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A Few Words About A few words about...™ Tomorrowland -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris

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Brad Bird's Tomorrowland, is in some ways, an animated film, reminding me of some of the WB cartoons, with something going on everywhere in the frame.

But it isn't.  It's very much a live action film, with what appears to be occasional use of digital effects.

If one is planning on a purchase by virtue of only the trailer, be forewarned.  This is not a simple chase film between good guys and bad guys.

Two of the three leads are superb.  George Clooney headlines, in some ways almost doing a partial reprise of Everett in O Brother, but without the dumb.

The two female leads do some fine and energetic work.  Britt Robertson is Mr. Clooney's pseudo-sidekick and traveler through time, while young Raffey Cassidy in many ways steals the show.  If you've seen Mr. Selfridge, you'll recognize her as Jeremy Piven's young daughter.  Here, she does some quite extraordinary work.  If she plays her cards right, she could have quite a career ahead of her.

If one were to try to categorize the film, which isn't easy, it might be a thriller/adventure yarn, with the overriding theme being "hope."

The film is long at over two hours, and takes almost the first hour to get things rolling, allowing the audience even a bit of understanding as to what's going on.

Is it worth it?

For me, a decided "yes."

The film was shot digitally, so what you see is what the data looks like.

Interestingly, it was finished in 4k, so there's a good chance of seeing it again in UHD from Disney.

Image - 5

 

Audio - 5

4k Up-rez - 5


Pass / Fail - Pass

 

Recommended

 

RAH

 

Robert Crawford

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Interesting that you didn't care for Clooney's performance. Perhaps, he's not your cup of tea as far as his acting skills. I liked the film more than many so I'll be buying this Blu-ray between now and the Holiday season.
 

Mike Frezon

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This is on its way to me. Not sure what I'm going to think of it based on the mixed messages I've read...but I have a feeling I'll enjoy the "tomorrowland" theme park connections with the film.


I'm definitely curious to find out.
 

Robert Harris

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Robert Crawford said:
Interesting that you didn't care for Clooney's performance. Perhaps, he's not your cup of tea as far as his acting skills. I liked the film more than many so I'll be buying this Blu-ray between now and the Holiday season.
I DID like his performance. Just thought the two young ladies were superior.
 

Michel_Hafner

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It's not just finished in 4K, it's also one of the first 2 films in history to be released in HDR with the Dolby Vision process. The Blu Ray is not HDR, but the UHD Blu Ray will most likely be and among the first UHD BDs to be released.
 

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Mike Frezon said:
This is on its way to me. Not sure what I'm going to think of it based on the mixed messages I've read...but I have a feeling I'll enjoy the "tomorrowland" theme park connections with the film.

I'm definitely curious to find out.
As a big fan of Brad Bird's previous work, I found this a major disappointment. It plays like 'Atlas Shrugged' for teens.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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I agree that the two young ladies were tremendous. Raffey Cassidy's performance is a marvel, with an incredible amount of nuance packed in there. Britt Robertson's performance is easy to underestimate, until you step back and realize just how hard it is to be completely earnest as a modern performer. As Casey Newton, Robertson is brilliant at walking that fine line of being earnest but not naive.


Watching the exceptional Blu-Ray presentation of this film tonight, I was struck by the depressing thought that Tomorrowland's failure at the box office is symptomatic of all the problems Governor Nix sneered at our world for.

Worth said:
As a big fan of Brad Bird's previous work, I found this a major disappointment. It plays like 'Atlas Shrugged' for teens.

You're definitely not the only one who felt this way. On the other end of the political spectrum, there were plenty who were turned off by what they saw as a liberal message against nuclear armament and a scare piece about the dangers of global warming.


I didn't see it either way. If anything, Governor Nix is the Ayn Rand analogue, having "gone Galt" and left the mediocre masses to their fates. The movie is pretty explicit about condemning this. Its embrace of exceptionalism is secondary to its embrace of optimism. Casey Newton is brilliant, but her brilliance is far less important than her belief that the world can be better and that we collectively can make it better. It's a celebration of the national spirit that put a man on the moon, that beat the unstoppable Soviets in the Miracle on Ice, that believed anything was possible, and strived to make it so.


The real enemy in the film was cynicism.
 

haineshisway

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Okay, I just finished watching this. I didn't even want to see it, thanks to the reviews, which were mostly noxious, and the trailer, which I felt didn't do much to make me want to go. The imdb, the chat boards, all filled with negativity and criticisms. They can't accept the logic, it doesn't make sense, it takes too long to get going, it doesn't make sense, it's too long, it doesn't make sense and on and on and on. But they can accept and embrace Transformers and Mission: Impossible 12 and reviewers can bestow five stars and audiences can be impressed by the "popcorn flick" "thrill ride" loud bombast coming at them a mile a minute. You used to be able to level that kind of comment only at youngsters, but it's way beyond just youngsters now.


So, what do we really have in Tomorrowland. Well, I'll tell you what I think we have: A masterpiece. There isn't a false move in this film, the performances from the two young ladies are wonderful, Mr. Clooney is terrific, Mr. Laurie is terrific. This may be the most misunderstood film in a decade. It will stand the test of time. Years from now people will look back and forget they hated it and embrace its themes, especially the theme of HOPE and dreamers and creativity. Of course it didn't appeal to anyone NOW because the world is sorely lacking in those types, IMO. I don't know what preconceptions people brought to this great movie or what they were expecting. I was expecting nothing and I got everything - a moving, funny, rueful, beautiful film with a message that people should embrace - but they don't want to right now. They want irony and dark visions and super heroes and spies. For me, a much fine film than Interstellar, which I enjoyed but which, for me, did seem convoluted. Here nothing is convoluted at all. And I will not discuss logic with anyone who ignores the non-logic of a Bond film or an MI film or a Transformers film. It is to laugh. The last time I felt this way, that a movie was this misunderstood, was A.I. I predicted people would turn around on that film and in a lot of cases they have - they now conveniently forget the bile hurled at it and accept it and like it for the fine film it was and is. It will happen with this. This should have been a major hit - it needed to be a major hit - we need hope, not despair, not stupidity, not dark knights - I'm all for that message and this film, for me, could not have delivered it better. I was emotionally involved from frame one to the final frame. I cannot recommend this film, which I expected to hate, more highly. And those are my two centimes for whatever they may be worth, which probably isn't much.
 

Robert Crawford

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Yeah, I agree with you Bruce to a certain degree. I watched it in a theater this past summer and liked it. I just bought the Blu-ray so I'm hoping to like it even more after my second viewing of it.
 

Charles Smith

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Okay, now I have to get off this butt of mine and see this thing. I had meant to see it in the theater, so shame on me.
 

Worth

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haineshisway said:
Years from now people will look back and forget they hated it and embrace its themes, especially the theme of HOPE and dreamers and creativity. Of course it didn't appeal to anyone NOW because the world is sorely lacking in those types, IMO. I don't know what preconceptions people brought to this great movie or what they were expecting. I was expecting nothing and I got everything - a moving, funny, rueful, beautiful film with a message that people should embrace - but they don't want to right now. They want irony and dark visions and super heroes and spies.

The film may be about hope and optimism, but it's curiously devoid of any sort of joy or whimsy, and it wields its message like a sledgehammer to the point where it starts to feel like propaganda. It's certainly ambitious, but more noisy and mechanical than fun. As one review of the film stated, it's like someone constantly yelling at you to have a good time.
 

Hank_P

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I truly enjoyed this at the theater and will be picking up the BR. It is a great movie with so many different presentations, it makes you think, and engages you in this trial. I am hoping it will be on a 'super sale' as the holidays get closer.
 

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The only thing I got out of Tomorrowland was the crippling disappointment I felt walking out of the theater. The film started so well and ended so badly. How the hell does that work?
 

Robert Crawford

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Lord Dalek said:
The only thing I got out of Tomorrowland was the crippling disappointment I felt walking out of the theater. The film started so well and ended so badly. How the hell does that work?
Different strokes for different folks.
 

haineshisway

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Worth said:
The film may be about hope and optimism, but it's curiously devoid of any sort of joy or whimsy, and it wields its message like a sledgehammer to the point where it starts to feel like propaganda. It's certainly ambitious, but more noisy and mechanical than fun. As one review of the film stated, it's like someone constantly yelling at you to have a good time.
Yes, I read that in many reviews - I simply don't agree with it. I never felt any of those things - I was engaged, happy, I laughed, I teared up a bit occasionally - for me, emphasis on the me - it worked perfectly. Believe me, I know others did not feel the same. I was a complete voice in the wilderness on A.I. and I'm happy to be one of the few on this one. It felt no preachier than any other film of its type, and its message is an important one - and the truth of that message, I fear, is exactly why people don't like the film, if you get my meaning.
 

Peter Apruzzese

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haineshisway said:
Yes, I read that in many reviews - I simply don't agree with it. I never felt any of those things - I was engaged, happy, I laughed, I teared up a bit occasionally - for me, emphasis on the me - it worked perfectly. Believe me, I know others did not feel the same. I was a complete voice in the wilderness on A.I. and I'm happy to be one of the few on this one. It felt no preachier than any other film of its type, and its message is an important one - and the truth of that message, I fear, is exactly why people don't like the film, if you get my meaning.

Hey, I *loved* A.I. and fought more than a few battles over it; based on your review I'm adding TOMORROWLAND to the Netflix queue.
 

David Norman

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I agree with Bruce on this film as I did with A.I on first viewing years ago. Maybe not to the level of all time masterpiece, but I was more enthralled by the film, script, acting, and was
beyond baffled at the horrible response it seemed to get.
 

John Sparks

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I have to say that this film was a POS...IMHO! I had no idea where it was going, but if you had watched the trailer, this was not what you were expecting.


Maybe age has something to do with it. I'm 66 and I love sci-fi/horror...my whole adult life has been centered around that theme, in reference to watching/collecting movies. But, this movie was so far out in left field that it left some viewers (me and my wife) asking...what were they trying to tell you?


I know, leave your brain in the car and enjoy...but I didn't get it and it won't be in my sci-fi collection...4000K plus SD and BD!


Maybe, because that it fizzled at the box office was an indication that it stunk...again, IMHO.


But...if I was to receive it "FREE" I would/maybe change my mind. $$$$ always talks!
 

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