Film: Saving Mr. Banks

GENRE: Biography, Comedy, Drama
RATING: PG for thematic elements
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 5 minutes
STARRING: Emma Thompson (Stranger Than Fiction, Nanny McPhee)
Tom Hanks (Catch Me If You Can), Colin Farrell (Phonebooth)
DIRECTOR: John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Rookie)
WRITER: Kelly Marcel (Terra Nova) & Sue Smith (newcomer)
PLOT: Walt Disney tries everything to get the cantankerous PL Travers to sign off on the story of Mary Poppins.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 I expected this film to be delightful, which it was, but it was also pretty sad. I actually welled up a bit at the end. Maybe I’m getting more emotional as I grow older. 
2 Hanks is exceptional as Walt Disney. He just captures that positivity and charisma that I would associate with Uncle Walt. Brilliant casting. 
3 The rest of the cast is just as outstanding. Thompson is perfectly prickly.  Bradley Whitford (West Wing), BJ Novak (The Office) and Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) are great fun as the writing team trying to pass their script and lyrics past PL Travers.  And Paul Giamatti (Sideways) is simply charming as Travers’ driver, Ralph.
4 Some of this film reminds me of Finding Neverland. I love watching inspiration at work.
5 Of course, now I want to watch Mary Poppins. Well done, Disney, you marketing genius.

RECOMMENDATION: Not necessary on big screen, DVD fine
UPCOMING REVIEWS: 2014 Television Preview

Film: The Wolf of Wall Street

GENRE: Biography, Drama, Comedy
RATING: 18A for strong sexual content, nudity and language
RUNTIME: 3 hours and 0 minutes
STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio(The Aviator, Titanic, The Departed)
Jonah Hill (Moneyball, 21 Jump Street), Margot Robbie (Pan Am)
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, The Departed, The Aviator)
WRITER: Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos)
PLOT: Based on a true story of the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, a wealthy stockbroker who lived a life of excess (to put it mildly).

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 This film brings debauchery to a whole new level. I’m a pretty desensitized person but I was utterly shocked with the amount of sex and cocaine use in this movie. We got the picture early on but Scorsese just keeps hammering us with those images. This film is not for the weak-hearted.
2 You could tell they had a lot of fun making this movie. DiCaprio commands the screen and perfectly plays the party-boy ringleader. 
3 I loved some of the supporting roles in this film as well. Hill is pretty crazy as Donnie Azoff (although the novel version of him is even more outrageous); he is a treat to watch. Matthew McConaughey (Magic Mike, Mud) continues his stellar comeback year(s) with a great performance as mentor, Mark Hanna. And I was surprised to see Rob Reiner bring it as Jordan’s dad. Kudos.
4 Three hours is a bit much. You could easily shave off an hour and still have a film that gets the ultimate price of excess across to the audience.
5 Maybe it’s just me but in some lights DiCaprio and Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) look very similar. They could easily play relatives (even father/son). I don’t think Scorsese intended for this, so it just comes off as a bit weird.

RECOMMENDATION: Brave it out on DVD (in private)
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Saving Mr. Banks

Film: American Hustle

GENRE: Crime Drama
RATING: 14A for language, some sexual content & brief violence
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 18 minutes
STARRING: Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, The Fighter)
Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Amy Adams (Enchanted)
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter)
WRITERS: Eric Singer (The International)  & Russell (Three Kings)
PLOT: A con man and his partner are forced to work with an impatient FBI agent who is trying to bring down congressmen in New Jersey.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 The acting in this film is incredible. What a stellar cast. Louis CK was unexpected but great fun to watch. Bale is getting close to Daniel Day Lewis style acting. I was mesmerized by Bale’s shoulders throughout the film. The way he contorted his body to play this con man, Irving, was amazing.
2 Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games) could do no wrong in this film. Everything this woman did was nothing short of fantastic. By far, my favourite actress right now.
3 Great crisp dialogue. There was a great flow and speed to the words. I am also dying to find out the end to the ice fishing story.
4 The style of this film is outstanding. It better get nominated for costume and art direction. The hair is awful (especially Bale’s comb-over) but you can’t turn away. The sets are so gaudy in their 70’s-ness, they draw you in. And those costumes. Amy Adams cleavage dresses are practically their own character.
5 As much as I loved the acting and dialogue in the film, it was way too long. Almost two and half hours. Make it 90 minutes and it would have been one of my top films of the year. I really wish the crispness was applied to the plot. Too bad.  

RECOMMENDATION: Theatre for Oscar preview, DVD otherwise
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Wolf of Wall Street