Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

[Travod]

Liked it but felt that, while completely necessary, the childhood sequences were weaker and less interesting. Doesn't help that there was a guy in front of me commentating the ENTIRE TIME. I told him afterward that he shouldn't do that in a movie and he yelled at me, saying that I have problems if his commentating can take me out of a movie.

[Gopher]

I expected good things from Thompson/Hanks but Farrell was the surprise of the movie for me. This is a character that could've killed the film if they didn't have someone with the right balance of genuine loving father and frenetic hopeless drunk but he totally won me over. 

 

The direction is so-so but I really liked the cast and screenplay. Solid flick. 

[baumer]

I expected good things from Thompson/Hanks but Farrell was the surprise of the movie for me. This is a character that could've killed the film if they didn't have someone with the right balance of genuine loving father and frenetic hopeless drunk but he totally won me over. 

 

The direction is so-so but I really liked the cast and screenplay. Solid flick. 

 

I'm getting nervous now.  We are agreeing on way too much these days.

[Gopher]

Ugh. You're right. We disagreed mildly on American Hustle but we both dug Banks, Catching Fire, Anchorman and Frozen, we both piled on The Hobbit...

 

I'm betting that HER is going to be the one that breaks us apart. 

[baumer]

I didn't like the trailer for Her, but that doesn't mean that I will dislike the film.  

[Dark 33Legend of the Sith]

Just a great movie.  As a huge Disney fan and lover of Disneyworld etc. it was quite a nostalgic trip.  I loved the scenes where songs were being played for Travers.  Thompson, Hanks, and Ferrell all give standout performances.  Seeing the icon of Walt Disney on screen is a pretty cool thing too. Hopefully this has great legs into January. 

 

B+

[Blankments]

Oh gosh. I sobbed so much at the ending of this movie I can't even describe it. It's definitely not the best movie I've seen this year, but dang it, I actually love being emotionally manipulated. Thompson was great, and Hanks was good, but I felt like both Giamatti and Farrell outshined him. That said, this had one of the best ensembles of the year, period. I laughed a lot too. The moment where Travers began dancing to Let's Go Fly a Kite gave the biggest smile I've had all year at the movies. Just a lovely movie A+

 

And now for random historical nitpick: Walt said at one point that he couldn't imagine being forced to give up Mickey. Yes, he could. I was waiting for him to bring up Oswald at some point but he never did and it was just... weird. Seemed sloppy not to bring it up when it actually was related to the subject matter of the film. Oh well.

[Films]

Oh gosh. I sobbed so much at the ending of this movie I can't even describe it. It's definitely not the best movie I've seen this year, but dang it, I actually love being emotionally manipulated. Thompson was great, and Hanks was good, but I felt like both Giamatti and Farrell outshined him. That said, this had one of the best ensembles of the year, period. I laughed a lot too. The moment where Travers began dancing to Let's Go Fly a Kite gave the biggest smile I've had all year at the movies. Just a lovely movie A+And now for random historical nitpick: Walt said at one point that he couldn't imagine being forced to give up Mickey. Yes, he could. I was waiting for him to bring up Oswald at some point but he never did and it was just... weird. Seemed sloppy not to bring it up when it actually was related to the subject matter of the film. Oh well.

Glad you enjoyed it. Giamatti seems to be getting ignored quite a bit but he was fantastic and travers dancing to LGFAK was amazing Edited December 29, 2013 by Frozen2013

[The Panda]

"Saving Mr. Banks is definitely one of the surprises of the year for me, and is very much worthy of all the praise that it has been getting lately.  The movie is endearingly funny and at times touches on some brutally honest themes in the past of P.L. Travers."

Read the rest at

http://thepandaflicksreviews.blogspot.com/2013/12/saving-mr-banks-review.html

[75Live]

I really enjoyed this movie.  I didn't think it would be this good.

 

This may be Colin Farrell's best role to me.  Giamatti was very good too.  Overall, all the acting was really well done.

 

Definitely emotional and was just well made.

 

One of the better movies on the season and maybe the year

 

A-

[Dementeleus]

B+ Corny but entertaining. Still, I feel a tinge of awkwardness about how they essentially airbrushed away her final opinion of the movie. There's a touch of Disney glorification here -- aww, look at ole Uncle Walt, sweet-talking his way to what he wanted, and golly gee, wouldn't you know, he was right in the end!But if you ditch reality and treat it more as a fable based on actual events, it's very sweet.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Telemachos

[Ezen Baklattan]

I somewhat adored this. There's a few issues, here and there - mild historical nitpicks, mildly jarring transitions between time periods (except for the amazing "British Bank" sequence) and some overly sentimental moments, but other than that, I was fully aboard for this film. The performances are great, with Thompson and Farrell as the clear standouts, and there's a lot of genuine "I laughed, I cried" moments about this film. It's exceptionally strong for the "film-to-take-your-parents-to" event of the Holiday Season.

 

9/10

[Dementeleus]

This movie really does open up the question of how far from reality should a film based on actual events stray... and if it does alter events for its own dramatic purposes, should that be taken into account when you review it?

 

The more I think about it, the more the ending of SMB feels false and wrong. Am I the only one who feels this way? If you loved the film, does the fact it diametrically changes how P.L. Travers felt about "Poppins" (the movie) make any difference to you?

[Ezen Baklattan]

That's a perfectly fair question, Tele. I knew going in that the film took major liberties from what really went down, but I tried to look at the conclusion as subjectively as unbiased as I could. The movie does right to not show her ultimate reaction to the film rather than lie and say that she loved it. The divergence from actual events was definitely there, but given how Disney made this film, it honestly ended pretty much how I expected it to. It's extremely rare for a Hollywood film to detail real life events in perfect detail, and as sad as that is, it's just the way Hollywood works. As a result, I think that adherence to real events shouldn't be taken too closely into account when reviewing a film, much like from the adaption of a book, as long as the film doesn't flat out fabricate the truth. I think SMB does this, and for that reason, it still really worked for me.

[Dementeleus]

Fair enough, Spaghetti. Like I said, I enjoyed it too... but at the same time, the emotion of the ending is essentially totally fabricated. There wasn't any sort of reconciliation between her and Disney, whether rueful or otherwise, and in fact she was so pissed about how it all turned out that she refused to sell the rights to any of the other books, despite Disney trying (again) to acquire them. So the very concept that's the title of the movie is essentially made up. The basic story is, well, bleaker and more mixed: a large corporate entity leaning heavily and hard on an individual in order to acquire their property... and winning. Nothing ultimately wrong with that, of course, and she obviously was compensated (fairly well, presumably, although I bet she never saw a dime of the ancillary profits), but at the same time, for me, it makes me a bit queasy that this is spun as a kindly old gentlemen who wants nothing better than to "save" something that didn't need saving, and felt the only way to do it was to change it willy-nilly. (And it's also particularly ironic that Disney fights harshly against any sort of adaptation happening to their own characters, or even characters they've acquired from others or the public domain).

[Ezen Baklattan]

I did believe that there was a line where Pamela said that she wouldn't give Disney rights to the sequels as she was writing the next book, but it's not really emphasized, and it's not even after the movie.And while the lack of a reconciliation between Travers and Disney did feel a bit jarring, I feel like it was for the better, as I can't imagine Disney (as in the company) going for the rueful-ness that ensued between the two in real life instead of a happier reconciliation. The movie ended before it let itself completely choose saccharine over honesty, IMO.

[Dementeleus]

I did believe that there was a line where Pamela said that she wouldn't give Disney rights to the sequels as she was writing the next book, but it's not really emphasized, and it's not even after the movie.

And while the lack of a reconciliation between Travers and Disney did feel a bit jarring, I feel like it was for the better, as I can't imagine Disney (as in the company) going for the rueful-ness that ensued between the two in real life instead of a happier reconciliation. The movie ended before it let itself completely choose saccharine over honesty, IMO.

 

Er, I kinda disagree, I think. From the moment Disney arrived at her house, it went that direction.

[Ezen Baklattan]

Travers did eventually give them the rights, so that was at least somewhat forgive able IMO. It would have been harder to justify creating a scenario where Travers loved the film.As a side note, one thing that did bother me in the film is how biased it is towards Walt. Again, it's understandable, as his company made the film, but a more balanced portrayal of the characters and their disagreements could have really helped.

[Dementeleus]

Travers did eventually give them the rights, so that was at least somewhat forgive able IMO. It would have been harder to justify creating a scenario where Travers loved the film.As a side note, one thing that did bother me in the film is how biased it is towards Walt. Again, it's understandable, as his company made the film, but a more balanced portrayal of the characters and their disagreements could have really helped.

Absolutely.

[RobinHood26]

I just like to think, even though she didn't like what the movie was, when she was at the premiere something in the movie clicked with her as it was still her story.