Review: Tomorrowland

      Animation is a difficult process. One must constantly draw each frame of the shot, and make sure that each picture is perfect, hence making the animation flow. So, animation and live action are two very different processes. And often the transition between one and the other can be very unstable. (I mean, take a look at any film based off a Hanna-Barbera property). One prominent example of this was Andrew Stanton. Stanton directed Finding Nemo and WALL-E, two films that I really love, and have a special place in my heart. However, he then went on to direct a live action adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's character John Carter, and the results were less than satisfying. (That film was actually the subject of my first film review, if anyone has a copy of Indus Interational School, Bangalore yearbook of 2011-2012.) How does one go from such classics to a mediocre offering. Well, the standards of animation are different than live-action, and sometimes, like I said, the transition is very difficult from one to the other. I mention this, because the director of today's subject Tomorrowland is Stanton's colleague in Pixar, Brad Bird. He was the director of The Iron Giant. You probably know him better as the director of the Incredibles, and Ratatouille. He also had significant involvement with the early seasons of the Simpsons. (He directed the two early Krusty the Clown centered episodes). I would like to say that I adore his work. I love The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, and Ratatouille is my favorite Pixar film (and one of my favorite films, period). However, I had trepidation when I heard he was directing this film, largely because he had a larger background in animation ( I had forgtten  he directed the fairly decent Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol). So, does Brad Bird bring the same passion to this live action offering that he does to his animated picture. Uh,.... Let's jump right in.
         Our film opens with a recording of Frank Walker (George Clooney) describing the situation. In 1964, Frank is a young kid (Thomas Robinson), who invented a jetpack, and goes to display it at the World's Fair that year. There, he places it before David Nix (Hugh Laurie), who dismisses it after Walker is forced to admit it can't fly. However, Nix's, uh, little girl, Athena (Raffey Cassidy) has a soft spot for young Frank, so she gives him a pin and a set of directions. He follows those directions in the "It's a Small World" display at the World's Fair, and finds himself in a mysterious, futuristic city. After he has a mishap, he actually manages to get his jetpack to fly. He manages to meet up with Athena. From there, the narrative shifts to the present day, and we meet prodigy Casey Newton (Britt Robertson). She is the daughter of a NASA engineer (Tim McGraw, for some reason), and she is trying to delay the closing of the NASA launch platform her father works at. However, she is caught during one of her outings, and after being released, she finds a pin with a large 'T' on it with her possessions. When she touches it, she transported to a field, where she catches a glimpse of a future city. She then runs from home to see the full extent of the pin. Within the pin, she finds herself in a strange future city, where the fantastic reigns supreme. However, the pin eventually runs out of juice, and Casey goes to find its origin. In Houston, she finds a retro sci-fi antiques shop, where she finds two odd clerks (Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key), who explain the pin as an ad for a futuristic city called Tomorrowland. However, when she fails to disclose the origin of the pin (she merely found it in her possessions), the shop keepers become violent. However, a mysterious little girl comes to save her (in what has to be the most absurd action scenes I've ever witnessed.), revealing the store clerks to be robots. The little girl than drives with Casey. She is revealed to be Athena, and she is also a robot. After explaining that she was the one who gave Casey the pin, she drops her off at the home of the now aged and cynical Frank Walker. Walker at first is apprehensive about Casey, and her desire to go to Tomorrowland, primarily because he is bitter about his exile and the impending doom of the world, which he measures on a monitor with a clock. However, after Casey's optimism causes the probability of disaster to reduce, he agrees to help her get to Tomorrowland. However, robots disguised as Secret Service Men invade Walkers house. Luckily, they escape, and they meet up with Athena. We learn that Casey was chosen for the pin, and that she has the potential to save Tomorrowland, especially against the now Governor David Nix, who has machinations of his own.
    Good things: the mystery for the first two acts is compelling. I was invested in what was going to happen in this situation, and why it was happening. It also had a large level of intrigue, as we follow our heroes through the mysteries of Tomorrowland. The acting is very good. Britt Robertson does exude a very powerful optimism, which makes her characters importance believable. George Clooney also does well as a cranky, cynical former inventor, who still has some wonder in him. Hugh Laurie makes a very interesting villain (though his clean shaveness and British accent keep reminding me of one of his comedy characters from back when he was on the BBC). The 1964 Tomorrowland (there is a distinction) also feels very alive, and very vibrant. Finally, I felt it did a better job of promoting optimism than Interstellar did. For one thing, optimistic attitudes literally play a large role in the plot, and also plays a large role in the conflict of the story.
         Remember that mystery I described earlier? It actually builds up to a fairly mundane conclusion. Seriously, I was thinking "That's it? That's the whole mystery they were building up to?" It wasn't bad, per se. It just isn't particularly spectacular. It feels like that twist was supposed to build on a larger conclusion. I might do a spoiler review, because I feel that I would need to examine the ending to be more specific on that point. After watching what the mystery really amounted to, the film just feels a little empty, after that. I don't think this was Brad Bird's fault. I lay the blame on co-writer Damon Lindelof. I haven't seen Lost, (though I hear that it suffered from the same problem) but I have seen Cowboys & Aliens and Star Trek: Into Darkness. Thinking about it now, both of those suffered the same problem: an apparently large mystery, which gets a very disappointing solution. It's a lot of empty spectacle, which I suppose is the problem of his work. I think Brad Bird's considerable talents allow the story not be nearly as disappointing, but it still feels empty, when you get down to it. The effects don't help. Tomorrowland looks very nice, but it feels fake looking, unlike some very good CGI backgrounds. Especially modern Tomorrowland, which seems abandoned completely, safe Nix and his army. That adds to the film's hollowness. Also, there are moments of sheer absurdity, which are hard to take seriously. Once again, if I write a spoiler review, I'll go into detail.
   So, was this or the similarly themed Interstellar better? Eh, I'll go with Interstellar. Whilst Interstellar suffered from various flaws, it at least kept its large scale up consistently. The conflict seemed more urgent, and more interesting. Though, I will say that this is more optimisitc, which I personally enjoyed. So, would I recommend it? Um, personally, I liked it enough. However, I feel that some people will be disappointed. If you want to just see a movie this weekend, this will probably be good. If you want to see a science adventure, this would be good. If you want to see something of substance, than you probably won't find it with this film. It's not a must-watch, but if you're interested, I say go ahead. Thanks for reading

EPCOT: The Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow

     When one thinks Disney, one thinks of fantasy, princesses, wizards, dragons, and magic. However, one word you probably don't think of is futurism. However, Disney has had a long history futuristic thinking. From Tomorrowland in Disneyland, to the "Man in Space" specials he made in the 50's, Walt Disney had a certain interest in the future, and the possibilities it brought forth.(And before you comment, no, his head is not cryogenically frozen. He was cremated, and his ashes are at  the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.)   And towards the end of his life, he conceived of a city of the future, which he would build in Florida. While there isn't a city, you know this concept better as "EPCOT.
     By the 1960's, Walt Disney had already established his monumental family-friendly image, and his even larger animation company. From his humble roots as the son of a farmer, through establishing his own animation company with his brother in 1923, his struggles as an cartoonist in the 1920's and 30's, to finally getting success with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, he had finally succeeded in the American Dream. However, he had many grandkids, and he was concerned about what kind of world they would inhabit. At the time, the inner city had undergone urban decay, and were not particularly nice places to live. Disney contrasted this with the controlled environment he had at California's Disneyland. So, he thought, what if he and his Imagineers could build not just a theme park, but an entire community, which would be a safe haven, with a controlled environment the same as Disneyland. So, he delved into the topic of city-planning, and drew up plans for a city of his own. At the same time, he had made several pavilions for the 1964 World's Fair, and he began to make plans from that for a Disneyland on the East Coast. However, he decided to build something more impressive. He determined Florida to be the best location for his project, and promptly purchased 27,800 acres of Florida Swampland, and convinced the Florida State Legislature to give his company full control of this land. At said company, the board wasn't entirely convinced that an entire city was feasible from an entertainment company. They wanted a Disneyland on the East Coast. Disney relented, and placed the theme park on the northmost portion of the city, so they could experience the whole thing. In October of 1966, he produced a small film about his EPCOT project( which one can see here). He had hoped to use the film as a way of convincing industry to support his project by contributing technology to it. However, whilst Disney was plotting the future, his future was sadly ending. On December 15th, 1966, Walt Disney died of lung cancer in Burbank, California. After his death, his brother, whilst weary of EPCOT, still carried on the project. However, the Disney board formally nixed any plan. However, they went ahead with the theme park idea. Walt Disney World Resort opened on October 1st, 1971, with the Magic Kingdom, and a few hotels around it. However, that was not the end of the EPCOT idea. The concept morphed from a full on city, to more of a permanent World's fair, where technological innovations would be on display, as well as world cultures.In the late 70's, Roy Walker, CEO of Walt Disney (the company) wanted to re-explore EPCOT. However, the board ultimately decided it wasn't feasible. However, an Epcot center was added to Disney World as a compromise, which opened in 1982. The center would be more of an area to communicate ideas than an actual living place. It still resides in Walt Disney World today. They also built the community of Celebration, Florida in 1996, though that is based more off new urbanism than futurism.
     So, what was this city going to be, exactly? Well, first, and foremost, the city would be build in a radial pattern. It generally rotates out of a single core area. The urban density lowers as you ,move away from the center. A monorail, like the one in Disneyland, would be the main source of transportation, connecting the Northern and Southern portions of the Disney World property. Inside EPCOT, the WEDway PeopleMover would be the main source of transportation. It would be a train that ran on motors in the rails, rather than the vehicle itself. It would transport residents from the city center to the other residential areas. ( A "PeopleMover" can be found in Disney World today.) Cars would only be needed for ""only for weekend pleasure trips." Most of the supplies would be transported through underground tunnels within the city.(Apparently, Ol'Walt didn't want the residents to see the supplies for the city get transported into the city.) These two lines would converge at a Transporation Lobby, which would allow for transfers between the local PeopleMover, and the Monorail to the park. At the city center, there would be the 30-story Cosmopolitan Hotel, where guests could engage in leisurely activities. Outside of the hotel would be the shopping district, called "The International Shopping Center," where various cultures across the worlds were represented. (This evolved into the World Pavilions at the Epcot theme park.) Outside the Shopping Center, there would be the high density residential areas, where the 20k residents of the city would live in apartment. They would be no retirement. Rather, everyone who lived there would be a worker in the city center. Also, the people wouldn't actually own the apartments, but are actually renters. The apartments were actually build to allow for the newest technology to be integrated easily. Residents could come home to find their appliances changed. (That actually scares me.) Finally, there is the Green Belt, and the low Density areas, where the services, like schools, community centers, and churches, would be provided. As for visitors, after they arrive in the Disney World Airport or by car (going through the underground tunnels, like they're going from Britain to France), they will go to the Disney World Welcome Center, where they meet guides who speak in their home languages. After all aspects of their trip are planned, They then move through the EPCOT industrial park, where major American corporations would work to make new technologies for the city. After they had seen the whole area, than they get to the theme park area last.
       So, will it work? Honestly, I don't know. Though, I would note that the scale is too grandiose for a single company who made cartoons. Similarly, the fact that no one owns property would not go over well, with potential buyers. It's clear that it wouldn't work as a city. As a permanent World's fair, it has worked for 30 years. So, why am I talking about this? I mean, there's not like there's a film that describes a future society. And is produced by Disney. And will debut next week....
See you next week.

Sources:

The Original E.P.C.O.T Project:
https://sites.google.com/site/theoriginalepcot/

Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_Prototype_Community_of_Tomorrow_(concept)

Walt Disney's Vision of an EPCOT- JustDisney.com
http://www.justdisney.com/Features/walts_epcot/  

Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

(To anyone who gets the joke, Congratulations! You win the No-Prize! (That joke actually makes sense in context. Look it up))
Hey, Wayward Followers,
      This is your radical writer, Rambunctious  RC! And today, we discuss the exhilarating exploits of Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Of course, the good folks at Marvel are doing very fine for themselves. 2012's The Avengers, directed by Jaunty Joss Whedon, was a mega-success, on a scale only Galactus would appreciate! Whilst the Distinguished Competition languishes in a continual spiral of low-quality, "dark" movies, Marvel continues to put out only the highest quality movies that any True Believer would appreciate! Of course, this is thanks to a "Marvel formula" of good characterization, daring plots, and a little sense of humor! However, with a such a high standard to uphold, can the sequel "Age of Ultron," compare to the other Modern Marvels, especially with Jaunty Joss at the helm once again? Well, strap in, Wayward followers, and let's take a look!
     Based of the exciting Marvel comic book team created by Stan "The Man" Lee and Jack "King" Kirby, Age of Ultron follows our intrepid heroes, as they infilitrate the castle of the dreaded Baron Strucker ( Tepid Thomas Kretschmann). However, the Baron has an ace up his nefarious sleeve! Two superpowered twins, Quicksilver (Amazing Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Enigmatic Elizabeth Olsen), who attack our heroes! (Are they mutants, the seed sprung from Magneto? Well,... It's possible. They don't mention it). Eventually, the Invincible Iron Man (Reputable Robert Downey, Jr, ) is able to penetrate the fortress, and after the Scarlet Witch induces a mysterious dream into Iron Man's mind, finds the specter previously wielded by Loki, God of Evil! Back at the Avenger's mansion, after Iron Man examines the mysterious contents of the spector, He and the Incredible Hulk's meek alter ego, Bruce Banner (Miraculous Mark Ruffalo) decide to build Ultron, a robotic peace keeping force. However, little do our Marvelous heroes realize that Ultron (Jumping James Spader), once activated, decides that the plague of mankind should be eradicated. He attacks our heroes, and escapes into the wide range of the World Wide Web. Now, the Avengers, including the Mighty Thor (Captivating Chris Hemsworth), the Gorgeous Black Widow (Snazzy Scarlett Johansson), Captain America (Charming Chris Evans) and The Sensational Hawkeye (Jazzy Jeremy Renner), must stop Ulton's evil scheme, and save the human race! But can the Mighty Avengers stop him in time?
     Well, Wayward Followers... You know, I'll stop that now. Still it was fun to write. So, good things. There are a lot of goods things about this film. The acting, the cinematography, and the writing are all superb, as usual. The action is fantastic, often comprehensible, but still fun to watch. I forgot how funny these films are. There is a running joke revolving around Captain America chastising Iron Man for language, which other character use against Cap. The burgeoning romance between Hulk and Black Widow is also an interesting touch. Two characters that normally aren't romantically attached are shown having a romance.  There are many nods to the comics, which don't feel like fanservice, but actually legitimately serve the plot. Whilst I'm sure people might be upset at the changes, (for instance, Hank Pym is not mentioned at all, despite being Ultron's creator in the comics,) the other references will likely placate them.  The plot isn't particularly complex, with the heroes simply trying to fight Ultron, as he tries to destroy the human race. However, there is also the unstable team dynamic, which Ultron exploits to try to further his plans. The design of Ultron is great, harkening back to the original, but adding a new modern twist. Also, Spader's performance brings more a malicious personality to Ultron, OTHER THAN THE ROBOT SPEAK THE COMICS DO. Also, an Avengers character hitherto unseen (who is sprung from a vision)? Awesome, completely awesome. Watch the film, and you'll see.
   There are a few gripes. The film starts immediately, and moves very fast from there, rather than slowly allow the events to build up, and increase the stakes. I suppose that this is because most are already familiar with the franchise and its characters, but still, had they set it up more, and slowed it down, it would feel more intense. Similarly, the climax feels a little long, with various events impeding our heroes. It isn't a bad climax It just it feels too long. Also, I was slightly bothered by the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Thinking how the X-Men reboot could possibly tie into the MCU kept bothering me through the film.
       So, as good as the first? Nope. However, the first is a hard act to follow. As a Marvel film on its own, it is still a fantastic picture. To anyone who loves superheroes, you'll probably see it anyway, so yeah, see it. If you don't like Superheroes, don't see it. If you just want to see a film, watch this. It makes me very excited for the next batch of Marvel movies. (Wakanda's mention alone makes me excited for Black Panther) Thanks for reading, Wayward Follower, and I'll see you in three weeks!.
       Extraordinary!