I’m not that big a fan of “Jonny Quest” or even Robert Rodriguez, but many of you know that The Mask of Zorro is my favorite film of all time. Knowing that Terry Rossio is working on this new project gives me hope, even if the remake has been in development limbo for nearly 20 years now.
Tomorrowland is the kind of movie you watch as a kid and love for your whole life, even though adults hated it when it came out.
It’s very imperfect, and the ending is truly atrocious and mishandled. But the good in Tomorrowland far outweighs the bad.
Specifically, this is a Brad Bird film through and through. The cinematography and grand vision behind the movie are unique and incredibly entertaining (isn’t that what a movie should be?) The action and set piece moments are beautifully shot and for once, I can say they’re inspiring.
The film’s saving grace is its superb writing, though I have to give the actors a lot of the credit here. The dialogue is good, but George Clooney, Britt Robertson, and newcomer Raffey Cassidy make it exceptional. Cassidy in particular is about to have a stellar career.
Perhaps I’m going easy on Tomorrowland due to my fondness for Brad Bird as a director and the fact that this film is wholly original (it’s no adaptation or remake). But I was honestly inspired by many moments in this film, even if they were a little uneven and went in strange directions. There’s still plenty to appreciate in this ambitious script of whimsy, and this is a film that kids shouldn’t miss.
Grade: B+.
Extra credits
Tomorrowland was directed and written by Brad Bird. It was also written by Damon Lindelof. It stars Britt Robertson as Casey Newton, George Clooney as Frank Walker, Hugh Laurie as David Nix, and Raffey Cassidy as Athena. It’s now playing in theaters everywhere.
Thanks for reading! If you like this blog, you can subscribe for weekly updates by clicking the “Subscribe” button on the right sidebar. Or just follow me on Twitter for the latest updates – @JonNegroni
This week on the podcast, we review Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2. Now that I think about it, we never tried to determine which movie is better. Maybe it’s obvious.
Go on…Mad Max: Fury Road, Pitch Perfect 2, Movie News This Week
I’m still processing Mad Max: Fury Road. I’m still wrapping my head around the visuals, the world-building, the bold color palette, and what everyone else in the world is talking about right now: the action.
Let’s just get this out of the way. I’ve never seen any of the previous “Mad Max” films (just parts of Road Warrior). I went into Fury Road blind, though that will be remedied very soon.
We have an action-packed show for you guys this week, and there’s little intelligence (artificial or human) to be found. Mike Overkill joins us for the first time on the Now Conspiring podcast, as we review Ex Machina and Age of Adaline.
Later in the show, we cover the major movie news you care about, talk about our “5 Top TV Comedies,” and make Maria Garcia incredibly uncomfortable. Stick around for our Netflix Recommendation of the Week toward the end of the episode, and as always, we finish with new movie releases coming out this weekend.
If you like the podcast, don’t forget to rate us on iTunes! And if you subscribe, you’ll always get episodes a day or two earlier than everyone else.
Our Song of the Week is “A Day is Coming” by Pacific Gold. Their new album, “Sing My Welcome Home” is out now.
Question of the Week: What would you rather do than see Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
Other music you heard in this podcast:
“A Lack of Understanding” – The Vaccines
“Up and Away” – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
Hey listeners, we have a podcast episode this week unlike any we’ve ever done before. It’s a little longer, but that’s because in addition to our chat about Furious 7 and the Fast/Furious franchise in general, we had a bit of a Pop Culture State of the Union.
What’s that? Oh, well really it’s us just catching up on everything that’s been piling up in the news surrounding new shows and movies coming out soon, along with updates on shows and movies we never saw coming. Enjoy!
Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to rate and subscribe Now Conspiring on iTunes!
Question of the Week: What’s your favorite The Fast and the Furious movie?
Song of the Week: “Mile High” by Brooklynn
Other music you heard during this episode:
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver
“When It’s Over” — Wild Belle
“I’ll Be There For You” — The Rembrandts
“Hey Beautiful (Barney Version)” — Neil Patrick Harris
“The Office Theme” — Michael Scott Fan Club
“The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Nine in the Afternoon” — Panic! At the Disco
Divergent Series: Insurgent (or just Divergent 2: Insurgent if you want it to have a better title) tries hard to make a “great” movie out of the good first entry in this franchise, but it fails to set itself apart.
While Divergent was a familiar, but exciting, mashup of several young adult book movie tropes, Insurgent is essentially one long chase scene that relies solely on ripple effects from the first film (which wasn’t that strong to begin with).
Gone are the interesting, sometimes compelling, themes of discovering where you fit into society and the abuse of power as a consequence of obsessive classification. Instead, the movie swaps its genre — and even some of its themes — for “you are very special” ideas that feel like the easy way out for this decently built world.
Though the action scenes are excellent and the characters are worth investing into, Insurgent has a weak, convoluted narrative filled with plot holes and gaps in its story that will provoke eye-rolls. Of course, fans of the franchise will be much more forgiving, since there’s still plenty for them to love here.
Woodley herself does an admirable job of balancing her inexperience as a teenager with a thirst for violence that is welcome when she unleashes it. This time around, she has less of a physical growth that completes her training from the first film, as they instead run around and work to solve problems with resources of a previous story. This would be fine if the hero was surrounding by more interesting players.
Strangely, her chemistry with anyone but Four is a highlight, but it falls completely flat when it’s meant to count the most. Because of this, everyone from her brother to frenemy played by Miles Teller is reduced to a repeat arc of Divergent. Only the most hardcore fans of this series will find that to be entertaining, and rightfully so.
Grade: D
Rated: PG-13 (For intense violence and action throughout, some sensuality, thematic elements and brief language)
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller
Genre: Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Directed By: Robert Schwentke
Written By: Akiva Goldsman, Brian Duffield, Mark Bomback
In Theaters: Mar 20, 2015 (Wide Release)
Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.
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