Tomorrowland (2015)

A truly unique adventure from the wonderful world of Disney, this film becomes more enjoyable every time I watch it, though nothing can beat seeing it on the big screen as I did years ago.

Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) has always been fascinated by the stars. Able to name all the constellations and point them out from a very early age, she has always dreamed of going into outer space one day.

Living with her father Eddie (Tim McGraw) and younger brother Nate (Pierce Gagnon), she continues to chase her dream. Her father is an engineer with NASA, and she spends her evenings carrying out her own form of protest against the planned closure of a launch site at Canaveral.

After being arrested for vandalism one evening, she is taken into police custody. When she is finally bailed out (by her very disappointed father), she collects her belongings from the front desk. Included in her belongings is a small lapel pin (which she doesn’t recognise), but when she touches it, she is instantly transported into another world (although she can only see it when she is touching the pin; she is technically still in our world, but can see an incredible vision of a futuristic society).

Casey (Britt Robertson) discovers a lapel pin among her belongings after being
released from police custody.

Desperate to find out what the pin is, and how she can get back to this future world on a more permanent basis, she finds a collectable store online that is looking for the very pin she possesses: evidently it is a memorial pin from the World’s Fair in 1964.

But when she gets to the store, the couple trying to get their hands on the pin seem to not be all they seem. Ursula (Kathryn Hahn) and her husband Hugo (Keegan-Michael Key) even end up threatening her life, and would succeed if it wasn’t for the last-minute intervention of a young girl named Athena (Raffey Cassidy).

It turns out that Hugo and Ursula are robots (actually, so is Athena) from this very society Casey is wanting to get to. Athena takes Casey on a road trip to find the one person who can get them both back there: Frank Walker (George Clooney), who met Athena when he was a little boy.

Athena - it turns out - has recruited Casey, believing her to be the last hope for saving both her world and ours.

Frank Walker (George Clooney) being pursued by robots.

But her world - ruled over by megalomaniacal Chancellor Nix (Hugh Laurie) - is reticent to help save our planet; as Nix himself says “You have the simultaneous epidemics of obesity and starvation”, and he doesn’t believe that Earth is worth saving.

The screenplay, written by Damon Lindelof and Brad Bird, is so unique and fast-paced, not letting you relax even for a moment; you will be on the edge of your seat from beginning to magnificent ending. All the characters are well-written, especially Athena and Chancellor Nix, neither of whom are what they first appear to be.

Michael Giacchino’s score is fabulous, big and expansive in just the right places, while also being subtle and understated when necessary. I first discovered Michael Giacchino’s music on the television series Lost; he has now scored a large number of Disney releases, and only seems to get better with each one.

As you would expect from a film that deals primarily with a futuristic world, one of the strongest elements of the film is its fantastic production design. Scott Chambliss has not only created a wonderful world in the society known as Tomorrowland, but also created some wonderful sets and props for our own world, with plenty of unique scientific inventions to satisfy any audience.

Frank Walker (George Clooney) and Athena (Raffey Cassidy) telling Casey
(Britt Robertson) about the importance of their mission.

The performances of the cast are equally fantastic, with plenty of credit going to acting stalwarts Clooney and Laurie. However, it is the film’s young cast that truly steal the show. Britt Robertson, who until this film had not taken on a role of this size, is magnificent as Casey. But newcomer Raffey Cassidy - playing the robotic Athena - is absolutely stunning, bringing to her character a deep wisdom (bear in mind, as a robotic character, she is obviously older than she looks) but also a vulnerability and innocence that I haven’t seen on screen in a long time. And her fight scenes - in which she did all her own stunts and choreography - will absolutely blow you away.

Director Brad Bird, who started his career in animation, directing among other things Pixar’s film The Incredibles, has made an incredibly enjoyable thrill-ride of a film here which, even upon multiple viewings, will continue to entertain and excite you.

8 1/2 out of 10.

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Have you ever wondered what life was like in the Hollywood of the 1950s, when actors were under contract to the studios, when studios controlled and monitored every aspect of their actors’ lives? If the answer is yes, then perhaps this film will help to answer your question.

Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) has a difficult job. He is the executive in charge of Capitol Pictures, a studio trying to make a life- and world-changing picture called ‘Hail, Caesar!’ among other titles. The majority of his day consists of covering up for his contracted stars’ indiscretions, numerous PR disasters, in other words.

In the course of a single day, so many things go wrong, and he races against the clock to fix as many of them as he can without making too much of a scene for the tabloids in the process.

Firstly, the big star of ‘Hail, Caesar!’, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is missing, believed kidnapped. Next, one of his leading ladies – DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) is pregnant and unmarried, a scandal for the time. The lead in another film is replaced by a young western star named Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich), who struggles with the serious dramatic picture he is completely unaccustomed to, and struggles even more to impress the film’s director, classically-trained Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes).

Add to all this the pressures of home life, and being headhunted by another company, and a communist plot to undermine the studio, and it’s not hard to see how difficult his life can be.

Joel and Ethan Coen, who wrote, produced and directed this movie, have – to use a phrase that is in danger of being overused – done it again. This film is a beautiful homage to the films of the classic age of Hollywood, while at the same time, being made in the very style of those films.

The production design (by Jess Gonchor) and costume design (by Mary Zophres) create an atmosphere that is unmistakably 1950s Hollywood. Add to that Roger Deakins’s cinematography, and it feels like you are actually watching a classic film.

Carter Burwell’s original score is as much a part of the mix and overall ambience as anything else. The music is not overused at all, but is perfectly balanced within the whole undertaking. There doesn’t seem to be a thing out of place about this film.

The performances of the cast are all fantastic. If you’ve seen George Clooney do comedy before, you know that you’re in for a treat. And seeing him in a Coen brothers’ comedy (remember O Brother, Where Art Thou?) again is so enjoyable. The Coens seem to have a love for Clooney’s comedic ability, and it pays off here.

Ralph Fiennes is also a master of timing here; there is an absolutely hilarious exchange between him and Ehrenreich on the set of his film that never fails to make me laugh, despite the fact I know it’s coming, having seen this film a few times now.

The script is very well-written, and expertly crafted. Then again, if you’ve seen any film by the Coen brothers, that shouldn’t be a surprise to you.

Look out for the brilliant dance numbers, one of which features Scarlett Johansson and a beautiful array of synchronized swimmers, and the other showcasing the singing and dancing ability of Channing Tatum. These are both so well executed, and again, are reminiscent of films of the era.

You should definitely watch this film if you haven’t done so yet. No matter what your taste, you will find something to love about it.

8 1/2 out of 10.