Mary Poppins | Geekscape

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Mary Poppins Returns

by MCDaveDecember 23, 2018

For some, Mary Poppins is sacred ground, a cherished childhood classic that isn’t to be spoiled in any way, shape or form. And while the 1964 classic never held such a holy place in the depths of my heart, I fully recognize the film’s cemented place in history as it continues to hold a renowned allure more than a half century later. Enter Rob Marshall’s newly released sequel, Mary Poppins Returns. As a savvy veteran of bringing musicals to the big screen with films like Chicago, Nine and Into the Woods, Marshall’s big-time resume and familiarity with the genre make him a natural choice to handle the return of cinema’s most iconic au pair, Mary Poppins.

Set in 1930s London, more than two decades have passed since Jane (Emily Mortimer) and Michael (Ben Whishaw) Banks were whisked away into a world of wonder and imagination as children. Yet, following the recent passing of Michael’s wife, times only get tougher when the bank informs him that he’s violated the terms of a substantial loan and his family’s house will be repossessed in a few days’ time unless he can come up with the money to pay it off in full. Desperate to find a certificate of stock shares that his deceased father left behind, or face eviction with his trio of motherless children, Michael is shocked when Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) returns offering to once again help the Banks children in their time of need

Any lavish praise targeted at Rob Marshall’s work must begin with the casting decision of Emily Blunt as the title character. Her beauty, elegance and exceptional singing voice make Blunt the perfect choice to carry on the legacy of Julie Andrews’ signature character. She’s absolutely magnificent in the role and beyond deserving of her early season Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Blunt’s stern attention to detail is on full display as she revitalizes Mary Poppins and all of her inexplicable marvel on the big screen, it truly is a sight to behold. Likewise, Lin-Manuel Miranda puts himself on the map with a fitting performance as Jack, the neighborhood lamp-lighter, who sings and dances his way into your heart as well. Moreover, all three of the new generation of Banks children are wonderful in their own right, and a crowd-pleasing cameo from Angela Lansbury all come together to further illustrate the depths of Rob Marshall’s brilliant cast. However, Mary Poppins Returns suffers in one key area, the film’s overarching story is bone-thin. Cloudy backstories and weakly developed storylines loom over many prominent characters such as Jane, Jack and Wilkins (Colin Firth), making the film more of a magical experience than a finely crafted movie. Mary Poppins Returns is more like a “spoonful of sugar”, delicious and enjoyable but lacking many of the ingredients necessary to make it a fulfilling dish.

GRADE: 3/5

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You Can’t Go Back Part 4: A Goofy Musing

by SaintmortApril 6, 2017

A video was circulating of a man cosplaying as Powerline at Wondercon last week. I shared it on my Facebook wall which lead to a friend sending me the following video.

This reminded me of another video I saw of someone re-enacting the opening scene from A Goofy Movie. It made me realize that every time I met someone who liked Goofy Movie we’d both get excited and geek out that we both knew it existed.

Here’s the weird thing about it though… almost everyone I know has seen and loved this movie. I’ve noticed the same situation come up with the movie Heavyweights (which is also great). It seems that every person between the ages of 22 and 35 saw A Goofy Movie and thought that they were the only person to see it. As if we all collectively discovered a secret Disney film.

Maybe because we were ashamed to admit how much we loved Disney movies back then. Which is dumb of us because I don’t care who you are, part of you will always love Disney movies.

This past week I’ve been listening to Disney music in my car. It’s been a mixed bag of emotions. One of the weirder parts about being an overly sensitive and emotional person with anxiety and depression is your ability to smile, laugh and cry simultaneously.

On one hand Disney makes me smile. It makes me think of my vacations to DisneyWorld. The most recent one was in this past October with my family. It was one of the best vacations I ever had. I probably was to proud to say that to anyone in my family, but it really was. Just spending time with the people I loved the most, surrounded in a place filled with so much joy … it’s all the things vacations are made to be.

Disney trips are difficult. They’re long and more work than relaxing. But when you’re standing next to the greatest people in the world watching those fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle it’s impossible to not love the place, even for just a second.

The time prior to that was my senior class trip. It was just a few weeks before graduation and very few of my friends attended the trip. I ended up making friendships with classmates I never spoke to. They are now among my closest friends in the world. Another example of the power of Disney.

This is footage from my class memory tape edited by me

So why the sadness?

Because previous to these two trips… my Aunt Lisa had been with us on every trip to Disney. She loved Disney. When I was in college my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. She was given a year and she made it six. None of us said it on our family trip this October, but she was missed.

It’s not easy continuing to live life when someone who was a part of it is no longer in it. There is forever a part of you missing when that person is gone. This is why I find myself crying my way through singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in my car on a Thursday. I probably watched Mary Poppins with my aunt more than any other movie.

It’s sad and it’s unfair. It’s always awful when someone is taken from us too soon. I was in 10th grade when my grandfather died. At the time, he was my best friend. How is that fair? How is it fair to expect a 16 year old kid to have to deal with not just his grandfather dying… but his best friend? It’s not fair that my grandmother had to bury her daughter. It’s not fair that my dad had to say goodbye to his only sibling. It’s not fair… but to quote one of the greatest movies ever made… ‘Life’s not fair princess, anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something’.

When someone is ripped from your life it leaves a painful void and you can fill that void with one of two things. You can fill it with anger and sadness and bitterness. You can curse this world for being so cruel and so unfair. Or…

Or, you can live life harder than ever to make up for the life they can’t live.

That’s the option I prefer. So I went to Disney with my family. I rode the Haunted Mansion for her. I ate at Downtown Disney and saved her a seat in my mind. I walked around Animal Kingdom with her in my heart. When I screamed on Tower of Terror I screamed extra loud for her. When I’m singing along to Beauty and the Beast in my car, I’m singing it for her.

My family is already planning another trip to Disney. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to walk through Magic Kingdom’s gates, hear that music and feel her smiling with us. My Grandfather too and countless others that I carry in my heart every single day.

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Saving Mr. Banks

by MCDaveDecember 19, 2013

The Academy Awards is certainly vain. The voting body is continually enamored with movies about the history of cinema. Needless to say, Disney’s latest biographical feature, Saving Mr. Banks, which couples the legendary talents of Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks in the story of Walt Disney’s exhausting efforts to acquire the rights to Mary Poppins, flaunts it’s Oscar-baity agenda with dignified pride. My guess, the Academy will once again swoon over director John Lee Hancock’s historical account.

When Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) made a promise to his daughters in the 1940s that he would bring their favorite literary character to the big screen, no one could have imagined the struggles he’d endure along the way. After two decades of begging author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) for the rights to her famed character, Mary Poppins, Walt brings the financially strapped author to Los Angeles. While there, he must discover the secrets behind the Banks’ family and their whimsical nanny in order to entrust Mrs. Travers that her beloved character is in good hands.

John Lee Hancock has suddenly become the poster boy for sentimental biographical films. In 2009 he guided Sandra Bullock to a Best Actress statue alongside a Best Picture Nomination for his real-life adaptation of the Michael Oher story with The Blind Side. His knack for tugging at the audience’s heartstrings returns once again in his latest endeavor, Saving Mr. Banks. Yet, Hancock’s lucid game-plan isn’t the glue that holds this film together, rather it’s the Oscar-caliber performances from Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks that make it stick. With these two lifelong masters of their trade, we’ve been spoiled rotten, expecting nothing but greatness every time they appear on the screen. Luckily for Hancock, his duo delivers at the highest level imaginable, Hanks with his cheery friendliness and Thompson as an argumentative curmudgeon, which clearly elevates Saving Mr. Banks slightly beyond the realm of mediocrity.

Although the film is an indisputable success that will ultimately find itself in the awards season mix, Saving Mr. Banks is flooded with faults. I’ll preface by saying that the feature contains a story that isn’t overly elaborate, and nor does it need to be. However, along with director John Lee Hancock, writers Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith unfortunately milk everything they can out of this straightforward tale and transform the film into a ballooned 126-minute affair. Saving Mr. Banks meshes together two non-concurrent stories. One pertaining to the childhood of Emma Thompson’s character, and the other paralleling those experiences with her “present-day” struggle of relinquishing the rights to Mary Poppins. The portion of the movie that examines P.L. Travers’ youth becomes over-extended and nothing more than a weight on the film. Its purpose is understood, but its execution is lackluster. The “present-day” moments throughout Saving Mr. Banks are what the audience will love and remember. Unfortunately, these highlights are broken up in excess by a middling other half of the feature.

There exists a wondrous aura surrounding John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks. It’s comedic elements are a bright complementing aspect to its dramatic nature. However, an abundance of sentiment and a slight mishandling of the story deter from the movie’s otherwise glowing attributes. But thankfully, Thompson and Hanks dazzle just enough to keep that spark alive.

GRADE: 3/5

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Tom Hanks Playing Walt Disney In ‘Saving Mr. Banks’

by Shawn MaddenSeptember 19, 2012

Some fantastic news for Disney fans today. Disney has announced that production has started today for the upcoming film Saving Mr. Banks, this film follows Walt Disney’s fourteen-year courtship to acquire the film rights to P.L. Travers popular novel, Mary Poppins.

Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks will be portraying the man behind the mouse himself in the upcoming film. This will actually be the first time we see the portrayal of Walt Disney on screen in a dramatic film. Actress Emma Thompson will be playing P.L. Travers, the Australian author behind Mary Poppins. Collin Farrell is also reported to appear in the film as Travers father. Most likely we will see him in make-up and flashback scenes I am assuming.

When Travers travels from London to Hollywood in 1961 to finally discuss Disney’s desire to bring her beloved character to the motion picture screen (a quest he began in the 1940s as a promise to his two daughters), Disney meets a prim, uncompromising sexagenarian not only suspect of the impresario’s concept for the film, but a woman struggling with her own past. During her stay in California, Travers’ reflects back on her childhood in 1906 Australia, a trying time for her family which not only molded her aspirations to write, but one that also inspired the characters in her 1934 book.

None more so than the one person whom she loved and admired more than any other—her caring father, Travers Goff, a tormented banker who, before his untimely death that same year, instills the youngster with both affection and enlightenment (and would be the muse for the story’s patriarch, Mr. Banks, the sole character that the famous nanny comes to aide). While reluctant to grant Disney the film rights, Travers comes to realize that the acclaimed Hollywood storyteller has his own motives for wanting to make the film—which, like the author, hints at the relationship he shared with his own father in the early 20th Century Midwest.

The film also features Jason Schwartzman, BJ Novak, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, Kathy Baker, Rachel Griffiths and many others. Saving Mr. Banks will be directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Rookie) based on a screenplay by Kelly Marcel. You should definitely expect this one to be one of those heart felt movies. A 2013 release date is expected but no specific date has been set.

Source: Examiner