Saving Mr Banks Film Review

She's having none of it.

A new film, a new review. Welcome to the Saving Mr Banks film review. Knowing the history of this story I was interested in seeing whether Disney would stay true to the integrity of the history of the Mary Poppins character and the trouble they had bringing her to the big screen and how disappointed author Pamela
P.L. Travers was with the end result. This film was going to be an interesting experience for many reasons but I'll get to that later.

Pamela Travers(Emma Thompson) or Mrs. Travers to her friends is a difficult woman. For the past 20 years she has been dogged by Walt Disney to sell him the rights to her beloved character Mary Poppins. She believes that he will ruin her character, turn her into fluff as a has with Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. Unfortunately with a lack of funds Mrs. Travers has to entertain the notion that she must hand over this treasured piece of fiction to ensure she won't lose everything.

Saving Mr Banks is filled with wonderful performances that give us an insight into what happened all those years ago. Spliced in between the events with Walt Disney(Tom Hanks) and Mrs. Travers is a heart-warming story about the relationship between Pamela and her father(Colin Farrell) who is clearly the figure in her life who inspired her. As we go through the film we learn all about the genesis of Mary Poppins, Mrs. Travers's love for her father and the trouble Walt Disney had trying to translate the magic of the book to the big screen.

I dug Saving Mr Banks, as I said before there is a lot going for this film talent-wise. Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell and Ruth Wilson to name but a few. The character I was interested the most in the development was surprisingly Colin Farrell's character (Travers Robert Goff). Every time Colin Farrell wasn't on-screen I found myself wishing he was. He gave an absolutely stunning performance as the complex and broken father to Pamela. With the other characters it was the usual affair, actors pushing for Oscars because they know this is a film built for the Oscar season. Tom Hanks is his usual affable self and Emma Thompson plays an uptight, proper English lady. The film is one of the more well rounded Oscar contenders that I have seen recently,look at my Gravity review to see what I think of other films that are going for Oscars next year.
Rating; 3.5/5

Winter's Tale Trailer: Haunting and Beauftiful

Could be something magic.

Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, “Winter’s Tale” is a story of miracles, crossed destinies, and the age-old battle between good and evil. Here's the trailer for your enjoyment, Winter's Tale Trailer

The film stars Colin Farrell (“Total Recall”), Jessica Brown Findlay (TV’s “Downton Abbey”), and Oscar® winners Jennifer Connelly (“A Beautiful Mind”), William Hurt (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Eva Marie Saint (“On the Waterfront”) and Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”). “Winter’s Tale” also introduces young newcomers Ripley Sobo and Mckayla Twiggs (both from Broadway’s “Once”).

The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (“A Beautiful Mind”), who also wrote the screenplay, based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Helprin.

Goldsman is also producing the film with Marc Platt (“Drive”), Michael Tadross (“Sherlock Holmes”) and Tony Allard (Showtime’s “The Baby Dance”). The executive producers are Kerry Foster and Bruce Berman.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes five-time Oscar®-nominated director of photography Caleb Deschanel (“The Passion of the Christ,” “The Patriot”), production designer Naomi Shohan (“Constantine,” “I Am Legend”), costume designer Michael Kaplan (“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Star Trek”) and editors Wayne Wahrman (“I Am Legend”) and Oscar® nominee Tim Squyres (“Life of Pi,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”). The music is composed by Oscar® winner Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King,” “Inception,” “Man of Steel”).

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, “Winter’s Tale” will open beginning February 14, 2014 and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.





“Winter’s Tale”, Cert TBC is released in Ireland on February 14th 2014