Film Review: Tomorrowland

I expected this movie to suck. Most reviews I see have written this off as just another fluff piece with too much CGI, too little story, and a message that seems to make everyone sick. Given all the negativity, I got the impression that I'm not supposed to enjoy this.

And yet, I found myself captivated by the film, and I became enamored by the escapist experience.

You could write this off as just another advert for a Disney theme park. The film definitely strives to wow the audience with fantastic visions of futuristic cities, rockets, jetpacks, flying cars, robots, laser guns, and more. In between all this utopian scenery, the film maintains its pace by constantly putting the characters in peril, forcing them to run from one dangerous situation to another. Action scenes are pretty frequent, and include such cool things as laser-gun firefights and robots with martial arts, all of which are captured in very solid and steady photography. In between the action, the film maintains a light and colorful tone, with plenty of snappy dialogue and humor.

The story is brimming with adventure, the likes of which would be on-par with The Neverending Story or Last Action Hero, or something along those lines. It plays into the standard scenario of a kid finding out that there's another world, and sets out to find it. The actual plot doesn't have a whole lot of dots to connect; much of the runtime is devoted to the characters leaping from one peril to another, to the point where it becomes one thing after another. There are a few parts that are unbelievable, and there may be some plot holes, but given the fantastic nature of the story, the creditability of various scenes seems to defeat the point of the picture. As far as characters go, I grew to love them; the main character is a perfectly lovable kid with passion that drives the plot, and it provides an apt reflection on the other characters, who in turn have their own motivations that make them compelling.

Plotting is not so much the highlight of the film, as it is the ideas. Tomorrowland offers a pretty fun sci-fi scenario in which the world's greatest and brightest built a utopian paradise of innovation, hidden from the rest of the world. As the characters work to find their way there, an even greater theme emerges, and all of the film's conflict becomes hinged on pessimism versus optimism. The film asserts that our world is so full of doom and gloom, and our future could become a self-fulfilling prophecy of disaster if we let it. Naturally, the characters' struggle sides with optimism, to the point where it seeps out of the picture and becomes infectious. The theme resonates with me personally, because I am a firm believer in what the film says - that the future is what you make of it. In the end, I personally found the film's message inspiring, and moving in its own way. Walt Disney himself originally built Tomorrowland into his theme parks with the motive to foster inspiration, imagination, and invention.  That same spirit permeates through the Tomorrowland picture; many folks find it distasteful, probably because the film wears its heart on its sleeve all too well.  I realized that this is something you won't find in any other movie this year; for once, this is a movie that made me smile, and left me feeling hopeful.  Movies don't usually set out to paint a pretty picture or tell the audience that you can make things happen through your actions; this one does, and I personally find it refreshing, inspiring, and moving.

This film has good-looking photography and editing. Acting is good for what it is: Britt Robertson is perfectly colorful and fun in her role, George Clooney plays it pretty grumpy most of the time for decent effect, and Hugh Laurie is awesome. Writing probably could have been a little sharper, but I appreciated most of the dialogue. This production spares no expense on the sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Sound design is great. Music is alright.

A lot of people won't be so easily charmed by this film, maybe finding it sappy, messy, or stupid. I think this attitude only proves the film's point; if you feed the negativity, you will hate the film. If all you see is shallow CGI, then you won't care about anything the film has to say. If you can approach this optimistically and become swept away in this adventure, then maybe the film will speak to you the most. As such, I can only recommend it as a rental to those interested. I think it's a perfectly good family film, and its message is far more inspiring than anything a Marvel film or a Michael Bay film can provide.

4/5 (Experience: Good | Content: Good | Film: Good)

Film Review: Maleficent

You know her, you walked with her once upon a nightmare.  Maleficent, the original villain from Disney's Sleeping Beauty, is an instantly recognizable icon of evil; even if you never knew her name, there is no mistaking her tall dark figure with the twisted horns, the wicked green fire all around her, and her coldly sardonic demeanor.  Originally, she was evil just for the sake of being evil, and for all intents and purposes, that was all she needed; she was a villain we all loved to hate, and she is one of the most definitive examples of her given archetype (that of the evil witch, sorceress, or a dark queen of sorts).  But, she was a rather one-dimensional caricature that was begging to be filled and fleshed out as a deeper character.  I always wondered, what was her beef with the king and the princess and everybody else? Why was she so evil?

2014's Maleficent comes in an ever-growing line of live-action fairy-tale movies, to flip around the moral roles of the classic Sleeping Beauty tale and show a new perspective on who's really good and who's really evil.  Those who are familiar with the classic animated film will recognize the characters and scenes instantly, but they are remixed in pretty refreshing ways.  Obviously, the main goal is to make Maleficent herself a more empathetic character with a compelling backstory, so we can understand why she does what she does, and allow us to root for her.  At the same time, the other characters we always thought of as good are villainized.

Despite these interesting twists, the story doesn't really bring that much new to the table.  It's actually been a common trend nowadays to make the bad guys sympathetic (as Disney already did with Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, and Oz:  The Great and Powerful).  Thus, the story for Maleficent became predictable, even when it tried its best to be unpredictable.  The only thing that really keeps it from falling into mediocrity is Angelina Jolie's sumptuous performance as the title character, and the sumptuous visuals.

If it's fantastic visual whimsey you want, the film will certainly deliver, but not in any kind of dark or gothic manner.  Even at its darkest moments, Maleficent maintains a pretty light fairy-tale tone, offering just a few major scenes of combat and battle.  There are scenes that are goofy just as much as there are scenes that are dramatic and serious.  You could find it really delightful or really dry, and it all really depends on how invested you are in the storytelling and genre.

Fortunately, the storytelling isn't all that terrible.  Even though it retreads much of the classic tale, it moves at a pretty even rate, and it seems more interested in actually telling the story and developing a deeper pathological struggle than stringing together action setpieces.  In the end, I found it most interesting in the way it spun the characters around and developed a pathological conflict between Maleficent and King Stefan, using other characters as proxies, as if they were pawns in a 16-year-long chess game.  As this goes on, the characters experience just enough change to make them endearing and twist the plot around to its inevitable climax.

The film is pretty well-made, with decent photography and editing.  Angelina Jolie embodies the title character perfectly, while Sharlto Copley plays a perfect jerk once again.  Writing gets the job done, but I felt that some of the dialogue was weak.  This production uses good-looking sets, props, and costumes.  Special effects tended to look cartoony and fake.  Music is alright.

Maleficent falls somewhere in between the colorful, whimsical Oz:  The Great and Powerful and the gritty, serious Snow White and the Huntsman.  It is pretty much more of the same, but it's best seen for its visual flair and for Angelina Jolie's captivating performance.  Chances are that families and genre fans will love this film, while most others will be indifferent.  Probably best recommended as a rental.

3.5/5 (Entertainment:  Pretty Good | Story:  Pretty Good | Film:  Average)

Film Review: The Lego Movie

Legos have always been my favorite toy.  In fact, they still are.  For as long as they've been around, it makes me wonder what took so long for somebody to make an official Lego movie.

Then again, what kind of movie could possibly be made out of these silly little construction blocks? The biggest fear going into this movie is that it could have just been 90 minutes of senseless fluff.  Even kids thought this would be stupid.

Fortunately, the film overall proves to be quite sharp and clever for audiences of all ages.  It breezes by at a brisk pace, loaded with fast-paced comedy and visually-striking action.  Even during the film's most grim and dramatic parts (of which there are a few), the tone remains light, but without being too overbearing or sappy.  The comedy keeps everything consistently fun and endearing, thanks to a ton of great random lines, sight gags, pop culture jokes, and some self-parody.

What really makes this film work, however, is the substance.  You'd think it'd be easy to write this film off as a mere marketing tool to sell more Legos (and it's probably working), but even then, The Lego Movie takes care to use Legos as the medium, more than a mere product to shove down our throats.  With Legos as the film's primary canvas, the film immediately whisks us through a universe of colorful building blocks, complete with literal worldbuilding and mythos.  The story treads on familiar ground; the characters inhabit familiar archetypes (I especially couldn't help but to draw comparisons between Emmit and Neo from The Matrix; the wizard might as well fulfill the same role as Morpheus, and Wild Styles is much like Trinity), and the plot is molded in a formulaic epic-journey structure.  What really makes this film brilliant, however, is the meta-fiction dynamic that becomes apparent as it goes on; it's a dynamic that made films like Cool World and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? novel, but The Lego Movie takes it a step further by tying in the story and themes together with (at least seemingly) earnest and heartfelt intentions.

At it's core, The Lego Movie emphasizes creativity as the theme.  It is the basis of the story's conflict, it is the focus of the characters, and it is the idea that resounds through the script.  The film firmly declares that we are all special individuals, all capable of creating new, imaginative, unique things.  Legos have always been a toy to nurture that creativity, and The Lego Movie is a celebration of the creative spirit.  It is a theme that's not only inspiring for children, but also for the inner child.  I believe this film supports one fundamental truth I've always believed in:  it is more powerful to create than to destroy.

This film is animated very distinctively with CGI that convincingly looks like stop-motion animation.  It is all very colorful, well-rendered, well-textured, and has good-looking lighting.  Movements are made to be a bit stiff on purpose, and it achieves the perfect effect of looking like a home-made feature.  Voice-acting is great, and the script is pretty sharp.  This production does a great job of replicating thousands and thousands of Lego pieces on-screen to create big imaginative worlds.  Music can be strangely catchy too.

The Lego Movie is to movies what LittleBigPlanet is to video games; they both have a seminal home-made look and charm, but with a firm focus on creativity and individual expression.  Legos have been an endearing medium of creativity for years, and chances are that they'll remain on toystore shelves for more years to come.  Even if this movie is merely a marketing tool, it is a well-made one with a lot of heart and spirit.  I think the movie - and the toy - is quality entertainment for anybody young and old.

4.5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Good | Film:  Very Good)
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Feeling rather nostalgic and inspired, I managed to dig up this old picture of myself with my favorite toys.  It's possible that the film has struck a chord with my inner child, but I don't think that's ever been a bad thing.

Video Game Review: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

The films of Studio Ghibli have teleported audiences to fantasic new worlds, the likes of which haven't been so captivating or endearing since the glory days of Disney.  Nausicaä, Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Ponyo, Arietty, and so many more, have all presented fantasies full of deep imagination, myth, and emotion; with Ni No Kuni, however, the studio adapts all these same strengths into a new medium, using its full potential to allow gamers to not just see the fantasy, but to live it.

If you've seen and enjoyed the films of Studio Ghibli, then you'll feel right at home with this game; it's all designed and rendered to match the look and style of the films.  Once you leave Motorville and enter the other world, you'll become immersed in a universe full of magic, whimsey, and wonder.  It's a world populated by fairies, monsters, steampunk kingdoms, weird animal people, and majestic landscapes.  The game has its share of cuteness and its share of epicness.  Above all, it presents a vast world with dense mythology and deep storytelling; it's like a hundred times more satisfying as Ghibli's films, because it's all spread out so far and so wide, and there's always something to explore.

The game itself plays out much like other JRPGs on the market; you spend your time gathering a party, roaming around the landscape, and fighting your way through hoards of monsters with hundreds and hundreds of battles.  As the game progresses, you grow more powerful, learn new spells, find new companions and creatures, and eventually fight your way to the finale.  Grinding for experience and loot can be repetitive (especially if you're aiming for the platinum trophy and looking for those elusive alchemy ingredients), but the main story keeps things rolling pretty well.  Overall, whether playing the main quest, bounty hunting, or running errands, the game is consistently engaging, highly immersive, and incredibly addicting.

The story is great; it starts off tugging the heartstrings really hard, for its opening is quite tragic.  As the story goes on, it turns into a sprawling epic that digs deeper into the myth and history of the fantasy world; some of the revelations, especially regarding the White Witch, are pretty invoking as well.  The story is full of lovable characters; even the villains are lovable, once their motivations are revealed.  Classic themes of good-vs-evil emerge, but what makes this game unique is that it's not all swords and sorcery; the good and evil exist more on an emotional level, and most of this conflict involve fixing hearts that are broken.  It's not only a different mechanic for some of the quests, but it's also a fresh new take for fantasy fiction in general.

This game runs smooth and reliably.  It uses pretty basic graphics that emulate cell-animation (with some quality anime cutscenes on occasion).  Despite not having terribly detailed textures or renderings, the game looks great for its given artistic style.  Gameplay is quite easy, with an intuitive control scheme.  There are oodles of tutorials available, making the game accessible for young, old, experienced, and unexperienced gamers alike.  The levels and world design are pretty decent, and there is a ton of places that can be explored.  Voice-acting (for the English version) is good.  The game is written well-enough, although I think it has a tendency to over-explain the objectives and over-simplify things.  Designs for all the settings, characters, props, creatures, and everything else is highly imaginative and fantastic.  Music is really great as well.

Throughout the game, I could easily identify countless references to the Studio Ghibli films:  My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Nausicaä - and really, the whole thing plays out a bit like Howl's Moving Castle.  Even on its own merits, however, Ni No Kuni is still a phenomenal world all on its own, filled with endless hours of addicting gameplay, emotionally powerful storytelling, and whimsical experiences.  At the time of this writing, it stands as my favorite JRPG, and it is highly recommended for gamers young and old.

5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Perfect | Game:  Very Good)