Crisp Criticism - "Tomorrowland", "San Andreas", "Clouds of Sils Maria"

by

Julien Faddoul

Tomorrowland *

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.

A substantial and extremely peculiar film, and one that cannot be separated from the personal foresight accumulated by its brilliant director. Produced on a large Disney-like scale with a nostalgic, Amblin-like tone, the film, high on action-adventure and brimming with ideas, professes the effulgent future that can come from idealism and application, and one that humanity seems to be getting in its own way of. But the film asseverates this so bluntly and without any modulation that everything else evaporates (particularly in its last act). In the end, the purport is less inspirational than it is preachy; the experience less of a movie than a lecture. It’s a disappointing film, but not in the usual way.

d – Brad Bird

w – Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird, Jeff Jensen

ph – Claudio Miranda

pd – Scott Chambliss

m – Michael Giacchino

ed – Walter Murch, Craig Wood

cos – Jeffrey Kurland

p – Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird, Jeffrey Chernov

Cast: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Bauer, Thomas Robinson, Pierce Gagnon

San Andreas

In the aftermath of a massive earthquake in California, a rescue-chopper pilot makes a dangerous journey across the state in order to rescue his estranged daughter.

Artificial disaster film with a shocking lack of awareness for human life. Visually, it’s pretty interesting until it becomes monotonous.

d – Brad Peyton

w – Carlton Cuse, Andre Fabrizio, Jeremy Passmore

ph – Steve Yedlin

pd – Barry Chusid

m – Andrew Lockington

ed – Bob Ducsay

cos – Wendy Chuck

p – Beau Flynn

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Archie Panjabi, Paul Giamatti, Art Parkinson, Will Yun Lee, Kylie Minogue, Hugo Johnstone-Burt

Clouds of Sils Maria **

A veteran actress comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years earlier.

One of its director’s more broad, lucid films, mixing a Bergman aesthetic with an Antonioni climate.

wd – Olivier Assayas

ph – Yorick Le Saux

pd – Francois-Renaud Labarthe

ed – Marion Monnier

cos – Jurgen Doering

p – Charles Gillibert

Cast: Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloe Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger, Johnny Flynn, Angela Winkler, Hanns Zischler