Movie reviews: Pan, Tomorrowland, The Martian
So basically I've been watching a lot of movies lately, hence the triple reviews. (And I somehow managed to miss Tuesday's post, so I send my virtual appologies.)
Pan
This is the prequel to Disney's Peter Pan where Peter must defeat Blackbeard and save Neverland. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Yes, it is a kids movie so it went a bit light on the violence (the Neverland natives exploded into a puff of coloured powder when killed, for example) and there weren't exactly a whole lot of dark themes going on, but it was a great adventure. Neverland felt like a real, living, breathing place that's just out of reach, a place that can only be visited in our dreams. I loved the characters, how they each struggled with stuff and how we got some history on Peter and Hook. My only real complaint was the Chosen One cliché. Wouldn't it be a whole lot more interesting if the character chose to save people instead of being force into it? Just sayin'. Overall, though, it's a fantastic adventure through half-forgotten dreams.
Tomorrowland
Based on the rollercoaster in Disney World, the story follows a teenage girl and an older dude who embark on a journey to another dimension, Tomorrowland, in order to save the world. I really, really, really wanted to love this movie. And there was so much potential! The characters were great, the acting was awesome, the world building was so cool, the themes were amazing... and the plot was super hard to follow. I know, it's a Disney movie. The plot shouldn't be really hard to follow, but I have so many questions!
***SPOILERS***
Why would you deport a kid who created a machine who can tell the future at age 11? (He lost hope, yeah, whatever, but the leader dude lost hope too!) Why didn't anyone tell anyone else about Tomorrowland? (I actually looked it up and there's a whole sequel that explains it, but you shouldn't have to look it up to understand the plot.) Why are the robots trying to kill everyone? Why didn't Casey do anything when the whole time everyone was telling her that only she could save everyone? Can we get any history on Tomorrowland at all?
***END SPOILERS***
It was cute, funny, had a great message and had an awesome tone/setting but I just got really confused. I'm wondering if it was me being stupid, but there's so much stuff that was unexplained that I couldn't help but walk away disappointed.
The Martian
A team of astronauts leave Mars during a storm, only to leave Mark Watney behind after believing he was injured and killed. The trailer led me to believe that it would be seriously intense like Gravity, but it was actually pretty funny. There were a couple of intense moments but for the most part it was pretty calm and just focused on Watney's struggle to survive. There were funny moments, some great science and it was awesome how strong Watney was through the whole thing. (He never gave up and he was super positive through the whole thing.) I think it could have delved into his mental state a little more; we got a few glimpses here and there but we could have seen more. Beyond that, it was a great movie.
Has anyone seen any of these movies? Did you enjoy them? Dislike them? Mixed feelings? Comment below!
Pan
 |
| Source |
This is the prequel to Disney's Peter Pan where Peter must defeat Blackbeard and save Neverland. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Yes, it is a kids movie so it went a bit light on the violence (the Neverland natives exploded into a puff of coloured powder when killed, for example) and there weren't exactly a whole lot of dark themes going on, but it was a great adventure. Neverland felt like a real, living, breathing place that's just out of reach, a place that can only be visited in our dreams. I loved the characters, how they each struggled with stuff and how we got some history on Peter and Hook. My only real complaint was the Chosen One cliché. Wouldn't it be a whole lot more interesting if the character chose to save people instead of being force into it? Just sayin'. Overall, though, it's a fantastic adventure through half-forgotten dreams.
Tomorrowland
 |
| Source |
Based on the rollercoaster in Disney World, the story follows a teenage girl and an older dude who embark on a journey to another dimension, Tomorrowland, in order to save the world. I really, really, really wanted to love this movie. And there was so much potential! The characters were great, the acting was awesome, the world building was so cool, the themes were amazing... and the plot was super hard to follow. I know, it's a Disney movie. The plot shouldn't be really hard to follow, but I have so many questions!
***SPOILERS***
Why would you deport a kid who created a machine who can tell the future at age 11? (He lost hope, yeah, whatever, but the leader dude lost hope too!) Why didn't anyone tell anyone else about Tomorrowland? (I actually looked it up and there's a whole sequel that explains it, but you shouldn't have to look it up to understand the plot.) Why are the robots trying to kill everyone? Why didn't Casey do anything when the whole time everyone was telling her that only she could save everyone? Can we get any history on Tomorrowland at all?
***END SPOILERS***
It was cute, funny, had a great message and had an awesome tone/setting but I just got really confused. I'm wondering if it was me being stupid, but there's so much stuff that was unexplained that I couldn't help but walk away disappointed.
The Martian
 |
| Source |
A team of astronauts leave Mars during a storm, only to leave Mark Watney behind after believing he was injured and killed. The trailer led me to believe that it would be seriously intense like Gravity, but it was actually pretty funny. There were a couple of intense moments but for the most part it was pretty calm and just focused on Watney's struggle to survive. There were funny moments, some great science and it was awesome how strong Watney was through the whole thing. (He never gave up and he was super positive through the whole thing.) I think it could have delved into his mental state a little more; we got a few glimpses here and there but we could have seen more. Beyond that, it was a great movie.
Has anyone seen any of these movies? Did you enjoy them? Dislike them? Mixed feelings? Comment below!
I went to see The Martian and didn't think that I would enjoy it, but I ended up loving the movie! I didn't like Gravity very much (the main character was too much like a house plant for me--I didn't think she had a lot of fight and I didn't like her), so this was a pleasant surprise. It was funny, but had its serious moments and I loved Watney. The movie also felt real; I didn't have to work very hard on my suspension of disbelief, so that was another nice perk.
ReplyDeleteI know right? It was awesome! I think Gravity was ok, I just remember it being really intense. I KNOW I LOVED WATNEY!!!!! He was so positive and funny and he just kept going. The science was just amazing. Thanks for commenting!
DeleteI was thinking about going to see Pan, but I think I'll just wait for it to come out on DVD and borrow it from the library. I tend to be VERY particular with what movies I see in theaters since it's so expensive where I live. The Martian sounds interesting though...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reviews!
That's a pretty good idea :) The library here is crazy small, so it's not really an option, unfortunately. The theater is crazy expensive, isn't it? (But The Martian is worth it...) Thanks for commenting!
DeleteIt's funny--I just watched Tomorrowland last night, and I feel similar. Like, I wasn't too confused the whole, but I did feel they didn't do enough explaining, and I wondered if I caught a few plot holes. So yeah, I would have appreciated more answered questions, but I really liked the humor and the whole plotline with Athena.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen Pan yet, but I want to soon. I want to see The Martian too, but I think I'd prefer to read the book first. I'm just not sure when I'll get a chance.
I think a little more world building would have helped a lot. But the humor was awesome, and Athena was pretty cool too.
DeleteI would love to read the book but I haven't been able to get ahold of it yet. You'll have to review it sometime :)
I was thinking about watching Tomorrowland soon, so I'm hoping to enjoy it, although I'm sorry it was disappointing for you. :( Hopefully it won't be too bad? And Pan... I don't know. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteTomorrowland was *good* but I think it could have been great if it did just a little more world building and explaining. (Visually, the world building was cool but it would have been helpful if they had the scene where everyone sits down and explains everything. (For example, I DON'T CARE HOW UNHELPFUL A CERTAIN KID IS, IF THEY INVENT A FUTURE-SEEING MACHINE AT AGE 11 YOU NEED A PRETTY DARN GOOD REASON TO DEPORT HIM!!!))
DeleteI don't think Pan is for everyone, but I'm a fan of those movies where the target audience is twelve year olds. I guess there's just not the themes/violence/language that I'm not *always* wanting to see? Plus I'm a fan of Peter Pan in general, so I may have been biased. Anyways, you'll have to tell me if you liked it or not.