Tomorrowland
Dir. Brad Bird
Tomorrowland, like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion before it, is based on a Disney World theme park attraction. However, unlike those films, "Tomorrowland" isn't a ride with some semblance of a "story," it's just the name of a section of the park with lots of shiny futuristic space ship paraphernalia. So how the heck did Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ghost Protocol) and writer Damon Lindelof (Lost, Prometheus) even go about this? Well, besides borrowing the "Disneyland" aesthetic, their ambitions were certainly lofty: Tomorrowland is no less than a call-to-arms to end cynicism and make the future a better, brighter, the-opposite-of-Mad Max wheat field of joy. But while I appreciate the message, and the retro-futuristic design of the effects, Tomorrowland is a complete mess story-wise.
While the cast does a commendable job, I just felt like this movie took over 2 hours to cram a message down my throat without thinking of the movie it had to fit into. The movie is unclear throughout (the villain - played by House M.D. - has arguably less motivation than even Ultron from Avengers 2) and features a ridiculous amount of plot holes and contradictions. For example, the theme of the film seems to be: "we should all join hands and make the world a better place!" But at the same time, Robertson's character is endlessly told she's "special" - essentially the "Neo" of Tomorrowland. So which is it? Wouldn't it be a more powerful story if Robertson wasn't special - if she was a normal person (like the fools in the audience watching this movie) saving the world? That would make the whole point of the movie shine brighter. "Yes, even you, little Billy, can change the world for the better!" But no - it's only if you're given an exclusive pin are you allowed in the "dreamers" club.
If only Tomorrowland had managed to instill the same sense of awe and wonder its characters feel and have a coherent narrative it might have been amazing. Alas, this film is bloated, boring, and just all around clumsy. The message is great (and I have to admit the very final shot of the movie is beautiful), and it's interesting to have this come out so soon after Mad Max, where the future is nothing but bleakness. But again, the script is just so terrible, and it has that fake Disney sheen on it making the action scenes feel like plastic. It's a shame - but this is the first Brad Bird movie that unequivocally stinks.
Rating: C-
White God
Dir. Kornél Mundruczó
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It's a common Hollywood saying that the two things you should avoid working with at all costs when making a movie are children and animals. Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó must not have got that memo. White God is the story of a dog, Hagen, whose owner, a young girl named Lili (Zsofia Psotta), is forced to move into her father's apartment for a while. Going through his own issues (divorce, not knowing how to raise his daughter, etc), he takes out his anger on the dog, and eventually abandons it under a bridge. Hagen then finds himself alone in the world, running away from dogcatchers and other skeevy people around town. I don't want to give much away after that, but it basically turns into Rise of the Planet of the Apes meets Homeward Bound, and it's so exciting and different to see a story that almost guaranteed would require CGI dogs with any other film, but here it's all real.
My biggest problem with the film is actually the reason why I love it. At times, I found myself zoning out of the story, constantly wondering "how the hell did they get those dogs to do that?" It's a weird gripe to have, but the animals were so well trained and coordinated it was almost distracting from everything else going on. Still, I really loved this movie - it's a simple parable that you can read in a number of ways (either as class warfare, a coming-of-age story, dealing with parenthood), but at the end of the day, it left me with a set of images I've never seen before and wrapped up in a story I was emotionally invested in. I heartily recommend White God, if only to see this unparalleled animal-wrangling achievement!
Rating: A
Tangerines
Dir. Zaza Urushadze
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This movie exemplifies one of the things I appreciate most about the Academy Awards: had it not been nominated for Best Foreign Feature, I never would have seen this little gem of a movie! Tangerines is more or less a "one location" film, taking place on a small tangerine farm during the '92-'93 War in Abkhazia in Georgia. While most of the villagers have fled due to the war, two neutrally-sided Estonian farmers have stayed behind, Ivo (Lembit Ulfsak) and Margus (Elmo Nüganen). While going through the daily grind of tangerine farming, they're caught in the crossfire of the two sides; after the battle, they nurse back a hurt soldier, and soon discover another soldier - of the opposite side - and nurse him back too. Essentially the film takes place in a cabin-turned-pressure cooker as these two rival soldiers are chomping at the bit to kill one another while the farmers try to keep the peace. It's a simple story that feels like it would fit right at home on the stage. Even though it's pretty predictable where it eventually goes, the actors are all fantastic and the creaky, mud-caked farming house makes for a weirdly compelling location. I definitely recommend this one!
Rating: B
BONUS - RETRO REVIEW
Faster Pussycat...Kill! Kill!
Dir. Russ Meyer
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I usually don't write reviews for "old" movies on this blog, but I'm making an exception now!
I had the opportunity to see this movie at a late night screening (it seems inappropriate to watch this movie during the day), and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I knew that it was a classic sort of 60s drive-in/"Grindhouse" movie that guys I'm a huge fan of were fans of (like Rob Zombie and Quentin Tarantino), but beyond that I was sort of prepared for this to be maybe a little boring, but cheesy fun. While it certainly was cheesy fun, I got a lot more than I bargained for (especially in the upper chest region...ahem). Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! features fast cars, violent, scantily-clad women in some sort of gang, hillbillies who seem like they'd be neighbors with the Sawyer family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and a groovy soundtrack to boot. I was surprised just how well this movie holds up; it seems like Russ Meyer, though clearly indulging on his every whim, has a distinct, whacko style where everything is exaggerated, from the roaring engines to the camera placement making the women appear gigantic.
The ladies here are truly badasses, and even though they're "bad guys" (they kidnap a young, bikini-clad girl after killing her boyfriend), you can't help but love them. They take matters into their own hands and totally overpower and dominate the men in the movie, who appear as total imbeciles. It's interesting to watch this after Mad Max Fury Road, which also initially came across as a "boy fantasy" picture, but ultimately turned into more of a "girl power" fantasy. This movie is weird as hell, moves faster than any other movie of its kind (that I've seen), and I definitely enjoyed it, warts and all. It's totally trashy, but with lines like the following you can't go wrong:
"I was fine thirty minutes ago! Or do you see people differently when they're not horizontal?"
"I don't know what your point is!"
"The point is of no return, and you've reached it!"
Rating: B+
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