Tomorrowland

Director: Brad Bird

Production: Walt Disney Pictures

Writers: Damon Lindelof (screenplay), Brad Bird (screenplay)

Stars: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Raffey Cassidy

Duration: 130 minutes

“Bound by a shared destiny, a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as ‘Tomorrowland’”.

Synopsis:

The latest outcome from Disney’s wonders of imaginations is Tomorrowland. The film tells the story of a former boy genius (Clooney) and a young girl (Robertson), who travel to an ambiguous dimension known as "Tomorrowland", where their actions directly affect the world and themselves. This movie kickstarts with the notion of Not-Losing-Hope and Not-Giving-Up attitudes, but as the timeline grows the plot looses its grip in somewhere, Still the basic concept remains with the audience which makes it an inspiring movie than being tagged only as a sci-fi adventure.

Well, Tomorrowland is a city in a parallel dimension to our own where some of the brightest minds -- both creative and scientific -- convened to try and create a better future for our tomorrow. In the film, teenager Casey Newton (played very likably by Britt Robertson) is given a tiny pin with the Tomorrowland logo on it that when she touches she is presented with visions of Tomorrowland. These visions set her on a quest to figure out what this amazing place is that she is seeing, and on that quest she meets an android girl with some pretty awesome martial arts moves named Athena, a cadre of robots hunting Casey down trying to keep her from uncovering the secrets of Tomorrowland, and a grumpy George Clooney, who portrays Frank Walker, a former child genius who once lived in Tomorrowland but was exiled. Frank is the only one who can take Casey there, and thus their adventure to reach Tomorrowland shifts into high gear.

Very few movies today give us the motivation to think beyond what we see, to think optimistically about the future. This is one of those movies, which will appeal to those who still dare to dream out of their ways, crafted in old fashioned sci-fi movie style.  Some scenes which were made so beautiful that the theatre leaving audience will always remember  whenever they think of this movie. The one where Frank shows his Jet-Pack to the judge and explains beautifully about how that would be helpful in making world a nice place to live. Another one where Casey calms down her father for him going to lose his NASA job and motivates him with the story of Two Wolves (with analogy to Light and Darkness), was another beautifully crafted scene. These will leave you with inner happiness even after the movie ends.

For the technical aspects of the movie, Casey Newton played a powerful role which even side-kicked George’s Frank character at some points. And for Athena’s character, Raffey Cassidy successfully leaves a mark on audience’s mind and it would not be easy to think of Tomorrowland without her beautifully played character. Director Brad Bird has crafted this film which mixes mystery, wonder, and suspense wonderfully with touching human moments between characters, both man and machine, and some remarkably executed comedic beats as well. Direction and screenplay were both great from the start, but when the story moves forward, it somehow loses the track and leads to a climax which may leave many people disappointed at the end. CGI graphics and other technicalities were good only, as a proper Sci-Fi movie fan would think it as old-fashioned one. Still, from start to end, Tomorrowland somehow works.

To cut things short, we are all too pessimistic to think straight most of the times, we watch death and destructions with too much fun nowadays, but when a movie like this comes, which really talks about the inspiration and optimism in future, the tenacious attitude to live with and most of all, Not Losing Hope, then it should be watched for at least Fun-cum-Inspiro-tainment.

Cast:

	George Clooney	...	Frank Walker
	Hugh Laurie	...	Nix
	Britt Robertson	...	Casey Newton
	Raffey Cassidy	...	Athena

CHAPPiE

Plot Summary:

The story of a self-conscious robot, CHAPPiE, being stolen and programmed to think and feel for itself, takes turn into a high end heist leading to an epic argument of Good vs. Evil.

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Writers:  Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller 

"In the near future, Indian born Deon Wilson (Dev Patel), is a high ranking executive in a Robotic Police Force company. When he comes up with an idea to make a self conscious robot named Chappie to protect better, his higher-ups disapprove it. Nonetheless, he makes it and when the company finds out, scraps the robot. When 2 small time criminals planning a $200 million heist find Chappie, they kidnap Deon and force him to program Chappie to assist them in their heist. When power-corrupted military general Vincent (Hugh Jackman) finds out, he rallies all forces to stop Chappie, at any cost that leads to an monumental showdown between Good and Evil."

Synopsis:

In the near future, crime is patrolled by an cruel mechanized police force. But now, the people are fighting back. When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, it becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for itself. As powerful, destructive forces start to see Chappie as a danger to mankind and order, they will stop at nothing to maintain the balance and ensure that Chappie is the last of its kind.

One of the most remarkable scenes was when Chappie asks its creator that why did he put it in a mortal body and creator answers with a confusion that how could he know or anticipate how far Chappie could develop itself. So there is always a question of existence that pertains throughout.

Chappie is a exuberant, witty, enjoyable, and unexpectedly sentimental movie about a conscious robot being raised by gangsters in Johannesburg. Most of the criticisms regarding single dimensional or illogical character choices are valid, but Chappie's character, the CGI, the humour, and the overall theme of the movie more than make up for these shortcomings.

As a character, Chappie is an unwilling action hero that one can both identify with and admire. Its story is gripping and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Unfortunately some of Chappie's brilliance comes at the expense of the world around him.

Are there plot holes? A few minor irregularities, but no major ones. The graphics are excellent, the sense of humour is evident throughout, and some of the performances are truly memorable. Sigourney Weaver's hilarious head-over-heels exit from her robot manufacturing plant in the face of total catastrophe is comical in the extreme.

Even though there is a lot of violence which may be a reason for a lot of criticism, still it is a story with a wonderful moral ending (good triumphs over evil) and some really outstanding entertainment along the way.

In short, Blomkamp delivered a beautiful futuristic story that ultimately challenges (or may be changes) our views on what consciousness truly represents. Fueled by amazing special effects, interesting character development, and an intelligent use of symbolism towards life, this film falls nothing short of being a true cinematic masterpiece.

Cast:

Sharlto Copley

Dev Patel

Hugh Jackman

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Direction: Joss Whedon

Genre: Action

Duration: 2 hours 21 minutes

Story: Following S.H.I.E.L.D's dissolution in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as a preemptive measure to counter a possible alien attack that happened in the past (The Avengers 2012), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) creates a global peace initiative, which is an artificial intelligence Ultron (voiced by James Spader) that goes rogue. It decides to kill the Avengers, citing world peace. The superheroes soon discover that Ultron intends to wipe out mankind itself. Can the team save the world from the mess of their own creation?

Review:
Avengers: Age of Ultron is one heck of a superhero orgy as the mighty six - Iron Man (RDJ), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Capt America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) come face-to-face not only with the invincible Ultron, but various characters like Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). With these numerous characters put together, you can't wait for the 'party to begin' and Whedon rewards your anticipation, right from the beginning and maintains it till the end. Fangasm guaranteed.

AOU is no less than a spectacle (the opening scene in particular with the heroes in slowmo - midair as they pounce on their enemies) and you get exactly what you pay for. The unparalleled action is of epic proportions and makes the mammoth destruction shown in Man of Steel and the previous Avengers film pale in comparison.

However, unlike the previous film which was more massy, this densely plotted sequel may appeal to the geeks more. For those not acquainted with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), getting the threads together of this layered film could be a task. So, brush up on your Marvel jargon before watching this one.

And finally the big question - Is AOU better than The Avengers (2012)? It is definitely bigger in scale and there's a romance brewing, but you miss Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his humour. If Avengers was a biryani, with all the flavours coming together seamlessly, AOU is a desi thaali, full of scrumptious dishes, but a tad in excess. It's spectacular, yet can leave you exhausted.

Cast: