Month: December 2013

Saving Mr. Banks

Walt Disney promised his daughters that he would obtain the rights to make a movie from the bestselling novel P.L. Travers “Mary Poppins”. The only problem is that it would take over 20 years to accomplish.

Author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) wasn’t really interested in allowing her book and beloved magical nanny Mary Poppins to become part of the Hollywood Mauling machine.
But after a while the book stopped selling and finances became a strain so P.L. Travers agree to come to Holly wood to meet with Walt Disney. The story unfolds from there…

The story is very well told. We see P.L. Travers childhood through her eyes throughout the movie via flashbacks that she has during her time at the Disney Studios.

This is a very delightful movie. It’s sweet in that Disney way, but not too sweet. Just think “Saving Mr. Banks” is a Disney movie about the making of a Disney movie. How can you go wrong with that?

Grudge Match

I am not sure why the paid critics were so hard on “Grudge Match”, I found it mildly entertaining.

“Grudge Match” is about two retired Pittsburgh boxers Billy “The Kid” (DeNiro) and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone). They maintained a fierce rivalry that continued from the 1980’s until now. They each beat the other in a prize fight, but on the eve of their third fight Henry announced his retirement and this ended both fighters boxing careers.
Thirty years later boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Hart) comes calling. He makes both Henry and Billy an offer they can’t refuse. The story unfolds from there…

There were a few holes in the story, but the overall movie picks up toward the end especially the boxing match scenes. I found the movie to be mildly funny at times, but did not offer the comic relief expected. I think that DeNiro and Stallone had decent on-screen chemistry, but I found some of the scenes with Kim Basinger and Sylvester Stallone to be awkward.

If you have run out of “After Christmas Shopping”, then by all means see “Grudge Match”.

The Wolf of Wall Street

“The Wolf of Wall Street” with a running time of 2:59 is the second longest movie I have seen next to Malcolm X which had a running time of 3:30.

Based on a true story in 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) enters the world of stock trading at an entry level position. In the 1990’s Jordan who is still in his 20’s forms his own firm Stratton Oakmont. Together with his closest friend (Jonah Hill) and several other business acquaintances, Jordan Belfort makes millions by defrauding wealthy investors out of millions.

What Jordan and his cronies don’t know is that while they are partying, engaging in wild sex and recreational drug use, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is compiling evidence in their investigation that is going to bring Jordan’s firm down and rid him of his excessive wealth. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is very explicit in its dealing with the facts. There is a tremendous about of sexual content, drug use and pervasive language. It’s a no holds barred look inside the world of a Wall Street firm’s daily life. This is a Martin Scorsese film and that in its self is reason to see it.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is definitely not for anyone under the age of 17.

American Hustle

“American Hustle” is one of those highly anticipated movies, it doesn’t disappoint. You will be intrigued from the first 20 minutes. My attention never wavered. The cast was excellent. Depending on whom you are rooting for you will either be pleased or pissed off.

“American Hustle” is about cons and swindles going down routinely. A couple of con artists believe they have the perfect money making scheme. They go about executing their plan flawlessly until one day they happen upon the wrong client. An FBI agent happens to meet with the con-artists; of course they do not know they are talking with an FBI agent. Once the scheme goes down, he identifies himself and arrests are made.

The FBI agent isn’t all on the up and up himself, but he forces the con-artists to work with him undercover to bring down a group of shady State Senators and Congressman. The story unfolds from there…

“American Hustle” is very much a Martin Scorsese like film, but he did not direct this. This was directed by David O. Russell. You must pay attention. Things are not always as they seem. There are plenty of surprises that materialize before your eyes. There is a lot of drama, quite a bit of sexuality, but the movie does not contain a lot of brutality.

The male audience will find this movie entertaining from a sensual perspective. Amy Adams never wears a bra and this is obvious throughout the movie. There are several scenes where it’s clear she isn’t wearing any panties either. I also found Jennifer Lawrence’s performance interesting. This movie is definitely not for the teenage set.

“American Hustle” is worth the price of admission.

Out of The Furnace

I saw “Out of The Furnace” in Atlanta this weekend while visiting my Posse.

“Out of The Furnace” is clearly a case of great actors navigating a horrible script. The music is really good and Woody Harrelson was insanely crazy in the movie. That’s about as good as it gets.

“Out of The Furnace” is about family, fate and justice. Christian Bale is Russell Baze who works a dead end job at a local Steel Mill. His brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) fresh from serving his country in Iraq plays the ponies and eventually hooks up with one of the most notorious crime syndicates in the area. Rodney soon gets caught up in something way over his head and mysteriously disappears. The story unfolds from there…

This is one of those movies that was minimally edited. There are no ebbs and flows and its strictly monotone. For the most part the movie will hold your attention because you want to get to resolution of the situation and events, but the lulls that occur will give you pause.

I would suggest waiting for “Out of The Furnace” to hit Blue-Ray, DVD or Cable.