The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

First Hit:  Uneven, partially compelling and entertaining enough to keep me engaged.

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is an anonymous film librarian for a major magazine. He daydreams about taking and having adventures in his life especially when they include co-worker Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig) whom he likes but cannot seem to connect with. An example the film uses is when he cannot even leave her a wink on a dating site because his profile is so boring and lacking information.

The magazine is going to be going digital and therefore his and most of his co-workers’ jobs will be eliminated. Leading the change in the magazine is Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott). But for the last issue, famous photographer Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn) sends a negative (#25) for the magazine to use.

However, Mitty and his co-worker Hernando (Adrian Martinez) cannot find it in the role that was sent by O’Connell. Where this negative actually resides was no surprise and easily deduced. However because Hendricks is pushing to see the negative and Mitty doesn’t have it, he decides to find O’Connell. This trip takes him to explore many frozen north countries and towns.

Some of these scenes and cinematography are magnificent and make one want to go visit them. However, the drunken Icelandic helicopter pilot scenes weren’t necessary and put in for comedy relief. Another one of many writing and direction errors. Yes, there is enough going for the film it is watchable.

Stiller was, at times, fun to watch and does his role as well as he can do it. However, other scenes seemed to just move the plot along. These poorly conceived scenes are part acting issues but poor directing - by Stiller. Penn was fun to watch and to see his natural aging bringing out a deeper character was good. Scott was both good and poor in his role. The beard was a poor wardrobe and character choice. Wiig is one of the better and more consistent parts of this film. Steve Conrad wrote an over ambitious script by trying to put too many twists into it. Stiller, as previously mentioned, tried to do too much with the film (think – diving from Subway platform into a window) and at other times didn’t do enough.

Overall:  This was entertaining enough to watch and stay with it.

Saving Mr. Banks

First Hit:  A well told story based on an interesting personality.

I’ve never read any of the Mary Poppins series of books nor have I seen the Disney film based on the books and I found that it isn’t necessary to enjoy the film. That is a very good thing.

Here we have T.L. Travers (played by Emma Thompson) living in England and running out of money. She doesn’t care about money because of things her father said, but she loves her home. Walt Disney (played by Tom Hanks) has made a promise to his daughters that he would bring Mary to the big screen. He spent 20 years trying to convince Travers to let him do this.

With her money issues she comes to the US and stubbornly tells Walt, give me the contract, record on audio tape all the development sessions and I’ll let you know at the end of two weeks whether I'll sign the rights away or not. 

The working sessions with Robert and Richard Sherman (played by B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman respectively) were testy and frustrating for all of them with Travers saying “no, no, no” more than any other set of words. Don DaGradi (played by Bradley Whitford) the producer was in the mix all the time and tried his best to soothe the oil and water mix of creative people.

Disney would continue to intercede, talk with Travers and even took her to Disneyland (the happiest place on earth). When she refuses to sign the rights over, heads back home, Walt follows here there and with a bearing of his soul about his own childhood she sees he’s out to make good and that he gets her protective angst of her stories.

The audience is treated to her past story with segues of her life growing up in Australia. If you see this film, stay through the credits long enough to hear part of one of the recording tapes from which the film is based – true to form.

Thompson plays her somewhat unsavory character excellently. Her actions come from the fear of exposing her childhood experience and family. Colin Farrell plays Travers Goff T.L.’s father and he is very good at bringing the angst of alcohol abuse and fighting Tuberculosis. Paul Giamatti as Ralph, T.L.’s driver while in Los Angeles, was priceless. He slowly massages T.L. into understanding herself in a different way. Tom Hanks was very good as Walt Disney and the signature wave Walt used is mimicked perfectly. Novak and Schwartzman were amazing and perfect as the Disney song writing team. Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith wrote an outstanding script which appears to have come, in part, from the recorded tapes. John Lee Hancock directed segments, Travers past childhood and the work with Disney, with wonderful touches of brilliance.

Overall:  Almost made me want to see the film Mary Poppins.

American Hustle

First Hit:  From the opening moment the audience knows it is going for a real ride.

This film opens with an overweight balding Christian Bale (playing Irving Rosenfeld) fixing his hair with a comb-over that beats all comb-overs. He is meticulous in every detail of his hair, style, and the scams he pulls on everyone to make his living.

His business partner is Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) who is nothing short of a miracle on the screen. She’s smart, fire, and looking out for number 1. However, Irving is married to Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Lawrence) who is a stay at home mom, controlling, sassy and a lush. Irving and Sydney get caught on one of their scams and the agent who busted them, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), wants to leverage their conning abilities to catch bigger fish – mainly Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).

Richie’s boss Stoddard Thorsen (Louis C.K.) doesn’t want to follow Richie’s outlandish plan to catch political crooks but gets outranked in his decisions. Some of these scenes of their disagreement are outstanding. Watching Bale, Lawrence, Adams and Cooper work together is amazing as each defines their character so clearly and fully that the story just jumps off the screen creating full engagement.

I love this type of film where the story is outrageous (loosely based on the real life Abscam scandal) and the acting is spot on dynamic and engaging.

Bale is sublime, he carries the character through the film with flowing subtle changes. Adams is divine. She is sexy, vulnerable, smart, bold and focused. Her character is so much fun to watch. Lawrence is absolutely amazing. She shows a great depth to transform herself through use of language and facial expressions that keep you focused on her when she is in the frame. Cooper is so much fun. He’s wild, bold, lacks subtlety yet he’s the one that moves the story along – amazing. Renner is transformed as Mayor Polito and as he always does, turns in a sterling performance. In a very small, yet pivotal role, Robert De Niro as mob boss Victor Tellegio is powerful. David O. Russell and Eric Singer wrote an amazing script which also reflected the 1970’s and the mood of the times. Russell did an amazing job of putting together the look and feel of this story. It was like he was leading a major orchestra and everyone was in perfect tune.

Overall:  A full time fun film based in excellent acting.

The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza)

First Hit:  I didn’t see the humor or drama in this self-indulgent view of mindless obsessive behavior.

Art is a naked woman with a gauze headdress running into a rock wall. Yup, in some people’s eyes this might be avant-garde art, yet in the context of the Italian high society this film is sharing with the audience – it is just one poor choice after another.

Toni Servillo as Jep Gambardella whose goal it was to be the single most important partier in Italy is lame, meaningless and unimpressive. The faux sophistication is too easily seen through and “the shock” after his 65th birthday is simply life happening to him and he sees it for the first time through the haze of indulgence. None of the other actors or actresses left any impression worth mentioning. Umberto Contarello wrote this poorly conceived script from a worse story by eventual director Paolo Sorrentino.

Overall:  I was not impressed with any aspect of this film although many critics have high regard for it.

Out of the Furnace

First Hit:  Although there is some very good acting, this film floundered and was unorganized.

Unorganized for me means that there seemed to be two different films or storylines, mashed together by the supposed storyline written by Brad Ingelsby and Director Scott Cooper.

This story line is revenge. However, some of the shots by Cooper were fantastic. For instance, the opening shot, where the camera starts from high and moves into the back of a car sitting in a drive in movie theater is really good. The shot shows the types of cars/trucks while the sense of segregated community (separated by their older cars) but all watching the same film.

The second scene is inside the car where the next bit of dialogue and action sets up the angry uncaring life of Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson). He comes from the hills in New Jersey where law and order is defined by who is toughest and meanest, not the police. This view of Harlan and his cohorts is one film. 

The other film is about Russell Baze (Christian Bale), his brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), and Russell’s love Lena Taylor (Zoe Saldana). The mashup is Rodney’s struggle to find a life after a number of tours of Iraq. Being angry and lost he gambles, gets into debt to John Petty (Willem Dafoe) who is indebted to Harlan. This is where the stretch doesn't work.

I won’t move the storyline any more here, but despite the wonderful individual performances the story felt disjointed and forced.

Harrelson was in the vein of his roles in “Natural Born Killers” and “Zombieland”; dark, caring only about himself, and mean. He does this well and I like it. Bale is fantastic as a guy trying to do right by his family and girl while be caught by his wish to take care of his brother. Affleck is strong as a smart good looking guy carrying the struggles and demons he builds through war and family life. Saldana is wonderful as a woman who wants stability and family in her life. Dafoe is very good as the guy who owns a bar but makes book on the side. Forest Whitaker is intense and wonderful as a friend of Baze and as Police Chief Wesley Barnes in a small steel town in Pennsylvania where the Baze’s live. Sam Shepard is strong in a minor role as a Baze relative.  Ingelsby wrote an interesting script but it was either this script or the direction of Cooper that had it go off track.

Overall:  In parts, great. As a whole the film was mostly incongruent.