On Saving Mr. Banks And The Disney Machine

Saving Mr. Banks was an interesting idea for a movie.

Disney is at a juncture now wherein the company has a vast history to draw from... and has aligned itself to actually make some very quality movies about its past. I rather like this idea and find myself wishing that the other major studios would consider a few of these stories as well. And I tend to think this idea of historical studio self exploration would indeed take off... if only Saving Mr. Banks had more to offer.

Honestly I did walk away liking this movie. But it felt both inconsistent and incomplete at the same time for me. We never really get a chance to watch P.L. Travers' (Emma Thompson) emotional journey. In fact her past is so completely drawn out that we never get a chance to see her manage the world without it. Sure the purpose of her back story led down some interesting avenues, but none of them were particularly enlightening in the main story. Mostly because Travers doesn't seem to learn anything. The inclusion of Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) was a fun idea, but it never really got going enough due to all of those damned flashbacks.

Essentially, Saving Mr. Banks is a flawed but still sometimes entertaining piece of Disney propaganda that could have taken more risks and could have felt like more than just an extra feature on a Mary Poppins DVD... but ultimately failed to become something more substantial. It's too bad because it had some wonderful performances (Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman... heck I even liked Collin Farrell in it) and the idea just felt so enticing.

Oh well. Nice try Disney. I do applaud the attempt.

On Captain Phillips

There was a definite chill in the room before the lights went down and my screening of Captain Phillips began.

It was a feeling of uncertainty. No one quite knew what to expect. Granted there was already a book out written by the man himself, and one could easily guess the outcome based on the news reports back when the actual incident took place. But the bigger question wasn't related to "How is this going to end?" It was more a question of "Will they capture the intensity of the moment?" And in some ways they did.

What was sad to me about the film, what kept it from living up to expectations, may have indeed been a strength to the overall picture. Its honesty. So here is my harshest criticism... Some stories do not warrant dramatizations.

While on the surface a Pirate Hijacking sounds like an intense and exciting action thriller, Captain Phillips left much to be desired. The actual events... the way in which the pirates conceded at every step... the way in which the crew just sort of did nothing beyond their basic training and the only one who really seemed to step up when the going got tough was Phillips himself... left me waiting for something interesting to happen.

Now this is not intended to be a negative review. Much was good about the film. Tom Hanks did a fine job. Barkhad Abdi was convincing as hell. From a technical standpoint it was very solidly done. But the true story left too much on the table for my taste.

I live by the philosophy that motion pictures should be something that we cannot see in our everyday lives. Because film is an escape. In that capacity, for me, Captain Phillips failed. Now obviously, the film was not created to please me. And those events did happen. And even from my own philosophical standpoint, a pirate hijacking is something most people would never see in their regular lives. But this felt mostly like a film with one character (his name's in the title) and a whole bunch of wood fillers for actual people. When the screenplay comes from the book written by the man who didn't know anybody else involved all that well (new crew, new ship, new pirate invaders) it's hard to figure out what everyone else is thinking.

So what I guess I'm saying is, this film was not made for me. It may be made for you. And it'll definitely show up for a few award nods. So you may as well give it a chance. In this one situation I am just not a great source for approval.