The Future's So Bright..."Tomorrowland"

Tomorrowland (2015)

Rated

Starring George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Hugh Laurie,

Directed by Brad Bird

The Story:

There's a place called Tomorrowland where genius inventors are invited to try and shape a better future for the world. Nix (Laurie) brings these geniuses to this other world, and a young inventor named Frank gets invited by Nix's daughter, Athena (Cassidy). Years later, Casey (Robertson) begins seeing visions of Tomorrowland and tracks down Frank (Clooney) to help her find it. The only problem, Frank doesn't want to go back, and the citizens of Tomorrowland want them both dead!

So much potential.

I'm not sure what exactly happened, as Brad Bird is normally gold when he directs (and writes) the movies.

I'm going to go out on a limb with a regular finger-pointing on this matter:

It's too long.

Otherwise, it's filled with some pretty interesting bits, and some great actors who seemed to be having a great time with the film.

The story really picks up once Casey and Frank team up and attempt to get back to Tomorrowland.

The energy and the story seems to ramp up quite a bit at that point.

The problem is, there are too many less interesting bits holding this altogether, and by the time Clooney makes his "official" entrance, the movie seems half over, and nothing has truly happened.

Snipping about 10 to 20 minutes or so from some of the buildup might have streamlined the overall narrative.

There were good intentions to be found here, and the overall message and idea behind the film are solid.

It simply stumbles in the execution.

Final Grade: C+

It's Been A Decade, Still Waiting For A Sequel To "The Incredibles"

The Incredibles (2004)

Rated PG for slightly scary stuff... if you're like a baby or something! ;)

Starring Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee

Directed & Written by Brad Bird

The Story:

Mr. Incredible (Nelson) and Elastigirl (Hunter) were two of America's best superheroes.  However, the times have changed, and all of the old heroes have gone into "retirement" at the behest of the government.  Trying to live a normal life, they started a family, but Mr. Incredible has the itch to get back into the game.  When given a chance to relive some of the old glory days, he takes a chance, but is captured by Syndrome (Lee) a wannabe sidekick with delusions of grandeur.  It's up to the family to save their dad, and the day.  Can they do it?

With the release of this film, it was easily, for me, considered the best superhero movie ever.

If Marvel Studios hadn't hit a home run with Iron Man, I would have maintained that the best way to bring the heroes to life would be to follow Pixar's lead and craft well written stories that allow for the dynamics of animation to best convey the stories of superheroes.

But, Marvel made miracles happen, and the rest is history.

Meanwhile, The Incredibles now celebrates a decade of being one of Pixar's finest films.

It also cements the fact that Brad Bird is arguably the best writer/director of animated films of this generation.

The Iron Giant
The Incredibles
Ratatouille

All written and directed by him.

Probably John Lassetter is the only one more successful, but Bird was doing it prior to his arrival at Pixar, and he's also made the jump to live action films with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol which was a very highly entertaining entry in that franchise.

The voice cast is spot on in this film, from the kids to every character throughout the film.  The dialogue and plot just pulls you in and holds you until the very end.

Plus, before he was Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson was FroZone!

:)

Excellent, all the way around.

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Own it, love it.  Looking forward to the announced sequel (about time!)

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 30 ~ The Incredibles

If you had asked me, at any point before 2004, "What is the greatest superhero film ever made?", I probably would have said "Superman: The Movie".

As Amazing as Spider-Man was when it first came out, the thrill of seeing Spidey on the big screen wore off quickly with the changes that were made to the franchise.  I never liked Tobey as Spidey, and don't get me started on their choice for Mary Jane...or the organic web-shooters.

The subsequent sequels failed to even live up to that initial rush of seeing Spider-Man on the big screen.

But alas, Spider-Man has failed to crack the countdown, and at the risk of upsetting the whole thing by revealing what movies did NOT make the countdown...

Neither did Superman.

Which is saying something, because I told you all early on, that Richard Donner is likely my favorite director...ever.

Now, from 2004 to about 2008... had you asked the same question about the greatest superhero film ever made, then that answer would be today's pick: The Incredibles.

Brad Bird hits the countdown again with his second feature as writer & director.  His follow-up to The Iron Giant was his first Pixar film, and one that raised the bar for superheroes everywhere.

The plot is simple enough... the federal government has all superheroes go into retirement in a witness relocation program, where they attempt to live everyday lives.

But when you have superpowers... how can you go from extraordinary lives to living dull and meaningless ones?

Centering on the Incredible family, all who have superpowers, and a dad that has the itch to suit up on occasion... it only takes one supervillain to push them over the edge and bring them out of hiding.

Because the only thing more important than saving the world?

Saving your family.

It's a movie with class, heart, and humor to spare.

And if not for the creation of Marvel Studios and what they have been able to crank out since 2008...

It would still likely be the greatest superhero movie ever made.