if hearing my wishes after watching Pitch Perfect 2, Keegan-Michael Key has a small and funny cameo, along with Kathryn Hahn. Thank you for that.

The story's a little too ambitious and a little all over the place, but I'd say that the main problem with Tomorrowland is that it's a little too preachy. I felt like I was being lectured by the end of it. It's not that it's a bad message, but it doesn't hit with any real impact. It's not like you leave the theater wanting to change the world.

The pacing is a little off as well. There are times where the action is fun and timed perfectly, but then it gets weighed down with exposition. At a little over two hours, cutting a few minutes here and there I think would have helped.

It's fairly entertaining though, but overall feels like more of a kid's film that's trying too hard. A good rental, and I do think kids will really enjoy it. This strikes me as the kind of movie I would have really loved when I was around 10.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars

The Monuments Men (2014)

I heard the working title for The Monuments Men was Monument's Eleven.

Okay, I didn't actually hear that, but that's the vibe I got while watching The Monuments Men. George Clooney assembles a team, albeit an older one, but still happens to include MATT DAMON, to steal back a bunch of stolen art from some asshole. Sound familiar? Same general story, different locale.

In this case the asshole was Hitler, who had the Nazis going around Europe stealing works of art. So, not only was Hitler a genocidal maniac, he was a selfish hoarder. A team led by Lt. Frank Stokes (Clooney) is tasked with finding, recovering and returning these works of art. There's also concern that Hitler will destroy it all when they lose the war (since this is based on true events, we all know it's not going to go well for Hitler). Plus, the Russians are also trying to loot the art for their own collection.

Joining Stokes' team is Bob Balaban, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville and Bill Murray. It's a great cast and they play well off each other, but we spend so little time with any of them that it seems like a waste. I can't recall many movies where I felt like Bill Murray was underused, but it happens here. Everyone is off in smaller, two man teams, rarely spending any time together as a full group. We barely learn anything about the Men as a result. Much like I complained in Lone Survivor, I could hardly remember any character's name by the end of the film.

Matt Damon spends most of his time with Cate Blanchett, but can you blame him? I'd much rather spend time with her than a bunch of guys. Blanchett plays a French national working at the Louvre who also wants to recover the art, but doesn't trust Damon and the American's intentions. Like the rest of the cast, Blanchett was underused, and it's a shame to get someone like her and have her do so little. She's not even on the poster, so it's not like she was cast for her star power or box office draw. There's nothing in the role that they couldn't have just gotten a lesser known, French actress. This isn't a knock on Blanchett, but more the lack of development in the characters.  Nobody is really required to do any heavy lifting.

The Monuments Men also runs a tad too long. After many, many scenes series of them driving back and forth, going through various art caches, it gets a little repetitive. Some scenes felt totally unnecessary. The narrative is very scattered as it randomly jumps around without any rhyme or reason.

There's very little tension (again, we know how it's going to turn out), and many of the moments where they attempt to build some suspense are immediately diffused with humor. It's surprisingly light, despite being framed around World War II and people dying around them. There are many times where it tries to pull on the heart strings a little, but fails to connect and comes off as sappy, especially with the overstated score.

I can see how George Clooney was trying to make a statement about the importance of art as their grander purpose, but this gets lost in the inconsistent tone of the film. Of Clooney's directed films, this is the weakest I can recall and felt like more of a pet project where he assembled a few friends to make a film.

The Monuments Men assembles a great cast and is pleasant enough, but substitutes charm for a compelling story or characters. It's ultimately forgettable, but the kind of film you'd probably enjoy if you caught on cable when flipping channels. Nothing you need to rush out and see, but not that bad either.

2.5 (out of 5) Death Stars

Gravity (2013)

At least there aren't any sharks in space.  Well, at least that we know of...

I bring up the sharks thing because I heard a lot of people comparing Gravity to Open Water.  While there's some similarity between the two, they really are much different films.  Since Open Water is based on real events you get a bigger feeling of dread, as you know from the beginning how it was going to turn out.  At least with Gravity there are glimmers of hope.  If there ever could be a movie like Gravity that was based off real events, I hope it doesn't happen until after we invent transporters or warp drive or something.

Engineer Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are on a spacewalk while working on the Hubble.  Houston advises them that a Russian satellite has exploded but it's initially not a concern.  However, the debris has collided with another satellite and now it's heading directly for them.  There's no time to return to Explorer before they are hit.  The shuttle is destroyed stranding Kowalski and Stone, and communication with Houston is cut off as well.  Short on fuel and oxygen, they are left to find a way to the International Space Station.  As if things weren't bad enough, the debris field is travelling at high speed as it orbits Earth and is expected back every 90 minutes.

This pretty much sums up just the first ten minutes of Gravity, which is mercifully only 90 minutes.  I say "mercifully" because I don't think I would have been able to take much more.  I don't usually bite my nails, but I might have taken them down to the nubs.  Nearly everything that can go wrong does, and you desperately want them to catch a break.  There's a part towards the end where I feared something else horrible was going to happen, but I was letting my imagination get the better of me.  Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything.  In fact, that's all I'm really going to say about the story, as it didn't play out exactly like I thought it might.  Friends of mine can tell you how I've been angry that I thought the trailers were showing too much.  Fortunately, I didn't find that to actually be the case.

Gravity is being praised for it's scientific accuracy, but director Alfonso Cuarón admits that there are some inaccuracies.  I'm no rocket scientist, so I didn't notice these things, but they're there if you're looking for them.  I imagine that most are excited that the outer space scenes have no sound in them.  This lack of sound makes all the destruction that much more terrifying.  Imagine being surrounded by exploding satellites and shuttles without knowing it was happening unless you were looking directly at them.  I guess that would be kind of like how a shark would totally sneak up on you in the water.  You also get a real feeling for the lack resistance in space with how fast everything is going.  The slightest misstep or mistake and you're screwed.  I'm not sure how the anti-gravity scenes were done, but this is the kind of film I'm really looking forward to some kind of "making of" feature on the Blu-Ray.

The muted scenes and physics reminded me of the battle sequences in the modern Battlestar Galactica.  Gravity is punctuated with an eerie sci-fi score that really stood out.  The score by Steven Price is likely my favorite of the year and I'll be disappointed if he doesn't receive any love come awards-time.

Gravity is an absolutely beautiful movie.  I usually don't make note of a cinematographer, but Emmanuel Lubezki did some fantastic work here.  This is one of the few films I've seen that's definitely worthy of the IMAX format.  Even the 3D was very immersive and not distracting.  If you have a theater that offers IMAX or another premium format, like RPX, do not hesitate to spend the extra few bucks or wait until a showtime is available.

I don't know what else can be said about Alfonso Cuarón at this point.  I've loved everything I've seen of his so far.  He's an extraordinary director.  I really love how he resisted making this a spectacle of loud explosions.  That fact alone makes this a smarter sci-fi movie that avoids feeling like a blockbuster.

Lastly, I loved George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in their roles.  Clooney still gets to show his wry charm, and it's interesting to note that Robert Downey, Jr. was originally attached to the role.  I love RDJ, but he might have been a little too jokey.  Outside of Marion Cotillard, most of the names attached to Bullock's role I think would have been a mistake.  This is mainly due to the ages of the actors though.  I think I would have had a harder time buying into a twenty-something as an engineer/astronaut.  I felt Bullock was a natural in the role and her performance was great.  On a side note, Sandy's almost 50?  You wouldn't know it as there are some glory shots of her that really highlight how she's in killer shape, and it seemed to be saying, "Eat your heart out Jesse James!"

Gravity is a terrifying, intense visual masterpiece.  I can't think of a better looking film I've seen in the past few years.  It's expertly directed and acted, and is one of the top films of 2013.  This is one you don't want to miss on the big screen.

5 (out 5) Death Stars

Blowing my mind!