Tomorrowland movie review.

“There are two wolves that are always fighting. One is darkness and despair. The other is light and hope. Which wolf wins?”

The answer to that question posed by Britt Robertson’s Casey Newton is “whichever one you feed.” By that analogy, which wolf does the future feed? Once upon a time, the future was once a wondrous and fantastical place that we embraced with open arms, but nowadays, that future seems more and more like that: fantasy. Our outlook is much bleaker in the wake of sudden epidemic, national divides, energy crises, and so much more. Nowadays, it appears the wolf of darkness is winning.

However, in an effort to combat the more pessimistic blockbuster fare about the future, along comes Brad Bird with a refreshingly optimistic and wholly original idea in the form of Tomorrowland, a concept he conceived with JJ Abrams alum Damon Lindelof. In a way, this film feels like Disney’s answer to Interstellar, creating in an of itself a very heady film with infectious adventure to spare.

Brief thoughts on Mortdecai.

You ever have that one movie you see trailers for and think “Hmm. That looks forgettable, but kind of fun”, but then find yourself surprised by the actual movie’s heated critical hatred?

That was me in the case of David Koepp’s caper-comedy Mortdecai. When I initially saw trailers for it, I thought it looked like a cute, harmless time waster, so you can imagine how curious the comparatively scrutinizing reviews for this film made me.

So, to satisfy my curiosity, I rented the movie. Despite my initial hopes for an enjoyable diversion, never could I have imagined this movie being such a catastrophic error of judgment by all involved parties. Sadly, that’s exactly what Mortdecai turns out to be; a movie as unruly and ghastly as the main character’s moustache.

Mad Max: Fury Road movie review.

Part sequel, part reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road is the long awaited passion project of Australian director George Miller, whose last film in the Mad Max series, the disastrous Beyond Thunderdome, came thirty years prior to this one.

Of course, it isn’t that uncommon for sequels to emerge after long waits of their own, including an eleven year gap between the second and third Toy Story films, but three decades? It’s certainly something of a testament to the popularity and passionate acclaim towards the Mad Max films that it was able to even be conceived on paper, let alone get green lit.

I can’t consider myself a fan of the original trilogy, as there’s only one film in that series I actually like, but I do see the appeal behind it, as well as the tremendous hype and critical adoration this fourth entry has generated. While I can’t call it the instant action staple that so many others have…. This movie is such a great time that I don’t care. This is the equivalent to a steampunk David Lean fever dream… and I love it!

Avengers: Age of Ultron movie review.

Flashback to 2008. The first Iron Man film had been released, the film was a breath of fresh air, a creative and often hilarious switch up to the usual superhero flick. However, at the tail-end of its credits, the film yielded the promise of what was then unthinkable… an interconnected universe uniting the heroes of Marvel.

Before The Avengers debuted in 2012, many of us assumed that it would crash and burn. What Marvel was attempting was a big risk that threatened to sink their ongoing film series once and for all. What a difference it made when we saw the film. The film was a runaway success, setting box office records across the globe, and was near-universally acclaimed. The film set unreasonably high expectations for all future superhero features that would follow, and sadly led to numerous studios attempting to cash in on their moves.

Flash forward to now, and Marvel’s second phase of films (to be concluded with Ant-Man in July) brings its heated boil to a bang with their next major crossover, Avengers: Age of Ultron. Once again under the direction of Joss Whedon, the new installment of Marvel’s ongoing saga proves to be a peculiar case. What it may lack in the consistency in quality and refreshing simplicity that the original film had, it makes up for with arguably higher highs.