“Tomorrowland”

Britt Robertson starts as Newt in the new Disney film, “Tomorrowland”. (photo courtesy of Disney Pictures)

Normally, when Disney toots its own horn, something relatively enjoyable results. “Meet the Robinsons” created a utopian future based on a saying popularized by Walt Disney himself. “Saving Mr. Banks” delightfully idealized the man on screen. And after four profitable “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, they’re at it again.

But rather than adapt another ride — hopefully they learned their lesson from “The Haunted Mansion” — the cult of Mickey moved on to an entire section of the park, “Tomorrowland”.

What could be more magical than another dimension entirely devoted to scientific discovery? And one of the dimensional entrances in the film exists in the “It’s a Small World” ride.

Perhaps they laid on the product/location placement a little too thick.

Ever heard of those world fairs back in the day?

Turns out they were recruitment centers where thinkers found the best minds in the world and took them to a place free of world struggles with one central purpose: bring the ideas of tomorrow to today.

But it’s been a while since anyone heard from them. Just don’t tell Athena (Raffey Cassidy), a young girl who continually seeks out the best minds with the hope that they’ll help build tomorrow and also fix something that went terribly wrong.

It would appear all hope is lost, even to those who can see the future.

But young inventor, Newt (Britt Robertson), might just be the key. But she’ll need to convince ex-Tomorrowland resident Frank (George Clooney) to return. Luckily, a group of robots are hot on their trail, so Frank’s options are rather forced in one direction.

With Brad Bird at the helm, I’m shocked. This is the guy behind “The Iron Giant”, “The Incredibles”, “Ratatouille” and “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol”, his first live-action film. He’s a critically praised director, and all his films are beloved as well. But something is very wrong here.

Much of the film involves Frank, Newt and Athena outmaneuvering bots, occasionally coming in contact with world monuments apparently created by members of Tomorrowland.

The entire process might make you think of “National Treasure” in a cheap way (and that’s saying something).

Sadly, that other land itself is only around for the third dull act. The whole film is such a lost opportunity; the founders of Tomorrowland would be very disappointed with such misplaced creativity.

“Entourage”

Vince (Adrian Grenier), Drama (Kevin Dillon), E (Kevin Connolly), Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) return in “Entourage” the movie. (photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

After four years, we finally have an “Entourage” film just in time for everyone to forget the series existed at all. You’d be right to wonder why HBO decided to wait so long. But what happens behind the scenes is irrelevant, because we only care about A-lister Vinnie Chase’s (Adrian Grenier) behind the scenes life with his crew: E (Kevin Connolly), Drama (Kevin Dillon) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara).

If you haven’t seen the show, don’t see this film; it won’t make any sense. It takes place nine days after the final season, undoing everything resolved. (TV show spoilers ahead.) If you watched that concluding episode, you might wonder how Vince could convince a very intelligent reporter that he’s not a womanizing simpleton. Well, marital bliss only lasted nine days.

Or how about E getting back with Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) after he slept with her mother-in-law. Don’t give me that she’s pregnant, that changes everything. Nobody recovers from mother-in-law revenge sex. That ended after nine days. And poor Drama had a hit cartoon for apparently nine more days before he transformed back into a nobody in his brother’s shadow.

At least Turtle is rich now thanks to stock in his old tequila company.

More importantly, their agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), is back in the game. His retirement lasted less than nine days, and he’s now a studio head, backing Vince’s directorial debut.

The stakes are low for the entourage. Vinnie will still get work, but Ari will lose it all if his $100 million-budget film doesn’t become a hit.

And now they need to convince the financier’s son, Travis (Haley Joel Osment), to give them more money.

This isn’t a good film. It’s not a film at all. It’s an extended episode. At best, it’s an HBO special. And if you watched the show, that’s entirely what you want.

The banter between Ari and his former assistant Lloyd (Rex Lee) is still on point. Antics dominate, often at the driving plotline’s expense. And there is not even a real conclusion. It’s so abrupt.

“Entourage” is all about three things: celebrity cameos, Ari yelling and an obscene amount of scantily clad women everywhere. It has all three. The former arrives in shameless doses as we meet Mark Wahlberg (no shock there), Ronda Rousey, Kelsey Grammar, Common, Armie Hammer, Jessica Alba and a slew of other familiar faces.

The ladder might be the only perk for uninitiated audience members. Trust me, that’s not a good reason to see something. Just rent this one.