03. YOUTH – Michael Caine plays a retired conductor recuperating at a retreat in the Alps. Throughout this film, we learn more about this enigmatic figure and the people who surround him. This includes his best friend (Harvey Keitel), a filmmaker trying to brainstorm an ambitious production. Also undergoing examination are the relationships he has with his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and the lingering, figurative specter of his beloved wife.
YOUTH was a total surprise. There is almost nothing that could prepare you for the thoughtful and emotional charge that resonates through every minute of its running time. Paolo Sorrentino gets to the heart of what makes people go on living in the face of devastating loss and abandonment. It’s a film full of complicated emotions and brilliant ideas. And in the end finds great beauty in the world and in our own human frailty.
02. TOMORROWLAND – We are drowning in a sea of cynicism and defeatism, the common narrative in popular culture being that the world is bleak and you can only wade through it as best you can. Which is why heroes like Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) are so important. After a day of hearing about everything wrong with the world, she’s the one who states, “So how do we fix it?”
Without a doubt, the most underappreciated film of 2015, TOMORROWLAND was trampled by a public misled by marketing or unreceptive to its message. Brad Bird’s film is a fun and whimsical adventure, but it’s also full of such wonderful characters, including the disillusioned Frank Walker (George Clooney) and the youthful and mysterious Athena. Most importantly, it’s a film that is both a warning and a cure for the cynicism that pervades our modern world and keeps us from achieving the greatness of which we are capable.
It’s a bright and energetic film that just didn’t get the love it deserved. I am hopeful that over the years, TOMORROWLAND will be appreciated like Brad’s earlier family adventure, THE IRON GIANT. Hope, imagine that.
MOVIOCRITY 