In 1999, little known animator Brad Bird directed the highly acclaimed (but criminally underseen) animated film The Iron Giant. A few years later, Bird graduated to the big leagues, directing two pictures for Pixar – beloved superhero spectacle The Incredibles and foodie feast Ratatouille – winning Oscars for both. In 2011, Bird rose through the ranks again, following in the footsteps of Brian De Palma, John Woo and JJ Abrams to take carriage of the Mission: Impossible franchise for its fourth instalment. It was his first live-action film and Bird delivered in spades: the end result a thrilling cinematic spectacle that became an enormous box office hit.

Now, for his highly anticipated next film, Bird turns his attention to a sci-fi adventure, adding yet another impressive, masterfully told story to his oeuvre. The film centres on a troubled-but-brilliant teen (Robertson) who embarks on a mission with a jaded former inventor (Clooney) to uncover the secrets of a mysterious place in time and space known only as Tomorrowland – an alternate world where the past, present and future intersect, and where anything is possible.

Named after the futuristic themed land found at Disneyland theme parks, the film is a heartfelt ode to optimism, discovery and wonderment, with a healthy dose of Disney magic thrown in for good measure. Honestly though, the less you know about Tomorrowland before seeing it, the better. But if you have to know something, know this: save yourself a trip to Disneyland and head down to Coombs to see this instead.

Jodorowsky’s Dune documents one of the great lost films. I use the term ‘lost’ loosely though; director Alejandro Jodorowsky never actually succeeded in making the film, but his vision for adapting Frank Herbert’s “Dune” for the big screen was so complete, so inspired, that its non-existence is felt across the film community as an extraordinary missed opportunity.

This film documents the production ‘dream-team’ that Jodorowsky assembled for set-design, costuming, screenplay and score alongside a seriously draw-dropping cast of actors that were signed-up to perform. It then leaves the viewer to use their imagination to both lament and revel in what might have been.

Jodorowsky began making films in the mid 1960s. He was famous for a series of bizarro cult films in 1970s such as El Topo and Holy Mountain which sat on the fringes of cinema and aired mostly in late-night screenings. His efforts at adapting ”Dune” are a fascinating look into the mechanics of filmmaking, of managing disparate personalities and mammoth egos in order to achieve an artistic vision. The documentary’s pay-off is the last third, where the influence of Jodorowsky’s vision on other films is chronicled in both convincing and spectacular fashion.

Great documentaries take the viewer on a journey, are educational but also revelatory. Jodorowsky’s Dune is no exception. It succeeds in capturing the incongruous notion that an unmade film has somehow managed to impact and influence a generation of filmmakers, and is an absolute treasure for casual and hardcore fans of science-fiction alike.