Saving Mr. Banks

Expectations:
Of all the December-released movies that I wanted to see, I probably wanted to see Saving Mr. Banks the least. Not to say that I expected bad things, but I have no special connection to Mary Poppins nor was I blown away by the magic-filled trailers for a film that looked as if it would shove Disney down your throat until you could no longer bare it. However, I knew that Emma Thompson's performance would be impressive, and I was intrigued to see how well Tom Hanks handled Walt Disney (even though I don't really a preconceived notion of what Walt Disney should act like). Also, I usually enjoy dramatic, non-cartoon, non-action Disney films, such as The Odd Life of Timothy Green, The Rookie, and Remember the Titans, so I figured I might enjoy Saving Mr. Banks...

Plot:
Although I knew the story would eventually end in the making of a Mary Poppins film, I must say that the path to the making of the film was quite intriguing. I don't know how true the story was, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to be entertained, and that I was. Thankfully, the amount of Disney-shoving-down-the-throat was minimal. Sure, there was a lot about Disney, but I wasn't overwhelmed by the praise that landed on the shoulders of Walt Disney and his love of all things him. With the good, there was some bad, however, and that bad came in the form of flashbacks to the childhood of Emma Thompson's P.L. Travers. Each and every time that the movie cut to Travers' childhood I just couldn't help but cringe. Not only did I not care, but I also hated the fact that the interesting story was being continually interrupted by an uninteresting story. If they had a spent a moment at the beginning of the film explaining her childhood, I would have been content. If they had spent a moment late in the film allowing her to tell the story of her childhood, I would have been content. But, instead, they interrupted the movie every ten minutes and revealed what was the slowest unfolding of a flashback that I have ever witnessed. Everyone may not have the same opinion as me, but I just couldn't stand that part, and it was a huge portion of the film.

Characters:
Saving Mr. Banks was certainly well-cast, and the performances were quite impressive. However, they weren't quite as impressive as I expected them to be. In fact, I wouldn't expect a film of this kind to be getting so much Oscar praise, but what do I know... Sure, Emma Thompson was good, but I don't think she was amazing. Luckily, however, there were a few actors who shone bright...

Negatives:
Ruth Wilson's Margaret Goff was one of the most shallow characters that I have ever been meant to feel sorry for. Although Collin Ferrell's character was supposed to cause her grief, I really didn't care about her whatsoever. Additionally shallow was Aunt Ellie, played by Rachel Griffiths. Her character was quite important, in the grand scheme of things, but she was only on screen for like 5 minutes, which was quite disappointing. If they were going to flash back and forth 300 times, they could have at least included her a bit more. I can't really explain who all these people are without ruining a large part of the story, so just take my word on these two.

Positives:
As I said before, I don't have a preconceived idea of the true Walt Disney, but I will say that I was quite impressed with Tom Hanks's performance. The way that he was able to make me care for Disney and avoid shoving Disney down everyone's throat was quite impressive. Without his performance, I think the film would have failed... big time. The only other character that I loved was Paul Giamatti's limo-driving Ralph, who really helped bring out the best in Emma Thompson's performance. Giamatti is one of my favorites, and I love it when he finds a role, such as this one, that is so well suited for him.

Conclusion:
Going in, I thought Saving Mr. Banks would be a bit of a one-woman show, but, as it turned out, the men really carried the film. Tom Hanks was absolutely great, and, if you take his performance from Captain Phillips and ad it to this one, he might make my list of best actors in 2013. You will just have to wait and see! Saving Mr. Banks was a nice family film that any Mary Poppins fan would thoroughly enjoy. If I was a Mary Poppins fan, there is no telling how much I would have enjoyed it. However, as far as being an Oscar contender goes, I don't understand what all the fuss is about. Usually, I can at least see what the Academy likes about a movie, but that is not the case with Saving Mr. Banks, which suffers a bit from that sappy Disney feel. Unlike Remember the Titans (one of the greatest sports films of all time), Saving Mr. Banks is not one of the greatest sports films of all time... In case you couldn't figure that one out on your own! But, oh well! I give Saving Mr. Banks 2.83 out of 5 stars.

The Notscars 2012

While 2012 got off to a pretty rocky start movie-wise, the end of the year was quite good, which made it difficult to really come up with a whole list of the worst of 2012. Also, this year, I've done a much better job of picking movies to watch that I know I will enjoy. So, unlike last year, I'm not going to list everything out categorically. Instead, I'm going to give out some random awards to various actors, actresses, and movies. These awards are meant to be funny, so please laugh, if only to make me feel accomplished!

The Stupid Avenger
Chris Hemsworth - The Avengers

Worst Steve Carell Movie EVER
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Forgot How to Act
Anna Kendrick - Pitch Perfect/What to Expect When You're Expecting














Worst Five Performances in One Movie
Tom Hanks - Cloud Atlas

Finally Picked a Bad Role
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Lincoln

Waste of Funny
Jason Sudeikis - The Campaign

Sings WAY Worse Than Russell Crowe
Paul Giamatti - Rock of Ages

Twilight Was Ten Times Better Than You
Snow White and the Huntsman

Worst Sideburns/Beard Ever
Wes Bentley - The Hunger Games

Worst Performance of the Year
Cobie Smulders - The Avengers

Worst Film of the Year
What to Expect When You're Expecting

Rock of Ages

Expectations:
While there aren't an abundance of musicals out there in the world, I have seen my share, and I have disliked my share. I don't know why, but I can't grasp any positive anything out of a musical in most cases. It baffles me quite a bit, so I try to steer clear of any musicals that attempt to come my way. Then, here comes Rock of Ages! As a guy who loves classic rock (and Russell Brand), this musical was made for me, if there ever was one. Sure, Tom Cruise looks goofy, Mary J. Blige is annoying, and nobody has ever heard of that one kid; but, if the music could carry my senses away just enough, I might forget my subconscious bias and enjoy the show...

Plot:
While you can't expect a musical plot to be too deep, usually there is some underlying theme or message that the musical delivers. Honestly, there was no theme or message for the entire film. Almost every song in the film either teaches a lesson or explains an emotion, and they do so in a very successful way. What was lacking was the ability to tie those songs into a larger, more satisfying story. There may have been too much going on or something, but, regardless, the story wasn't there. I don't know how much the film version deviated from the Broadway version, but I would love to see it one day and be able to compare the two.

Characters:
As I said, there may have been too much going on, and that may have been because of the large cast of characters. There really aren't that many really low points character-wise; I just think the entire film would have been ten times better if more time was spent on each character. It was hard to really care about the characters when they were only on screen for three minutes at a time.

Negatives: In addition to his inability to sing (in a musical), Paul Giamatti, as Paul Gill, got on every last nerve I had. Usually, I am a huge fan of his work, but I wasn't impressed with him here. Also, Constance Sack, played by Malin Ackerman, was completely pointless to the plot of the film. As Stacee Jaxx's love interest, Constance did nothing but take away from Tom Cruise's ability to shine. Finally, Mary J. Blige disgusts me, AS EXPECTED.

Positives: Tom Cruise was not anywhere close to as bad as I thought he was going to be as Stacee Jaxx. Not only did he manage to sing well, but he also cracked me up on multiple occasions. Speaking of cracking up, Russell Brand's Lonny and Alec Baldwin's Dennis made for a hilarious pair that really contained the only surprising aspect of the entire film. However, the best character, by far, has to be Patricia Whitmore, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was absolutely hilarious in every single scene that contained her character.

Conclusion:
While the music made for a nice experience, I still wasn't completely sold on Rock of Ages. I really wish that there would have been more of a story, because, who knows, I might have loved it. Fortunately, while in New York, I was personally given a copy of the soundtrack by the one and only (sort of average) Julianne Hough, during my two seconds of fame on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Though my story may be exaggerative, the soundtrack is fantastic, and I suggest it for anyone who loves classic rock anthems. I give the Rock of Ages soundtrack 4.21 out of 5 stars, and the Rock of Ages film 2.43 out of 5 stars. That means that you should just buy the soundtrack!