Weekend Movies: The Sun Will Come Out… Next Week

Based on the initial trailers and TV spots for this weekend’s two wide releases, it looked like we were getting some of summer’s best. Now, with reviews and word-of-mouth flowing, the outlook doesn’t look as promising.

The wider of the two releases is Disney’s long-advertised ‘Tomorrowland.’ Pixar alum Brad Bird directs the live-action tale about girl who finds a mysterious pin that, when touched, wisks her away to a futuristic land where the sky is the limit and absolutely anything is possible. George Clooney co-stars as an equally mysterious grumpy old man who knows of “Tomorrowland” and reluctantly helps her get there. Unfortunately, the movie is a dud and a missed opportunity. It’s not at all what it’s advertised to be. It takes far too long to find its feet, it’s overly serious and spends too much time cramming an agenda down your throat. And despite the PG rating, it’s hardly the family-friendly entertaining adventure that everyone hoped for.

20th Century Fox doesn’t seem to have much faith in the PG-13 remake of ‘Poltergeist.’ While the teasers and trailers made it out to be a worthwhile reboot that even hard-to-please fans of the original could look forward to, few advance screenings were held and most press weren’t invited to see it until late Thursday night. Early reviews h mixed. Some praised it for accurately reflecting the original and some bashed it for tarnishing its reputation. Even knowing that, I’m still excited to see what producer Sam Raimi, director Gil Kenan (‘Monster House’) and actors Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt and Jared Harris pull off.

In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics puts Jennifer Connelly back on the big screen with ‘Aloft.’ The heavy drama tells the story of a woman whose hard life is turned upside-down when she runs into the son that she abandoned long ago. Cillian Murphy and Melanie Laurent co-star.

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