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FLICKS: Tommorowland, The Farewell Party, The Connection & MODS

Posted on 04 June 2015 by LeslieM

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

It has taken me a week to wrap my mind around Tomorrowland. For 4/5ths of the movie, I was transported to the culture of my 1960s childhood, the irrational exuberance of President Kennedy’s New Frontier. We had rocket ships going to the moon and The Jetsons showed us that common man would have flying cars in the not too distant future. Then, Y2K happened, and my generation did not get our flying car.

Tomorrowland’s leading man George Clooney and I are roughly the same age. His character, Frank Walker, is presented as a science wiz kid who crosses theoretical swords with David Nix (Hugh Laurie) at the 1964 World’s Fair in Flatbush, Long Island. With a magic pin, young Frank sees visions of a positive future. When he reaches middle age, Frank becomes like Clint Eastwood from Gran Torino, a grumpy old man who tells children to stay away from his porch.

The teenager bothering Frank is Casey Newton (Britt Robertson), who also was given a magic pin from Athena (Raffey Cassidy), a young person associated with Governor Nix. Frank and Casey develop an uneasy alliance and use their technological wits to save the world.

In the final fifth of Tomorrowland, we face the obligatory showdown between Frank and Nix and the thrashing of ideas. The biggest problem with this film is that the villain’s concerns are really the state of the union today, instant gratification from violence is the norm. Instead of presenting a solution to our problems of the day, Tomorrowland subtly warns us that we are doomed.

The Farewell Party opens tomorrow. This 2014 Israeli film concerns itself with the social norms of senior citizens in an assisted living facility. With a touch of Doctor Kevorkian, this drama provides dark humor about euthanasia.

For those considering movie fare south of Lighthouse Point, Cinema Paradiso will be presenting The Connection, a French thriller starring Artist Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin as a narcotics officer trying to crack a major kingpin. This film is said to be France’s version of the Oscar-winning 1970s classic The French Connection starring Gene Hackman.

For info, visit www.fliff.com.

Last, but not least, the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Science and Discovery (MODS) has kicked off their summer blockbuster season. The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tomorrowland and San Andreas are currently on the 5-storey screen. Next week, Jurassic World opens. Book your tickets early, for shows have been selling out.

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