Gwyneth Paltrow Movie:

		List Price: $29.99		Label: Paramount Salesrank: 15594 Released: June 3, 2008
		Our Price: $17.63
		Used Price: $17.62
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
After New York City receives a series of attacks from giant flying robots, a reporter teams up with a pilot in search of their origin, as well as the reason for the disappearances of famous scientists around the world.

Description of Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow [Blu-ray]:
While setting a milestone in the progress of digital filmmaking, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow resurrects a nostalgic fantasy world derived from a wide variety of vintage inspirations. It's a dazzling dream for anyone who appreciates the look and feel of golden-age sci-fi pulp magazines, drawing its unique, all-digital design from such diverse sources as Howard Hawks adventures, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Buck Rogers, Blackhawk comics, The Third Man, cliffhanger serials, and the action-packed Indiana Jones franchise. Writer-director Kerry Conran's feature debut is also guaranteed to inspire digital dreamers everywhere, suggesting a paradigm shift in the way CGI-dominated movies are made. It's a giddy adventure for the young and young-at-heart, in which ace pilot "Sky Captain" Joe Sullivan (Jude Law) and intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) must save the world from a mad scientist whose vision of the future has tragic implications for all humankind. Angelina Jolie drops in for a glorified cameo, but it's the ultra-fortunate neophyte Conran who's the star here. His clever riff on The Wizard of Oz is a marvel to behold, and the method of its creation is nothing less than revolutionary. --Jeff Shannon

Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Sci-fi fantasy in art deco style
2009-12-07 - Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow are paired as a pilot and a journalist in conquest to save the world from the mad scientist. This scientist has created robots who are overtaking New York. There is a mysterious assassin trying to kill off all the remaining scientists who can prevent the apocalipse.

Part adventure, part romance, part nostalgic movie set in art deco style, this film has feel and touch of the old era. Although at one point there is a clip of the movie "Wizard of Oz" which must have been filmed more that 30 years ago. That confused me a little bit. If it was supposed to be a metaphor for Paltrow's character in this movie, I have not quite got the message.

This movie is cute and unpretentious but easy to let go of once you've seen it.

THE GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL-TIME!!!!!!!
2009-12-01 - Five stars? 500 would not be enough to symbolize how emphatically, mind-dazzlingly, awe-inspiring this film is. The title of this review is the simplest way to say it, without joking, hyperbole, or even the slightest bit of irony. In the utter blackness of modern cinema, this one shines like a supernova. I will not rehash the plot, but devote the space I'm allotted to attempting to communicate (as if mere words could do it justice) just WHY this film is so great.

#1: While true to itself, it doesn't take itself too seriously.
What kills 99.9% of all movies made is their over-bearing, self-regarding self-importance. Movies are not status symbols or intellectual capital, but entertainment. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is first and last unadultrated, unabashed FUN. You are not a better or smarter person for having seen it and enjoyed it.

#2: It creates its own world/universe.
While ostensibly taking place in the year 1939, no efforts are made to be "real" and actual people/events from that year are mostly ignored. With its own logic and "top secret" technologies, nit-pickers will be greatly offended, but are advised to re-read reason #1.

#3: It breaks the rules of action/adventure/sci-fi movies.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is the slow unveiling of a mystery. The reason why this movie was not the runaway hit it should have been is that contemporary movie audiences only want good-guys vs. bad-guys battles. Any kind of ambiguity involves way too much thinking, and it's much easier to wait for cliches like a James Bond-type villain who says, "Before I kill you, allow me to give you a tour of my installation."

#4: The writing/direction dares to be different.
Based solely on this movie, I consider Kerry Conran to be the greatest writer/director EVER. Without the expectation baggage of a pre-existing audience like the comic-book movies, Conran is able to tell what is really a very simple story in a highly imaginative way. He shows his viewers just enough to pique their interest and sustain mystery, moves quickly from scene to scene, and provides plausible solutions for the challenges his characters are faced with.

#5: The in-jokes.
In a fast-paced film such as this, most viewers will miss these, but for those who find them, they are an absolute delight. Some are revealed in this DVD's commentaries, and others have been uncovered in online fan-discussions. This is absolutely an uncynical movie.

#6: It's a tribute to classic Hollywood.
This is Conran's love letter to the days before film-making became a pompous, self-congratulatory enterprise. Dozens of films are referenced from the early action/adventure/sci-fi classics, to "The Wizard of Oz", to the "Star Wars"/"Indiana Jones" series, even to the point of quoting a line from "Galaxy Quest".

#7: The "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" factor.
After earning the financial backing and support of a major studio (credit: Paramount Pictures), Conran throws EVERYTHING imaginable into this movie, knowing full well he might never have another chance (almost prophetic, considering he has yet to make his next film). There is an absolutely daring "let's go for it - hold nothing back" ethos that pervades the entire project, even though like all film-makers, he ran out of time and money as deadlines loomed.

#8: The CGI.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow generated quite a buzz when first released for being almost entirely shot in front of a blue screen. While today's technology has no doubt left these efforts in the dust, what they did with a beginner's budget is downright amazing and laid the groundwork for what movies can do today.

#9: The actors and their performances.
Jude Law: best leading actor EVER. Gwyneth Paltrow: best leading actress EVER. Laurence Olivier: best resurrected actor EVER. Giovanni Ribisi: best supporting actor EVER. Angelina Jolie: best cameo EVER (she only appears on-screen for 10 minutes). For a relatively small cast, this ensemble shines like no other, creating loveable, unique characters who could easily have been sustained over a continuing series (alas...). Exhibiting a range that extends from serious to silly, the viewer can actually care about these characters.

#10: The score.
I would like to nominate Edward Shearmur's awesome score as the greatest EVER written. Clearly inspired by the classic Hollywood composers such as Korngold, Rozsa, John Williams, and even the military soundtracks of Malcolm Arnold, it was hearing this score in the theatre that convinced me this was no mere popcorn flick. And using a new version of "Over the Rainbow" (credit: Jane Monheit) over the closing credits is sheer genius, as this song sums up in 4 minutes what the whole project is all about: hopes/wishes/dreams becoming reality.

#11: It's beautiful!
If you love the Art Deco/Streamline Moderne movements in design and architecture, you've found the ultimate movie. From lighting to color to costumes to set-pieces to ship design, everything is perfect! Space does not permit a complete listing of breathtaking moments, but Polly's (Paltrow) entrance into Radio City Music Hall, Joe's (Law) walking across the Flying Legion emblem at headquarters before arriving at his office, the interior of Totenkopf's rocket, and the climactic "back to earth" scene are some of the greatest pieces of footage ever filmed/created.

I will stop at 11 (Einheit Elf?). This movie should have been the next "Star Wars" but it flew completely over the heads of its intended audience. Yes it has a cult following and will probably be re-discovered and re-analyzed at some future date, but it was plainly too damn good for the world of 2004 and the elitest reviewers who buried this diamond in the cinema dungheap. For as long as I walk this earth, I will hold on to hope for a sequel/prequel/ANYTHING from the brilliant team that made Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the greatest movie ever made.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow... Isn't a sky captain like a steward?
2009-11-19 - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: 8 out of 10: It was King Kong that made me fall in love with the movie. He doesn't appear himself (unlike ring mate Godzilla who cameos in silhouette in a Japanese newspaper.) but his ship and his friends are there and his tree is there. You know the moss covered tree that covers the impossibly deep chasm. To one he uses to fling helpless sailors to there death like some kind of lumberjack games blood sport. There the tree is in glorious faded color just as I left it in the imagination of my seven-year old self.

I was enjoying myself up to that point mind you I had for one thing decided that this was an Anime rather than a regular film. (The giant robots make this illusion much more palatable as did an annoying performance by Miss Paltrow. In anime, the female characters are usually whining up a storm.) This allowed all the plot holes, substandard acting (along with Gwyneth Paltrows overbearing performance we have the thespian talents of Jude Law) and scientific flubs to fall by the wayside. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

A tour de force showing from Angelina Jolie as an eye-patch wearing British Commander also refreshes the movie halfway through. One wishes the film were about her and not the tepid whining leads.


Much has been made of the use of CGI but let us face it. It is simply easier to put CGI effects on an artificial background rather than place them in photo-realistic settings as the snakes of Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid or the wolves in Day after Tomorrow have proved most recently.


Sure Sky Captain is far from perfect. An actual villain would have helped and been more in line with the serials it was emulating. The dialogue sounds like George Lucas wrote it. In addition director Kerry Conran is more an art director than a story teller, but try telling that to the seven year old in me that kept saying, "Cool what's next".

Before there were watchmen...
2009-10-30 - Here's hoping that director Kerry Conran has not fallen under the curse of studio execs who dispatched more than one gifted novice with the words, "You'll never work in this town again!" Sky Captain is a great romantic adventure movie, heavy on the scifi and the parallel reality, made all the more astounding because of post-production craft. It is obvious that the movie came together after the actors went home, but it is almost as if you are drawn into this drawn-in world and get to spend some quality time there. As a special treat, the good witch and Lawrence Olivier make cameo appearances. The true seeker will first want to see the 1936 blockbuster, Things to Come.

Successful creation of a comic strip adventure
2009-10-09 - If the concept of an action filled comic book style adventure leaves you cold avoid this picture. If it can amuse and entertain you, then this will be satisfying. The characters are consistent, well formed, and authentic within the logic of its generic type; that is, they act logically in terms of the premise. Stunts are quite well done while the hardware is anything but penny-board masquerading as space ships. All looks as it should look in such an adventure. I have no idea of which age and sex groups it will most interest, but is is certain to have wide appeal.