Tomorrowland: A World Beyond Review

The Plot

When Casey (Britt Robertson) comes across a badge that transports her to a whole new world whenever she touches it, she goes in search of the truth behind it all. With the help of inventor Frank Walker (George Clooney) and a young girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy) she soon discovers Tomorrowland.

The Good

Director Brad Bird (Mission Impossible 4) brings a huge spectacle of a film to the screen in a way that only Brad Bird could. Serving as both an original sci-fi film and an advertisement for Disney World, Tomorrowland is a sight to behold. Opening with a flashback to ‘where it all began’ with young George Clooney’s inventor desperately trying to build a Rocketeer type jetpack and Britt Robertson’s Casey finding the pin that instantly takes her to Tomorrowland – in some completely breathtaking and seamless transitions – Tomorrowland’s first half is a treat to the eyes.

It’s the latter half that brings the important message to the forefront though. Without spoiling too much, Tomorrowland’s moral is incredibly poignant for today’s day and age. Comparisons can be made to Interstellar and even slightly Nightcrawler (at least in terms of its themes…). It’s hard to go into any more detail without spoiling the experience. Sufficed to say, Clooney and Robertson are fantastic, but the real highlight comes from Raffey Cassidy who knocks them out of the limelight most of the time. An incredible feat for a 12 year old actress!

The Bad

While the main cast are spectacular, the main antagonist, Hugh Laurie’s Nix, feels hugely underused. Considering he is set up early on, he doesn’t reappear for a good while, instead his robot minions – who alas, are human form and not yellow… -  are used as the main threat for a big chunk of the storyline. Laurie’s character is an interesting one. His ideas and plans feel occasionally warranted but they aren’t explored as fully as they could or should have been. What starts out as an interesting villain, soon ends up a forgettable one.

And though the two halves of the film, the former, stunningly breathtaking spectacle, followed by the latter, poignant and thought provoking moral, are both interesting and well done on their own, together they affect the pacing of the 130 minute runtime. The latter half thus feels slightly more dragged out than the opening.

The Ugly Truth

Brad Bird brings his usual swooping visuals to a genuinely thought provoking story which will make you reflect on the state of our world today. It’s just a shame that the two don’t connect together so easily. At times it becomes clunky and unsure of itself, but when it works it’s a triumph.

Review by Johnny Ellis

Lionsgate Plan Now You See Me 3

Now You See Me somehow managed to magic up a $350 million worldwide box office haul, ensuring Lionsgate rushed ahead with a sequel. Seemingly confident that the combination of card tricks, Jessie Eisenberg and James Franco’s brother was a safe bet the studio defiantly ignored mostly lackluster reviews.

With Now You See Me 2 not yet in cinemas Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has officially confirmed that “We’ve already begun early planning for Now You See Me 3″. 

Admittedly it’s hardy surprising given the success of the first film and heavy investment in the sequel that Lionsgate at least have some vague plan in place for how they might continue the franchise should the sequel pull a magic box office number out of it’s hat next summer.

Poltergeist Review

The Plot

After a family moves into a home that sits on a former cemetery, they soon become haunted by evil forces and must come together to save their youngest daughter when she’s taken captive.

The Good

Remaking a horror film as classic as Poltergeist was always going to be an idea which would provoke some worry. Released 33 years after the original, this remake does a perfectly fine job at updating it for modern audiences. The original story is still there, but with the addition of drones and a reality show ghost hunter in the form of Jared Harris to help things move along.

Thankfully it’s not a complete shot for shot remake and does actually try to bring something new to the story. One prime example being that when the family do start to take notice of the strange activities going on in their new not so humble abode, they start to work to get rid of it instantly, as apposed to, say, using your child as an experiment/plaything for the poltergeist (see the original for more…). With a plot that runs 20 minutes shorter, Poltergeist somehow manages to cram in more activity in than it’s predecessor. Though perhaps this might not have been the right way to go about it…

The Bad

Unfortunately it’s impossible to view Poltergeist without instantly bringing comparisons to the original, and because of this, it falls short. While it’s certainly brave of director Gil Kenan (Monster House) and writer David Lindsay-Abaire (Oz the Great and Powerful) to go a different way, the fact is that this remake barely constitutes a horror. Where the terror of the original came from the slow burning threat which is eventually paid off, this new version only manages to shock with the use of cheap jump scares.

The cast too don’t seem to be very invested or confident with the idea of it either. Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt make for simple and uninteresting characters that seem bored with the script. Meanwhile the biggest highlight of the child actors is Kennedi Clements (whose biggest previous credit includes Jingle All The Way 2…) and this is only really because she’s the unfortunate child who gets taken in by the ghouls.

The Ugly Truth

Poltergeist should be respected slightly for not trying too hard to stay exactly like it’s original and instead trying to bring something new to a classic. However all attempts that are made are scuppered by cheap jump scares and a bored script.

Review by Johnny Ellis

It Remake Loses Director Cary Fukunaga

True Detective director Cary Fukunaga has officially left he planned New Line remake of Stephen King horror classic It. Will Poulter had previously been confirmed to play the evil fear monster  Pennywise, but he now may never get the chance to step into Tim Curry’ clown shoes.

Although production was due to start next month the remake has now officially been delayed indefinitely. It seems that without the guiding hand of the True Detective director New Line has lost confidence in the prospect of re-imagining the iconic Stephen King horror franchise.

Moomins on the Riviera Review

The Plot

The classic Finnish cartoon comes to the big screen in a story which sees the Moomins slip into the world of the rich and famous on the Riviera.

The Good

Though they’re not particularly well known these days, to many, the Moomins are instantly recognisable and bring a flood of nostalgia for those who grew up with the hippopotamus dopplegangers. Moomins On The Riviera serves as not only a nice introduction for the classic characters and a fitting reboot to bring them into the hearts of a whole new generation of young fans, but also as a brilliant way in which to introduce young ones to the cinema. While last years Paddington had this appeal too, Moomins drops the (in Paddington’s case, very mild) threat and instead leaves some charming animation which gives plenty for both adults and children to enjoy without the worry of anything too upsetting.

The simplistic storyline, in which the Moomins are split between their experiences with the upper class, brings a wonderful lesson for children to learn about the importance of wealth and fame. Thankfully too, the small voice cast, of which the two biggest names are Russell Tovey (Being Human) as Moomin and Tracy Ann Oberman (Eastenders) as Moomin mamma aren’t very distinguishable as particular ‘stars’ per se, which helps keep the characters of the Moomins as realistic as they can be for what are essentially cartoon hippopotami…

The Bad

Though it is certainly captivating, certain plot strands of Moomins do bring some rather worrying criticisms. A lot of the film focuses on the relationship between Snorkmaiden and Moomin and potentially gives off the idea that a young girl can’t be happy unless she has some sort of man in her life…

The Ugly Truth

Moomins On The Riviera is a beautifully animated and simplistically charming way to spend 80 minutes. While it does have the odd flaw in storytelling, it becomes quite futile to be too critical of it. If you’ve yet to introduce any young children to the cinematic experience, you can’t go wrong here.

Review by Johnny Ellis