Movie Review: SAVING MR. BANKS

SAVING MR. BANKS
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell, B.J. Novak, Jason Schawartzman, Annie Rose Buckley, Bradley Whitford, Rachel Griffiths, Ruth Wilson

I would assume it is safe to say that many people, like me, grew up watching Mary Poppins. I consider it one of my favorites in the Disney canon. You believed that Julie Andrews or some magical nanny would fly in and take you on an adventure. Saving Mr. Banks gives us some insight on how that classic made it to the big screen. Author Pamela “P.L.” Travers (Thompson) was strictly opposed to having her beloved novel “Mary Poppins” adapted for the big screen, especially by Walt Disney (Hanks). She assumed he would turn it into some sugary sweet animated movie that would ruin her characters. Disney has pursued Travers for the rights to her story for twenty years as a promise to his daughter. Her agent begs and pleads with her as she has now run out of money.

She finally abides and heads to Los Angeles for her meeting with Disney. Even after their initial talk, she will not sign over the rights quite yet. She makes it quite clear that she will have to be part of the creative process. Not only does she want script approval, but she has very strong opinions about the design and look of the characters, the actors cast, and the conceptual drawings. Composer Richard Sherman (Schwartzman) and his writing partner and brother Robert (Novak) find it quite difficult to appease to her needs as she is not even keen on it being a musical. What they do not know is true meaning behind these characters to Travers. They hold a very special place in her heart as she based them on her childhood and the relationship she had with her father (Farrell).

The film goes back and forth between the two time frames of when Pamela was a child in 1906 and the Walt Disney portion of the story in 1961. I originally thought that her childhood would only be treated as brief flashbacks. I was quite surprised to find that a third, if not half of the movie, is devoted to her childhood and how Mary Poppins came to be. Unfortunately, I think this portion of the film drags the energy down. There is a vitality and sense of humor with Thompson and Hanks, so when we switch out of 1961 and go back to 1906, there is tonal change that is quite evident. That is not to say that Buckley and Farrell are bad, they are actually quite good. The writers could have gotten to the point of that storyline a bit quicker. As someone that is quite obsessed with “Six Feet Under”, I also wanted to see more of Rachel Griffiths who plays the real Mary Poppins.

The film boats quite a strong supporting cast that may go unnoticed next to Thompson and Hanks. There are many actors here like Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, and Jason Schwartzman that are not quite used to being under the Disney banner or making family friendly films. Giamatti has played numerous schmucks, and it is a great change of pace for him to play the sweet innocent chauffeur who has to cart Travers back and forth to the Disney lot. Schwartzman steps away from his usual Wes Anderson fare and pares well with B. J. Novak as the Sherman brothers. Hanks has had a strong year after his stunning work in Captain Phillips. He captures those charming and charismatic qualities that Disney needs. Disney was an iconic figure and you need an actor that is believable as someone who has built an empire that has lasted decade after decade. Hanks is quite believable and capable of pulling off that lofty feat. It should come as no surprise that Thompson is practically perfect in every way. I would watch her read the phone book. There is the outward frosty demeanor to Pamela, but Thompson knows how to easily add that inner dimension behind her eyes that elevates her from being a one-noted bitchy villain. You can see the inner struggles she continually battles. The comedic side of Thompson comes alive as she can deliver every zinger and witty jab flawlessly.

Some people have issues with the fact that Disney is making a movie about one of their own movies. They can just go complain to themselves. Yes, there is definitely a Disneyfied sheen to this story that definitely has some drama behind it, but oh who cares. Like Mary Poppins, this is a wonderful family film that can easily tap into your inner child. The songs are infectious and it is hard to not want to start singing along as the Sherman brothers start to plunk them out on the piano. My Lord, I completely lost it when “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” started. I started to well up, and I rarely cry at movies. I have many fond memories of watching Mary Poppins as a child. I attribute that to my Grandma Lois who has long passed away, so Saving Mr. Banks was a nice trip down memory lane.

RATING: **** (4 out of 5 stars)

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The 2013 Full Uncensored Actresses and Producers Roundtable

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER--The 2013 Full Uncensored Actresses and Producers Roundtable

The Hollywood Reporter continues their roundtable discussions with two more that have been released in the series. This time we have many of the actresses and producers that are making a splash this awards season. You may notice some of the same movies being discussed, but it is always interesting hearing about the process from different perspectives involved in the production. I have included links to all of my reviews thus far.

The Actresses Roundtable

Amy Adams, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels' The Butler

“This is what I learned working with Meryl Streep. She works her ass off. It is not a magic trick. She does not just show up and be brilliant. You see the mechanics of it in way that I found such a comfort.” -Julia Roberts



The Producers Roundtable

Michael De Luca, Captain Phillips
Dede Gardner, 12 Years a Slave
David Heyman, Gravity
Charles Roven, American Hustle
Mark Wahlberg, Lone Survivor
Pam Williams, Lee Daniels' The Butler




In case you missed it,
-"The Actors Roundtable" can be found here
-"The Directors Roundtable" and "The Writers Roudtable" can be found here

Movie Review: BRAVE

BRAVE
Director: Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews
Starring the voices of: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connelly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Julie Walters

Most young girls would love to become a princess some day. That is definitely not the case in the latest Pixar creation. Princess Merida (Macdonald) could care less about the fact that she is a princess. She would rather be the tough, dirty, and athletic type over the prim and proper way she has been taught. She is constantly being reminded to sit up straight and keep her bow off the table among other rules of etiquette. She relishes in the one day a year she is permitted to not act like a princess. Queen Elinor (Thompson) has decided that it is the proper time for Merida to be betrothed to a young suitor. In a royal ceremony, three young men have been brought forward to compete for Merida's true affection. As all three men are presented, it is quite apparent they are buffoons. Merida was already disgruntled to begin with and these men are not helping the cause. She chooses archery as one of the competitions knowing she can outshine them all. Two of the men barely hit the target, but one of them hits the bulls eye. Merida outshines them all by getting three bulls eyes infuriating her mother. She hops on her trusty horse Angus and rides into the Scottish countryside.

She spots the mysterious will-o-the-wisps and follows them deeper into the forest hoping they will lead her to her destiny. She stumbles upon a cottage inhabited by a witch (Walters) disguised as an elderly wood carver. She begs the witch to cast a spell that will change her mother’s mind. When Merida returns back to the castle, she discovers the spell was too potent by changing her mother into a bear. This does not bode well for King Fergus (Connelly) and his men as he is a bear hunter. Merida realizes her grave mistake and must get her mother out of the castle and back to the witch’s cottage to have the spell reversed.

Brave is the latest film released by Pixar, the studio that brought us Toy Story, Wall-E, and Up. The bar is set pretty high as those movies are wildly creative, imaginative, and original. Brave follows more of a traditional Disney route. You've got your princess, a witch, a curse, and some arguments between mother and daughter. This is also the first period piece for Pixar. While it seems like classic Disney, there is no Prince Charming coming to save the day. Merida must figure it out all on her own. Pixar twists the genre a bit by making her far smarter and giving her far more personality than your standard Disney princess.

The story takes quite some time to get into the heart of the plot leaving the pacing at the beginning fairly slow. I am always stunned by the detail put into every Pixar movie. The animation is so rich and vividly appealing. Between Merida’s hair, the architecture of the town, and the Scottish landscape, there is always something to feast your eyes on. I do not think Brave will be remembered as one of Pixar’s best. That does not mean it is a bad movie. It just means it has stiff competition as Pixar has released so many truly amazing films. It tells a beautiful mother and daughter story with a spunky princess as its heroine and teaches a valuable lesson on how one is in control of their own fate. The movie is worth spending the extra couple of dollars on 3D. The 3D technology helps enhance the lush Scottish scenery.

RATING: **** (4 out of 5 stars)

Movie Review: MEN IN BLACK 3

MEN IN BLACK 3
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson

It has been fourteen years since the last time we saw Agent J (Smith) and Agent K (Jones) team up to battle some slimy snarly alien with an attitude problem. The notorious Boris the Animal (Clemente) has been imprisoned on the moon since 1969. With the help of a beautiful girlfriend (Nicole Scherzinger), Boris manages to escape in order to seek revenge on Agent K. Back in 1969, K cut off Boris' arm and installed the ArcNet shield around the planet to ward off an invasion of Boris' species, the Boglodites. Boris interrupts the time continuum and heads back to 1969 in order to kill K before all of this happens. After a trippy night, J wakes up to find that K is nowhere to be found. He is not living in his apartment and no one at the MIB headquarters seems to know where K is. Agent O (Thompson) informs J that K was killed back in 1969. J and O realize that Boris has interrupted the time continuum and has killed K.

J determines he must literally time jump back to 1969 in order to find K and kill Boris before Boris kills K. I do mean literally time jump. J must walk out onto the ledge of a New York building and jump off. While falling he must push the magic button at the precise time in order to successfully land back in 1969 on the day before Boris kills K. Hopefully all the time travel talk is making sense. J traces clues back to Coney Island where he is arrested by a young Agent K and taken back to MIB headquarters. After some hesitation, J reveals the truth of the future to K. They decide to team up and work with an alien named Griffin (Stuhlbarg) who possesses the ArcNet and can see into various outcomes of the future. Their back and forth struggles with Boris lead up to a climatic ending at Cape Canaveral during the Apollo 11 launch.

I will admit I was skeptical going into the third outing in this series. The second movie was nowhere near the caliber of the first, so I was hesitant on if this story was going to work again. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are strong enough actors in these roles that they are able to successfully dust off the black suits and bring back the chemistry J and K have together. They work well together and their banter and demeanor is one of the key reasons this series works as a whole. Special attention needs to be focused on Josh Brolin. He does an uncanny impression of Tommy Lee Jones to play the younger version of K. He nails every vocal inflection and facial gesture that Jones is so known for doing. Emma Thompson appears too briefly as Agent O. I always feel she makes any movie better, so I wish she would have been given more screen time. I would not call this third outing the best in the series, but it is leagues better than Men in Black II. The heartfelt ending helps it feel like it is more than just a CGI alien comic book movie. The 3D version is not worth it, so save yourself a couple of dollars and see it in 2D. If you are a fan of the series, you will enjoy this one but I do not think it will be remembered as one of the better summer blockbusters of 2012.

RATING: *** (3 out of 5)