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 Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is brought to you by Papa John's, eHarmony and Cinnabon.

I've never had huge problem with product placement in a film, and I understand the need for it.  In some films it can actually help sell the setting when you see businesses and brands that are common.  "Oh, this is taking place in our world."  Then there are times where it's just so in your face that it becomes distracting or takes you out of the film.  In one particular scene Walter Mitty and eHarmony Customer Service Rep Todd (yes, an actual character in the film played by Patton Oswalt) are scarfing down some Cinnabon while commenting about how great it is and it's sex/drug like qualities or something to that effect.  Earlier on, they make a point to have Walter say his first job at 17 was at a Papa John's.  This is interesting since Papa John's was founded in 1984, which if Walter was the same age as Ben Stiller's actual age, the earliest he could have got a job there was at 19.  However, I'll allow them that Walter Mitty could have been in his early 40's rather than pushing 50.

I'd have an easier time with this kind product placement if the companies featured weren't so awful.  Cinnabon can barely be called food, and Papa John's is one of the worst pizza chains around.  Don't get me started on eHarmony.  When I was on eHarmony there wasn't any wink functionality (it's actually called "Send a Smile" now).  In fact, eHarmony didn't even give you the ability to browse users.  I suppose their customer service policy has changed as well, as eHarmony service reps will call you at any time to help you out.  I'm sure much has changed since I last wasted my time there though.  I'm was just surprised with such an overbearing presence that they got little details like this wrong.  Oh, and if it's not clear, I really dislike online dating.  I did it for a lot longer than I should have and found it to be a giant waste of time, but that's a conversation for another time and place.

Anyway, if you're still reading after another one of my tangential rants, then I thank you for your patience.  Based on what I've written so far, you're probably thinking I really didn't like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but I probably liked it more that most considering all of the mixed and negative things I've heard about it.  Then again, you know how it is going in with really lowered expectations.

When Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) zones out, wild fantasies play out in his head.  In the real world, Walter is a pretty shy person that knows how little he's done with his life.  He's not a complete loser, working a good job at Life Magazine for 16 years, but that's in jeopardy now that Life has been bought out by a company that intends on turning it into an online magazine.  They have the privilege or publishing the final issue, and are expecting the cover photo to be provided by ace photojournalist Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn), but this photo seems to have gone missing. Walter needs to find it asap or it's going to cost him his job.  Using clues from other recent photos, Walter sets out to track down Sean and recover the photo.

In essence, we have a story about a guy that daydreams of doing amazing things that finally gets an amazing adventure of his own. While some of Walter daydreams were interesting to watch, they weren't grounded in any kind of reality, and some felt like they were done more for laughs.  Walter's real adventure was much more engaging and inspiring.

It is also a gorgeous looking film, and a lot of it is due to the Earth's natural beauty.  I thought the visual effects were a little rough in a few parts, like a bad looking great white shark (and I'm pretty sure white sharks don't migrate that far north).  However, it's the kind of film where I can forgive some lackluster CG due to the rest of it looking so good.

Unfortunately, as we get towards the end some pretty glaring plot hole and consistency issues arise.  You may want to skip ahead to the next paragraph if you want to avoid anything spoiler-ish.  Throughout the story, I thought the whole missing photo was set up intentionally by Sean to get Walter out of his head and out in the real world, like a final gift to him.  Instead, it turns out to be a misunderstanding that makes you smack your forehead with it's simplicity.  A lot of trouble could have been saved if Walter had just been thorough with a particular item.  Another issue arises when the final image is revealed.  When you see that image, you'll wonder why Sean didn't recognize Walter when they meet.  Was he playing dumb?  Was Sean also not able to piece it together?  Plus there are also some issues with time and distance in respect to Sean and his photos.  Finally, calls are made by people without regards to timezone or location when you'd think they'd likely be asleep.  It all makes the ending feel a little too forced and tidy rather than have the emotional payoff it could have had.

I liked Ben Stiller's performance though, and I tend to forget he's a capable actor when forced to something dramatic.  While I get a little tired of when he plays these meek, ineffectual types, it worked well for the type of person Walter was and to show some growth.  As much as I love Kristen Wiig, she's really underutilized and there's just not that much to her character.  One of the interesting things about Adam Scott, other than sporting one of the oddest looking fake beards I've seen, is that he's pretty convincing being able to play a nice, affable guy on something like Parks and Recreation and then pulling off a character like he does here where you want to him get hit by a bus.  I would have liked seeing a little more of a dynamic between his character and Walter, but he's not much more than a one-dimensional bully.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is an ambitious, mixed bag of a film.  There are some great visuals and nice messages about getting out there and living life, but ultimately there's not much to connect to and some plot issues that were a little too messy for my tastes.  It's still a pleasant enough family film that makes for a decent matinee or something to rent.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars

We're the Millers (2013)

In the not too distant past, I've often often lamented seeing movies late in the Summer.  I know I've mentioned this before, but August and September are usually the dumping grounds for stuff the studios don't think can compete or hold up against the blockbusters.  However, there's been a recent trend of films I've looked forward to, or even enjoyed more than the bigger films of Summer.  I don't know if it's that they aren't marketed well, simply fly under the radar, or the Summer has become so saturated that otherwise decent movies are getting pushed back.  We're the Millers continues this trend.

The trailer for We're the Millers actually had me rolling my eyes at the premise a bit, but it worked in the context of the film.  David (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time, successful drug dealer in Denver, but he gets into a little trouble with his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms), after a robbery.  Brad makes a him a deal: smuggle some drugs across the border and he'll wipe the slate clean.  When struggling for a way to pull this off, David is inspired by a family in a mobile home.  He figures that if he can pull off the appearance of a squeaky clean family, the border patrol won't give them another look.  David doesn't have a family though, so he recruits a dorky kid in his building, Kenny (Will Poulter); a runaway, Casey (Emma Roberts); and finally a stripper, Rose (Jennifer Aniston).  David and Rose have butt heads in the past, so she wants no part of the plan, but reluctantly comes along when she runs into money trouble of her own.

Once they make it to Mexico, they find that the 'smidge' of marijuana they thought they were picking up is actually a huge amount.  Brad also neglected to mention that the pot wasn't meant for them in the first place, so now a drug lord (Tomer Sisley) is after them to get it back.  Does drug smuggling in movies ever go off without a hitch?  If actual drug smuggling was this much of a pain in the ass, I'm at a loss as to why anyone would even try it anymore.

Along the way, the Millers meet up with the Fitzgeralds, a seemingly straight-laced couple played by Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn.  If you've seen the trailers, you already know that there's more to them.  I was a little worried about how their characters were going to play out, but I thought Offerman and Hahn were both funny.  I don't think Nick Offerman can do anything wrong at this point though.  Would someone please write a movie with Offerman as the lead?  I'd go for a Ron Swanson movie.

It's a high-concept film, but it's an example of when you assemble a great cast that has good chemistry, and they sell the material, it can work.  Jason Sudeikis is perfect for this type of film with his smart-ass delivery, and he carries Millers well.  I've always enjoyed when he goes into full-on 'dick mode'.  I even got a little bit of Clark Griswald from him, particularly towards the end.  Jennifer Aniston played off Sudeikis well, and showed that she still has her comedy chops after all these years.  Has it really been almost ten years since Friends ended?  Anyway, I like when she doesn't play it safe or plays against type, like she did in Horrible Bosses.  Plus, I'd like to drink from the same fountain of youth that she's been drinking from.  Although, if you pay attention closely, you'll see a body double was used in a few shots.  It's a dead giveaway whenever they cut away and it comes back to a shot of the backside or their head is no longer in the frame.  This isn't meant to be a slam on Aniston or the film, but just an observation.

I also enjoyed Emma Roberts and Will Poulter as the rest of the 'family'.  It was nice to see that they were actually given their own arcs, rather than be throwaway characters without any depth.  You're given reason to care about the Millers, and it's believable why they would bond in such a short time.  You'll also see from the outtakes during the credits that the cast clearly had a lot fun making We're the Millers and I think that comes across in the final product.

There are a few cameos from recognizable comedy actors.  I especially enjoyed Ken Marino as Rose's boss at the strip club, and he has few great lines.  Luis Guzman and Thomas Lennon also appear.  While in a smaller role, I got a kick out of Ed Helms, who seemed to be really enjoying himself playing more of a douchebag that we're used to seeing.

While I didn't find myself rolling on the floor, there were plenty of good laugh-out-loud moments throughout.  I generally like snarky, sarcastic dialog and this is full of it.  There's something about the character interaction I found natural, but maybe it's because I tend to a pretty sarcastic guy myself.  There are some siller and raunchier moments, but I felt it all balanced out nicely.  We're the Millers is also an example of why I appreciate an R-rated comedy simply for the fact that the trailer can't ruin a lot of the better lines and moments.

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (try saying that name five times fast), he allowed the cast enough room to play around a little.  He also kept the pace moving at a good clip, as I didn't realize that this clocks in at 110 minutes.  That's usually around the point where I start feeling a movie's length, especially with a predictable comedy, but I didn't notice until after.  Thurber was the director of Dodgeball, as well as the old Terry Tate, Office Linebacker short, so I'm surprised to see that he's been inactive in recent years.  Here's to hoping he gets more shots at directing comedy.

I was also surprised to see there were four writers (Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders, and John Morris).  That many is usually a bad sign, but it didn't seem to hurt the film too much.  Fisher and Faber are credited with the story, so I wonder if Anders and Morris were brought in to punch it up.  Collectively these guys have written films like Wedding Crashers, Hot Tub Time Machine, Sex Drive, and She's Out of My League, so the comedy pedigree is there.

As I mentioned earlier, We're the Millers is predictable and gets a little cheesy towards the end.  It wraps up a little too cleanly, and there are a few spots in the story where the Millers are let off the hook by convenience.  They also had to show that even though David is a drug dealer, he has rules like he won't sell to kids.  Had they been able to stay away from some of the standard cliches or take some chances, it could have been a real stand out.

It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but We're the Millers has enough laughs to still be a good time at the movies.  Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston are a duo that works well together, and despite the predictable and cliched plot, it hits way more than it misses.  I recommend it as a matinee.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars