Waterworld (1995)
In a world covered in water after global warming melts the polar ice caps, a mysterious Mariner (Kevin Costner) becomes a reluctant protector of Enola and her guardian Helen when Enola is hunted by The Smokers whose leader, Deacon (Dennis Hopper), believes she possesses a map to the mythical Dryland tattooed on her back.
To make sure we don’t underestimate how evil how oil companies are, The Smokers uses the wreckage of the Exxon Valdez as the hideout in this fictionalized version of Al Gore’s worst case scenario.
Hopper’s life would make an epic Hollywood biopic. Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Giant (1956). Easy Rider (1969). Apocalypse Now (1979). Blue Velvet (1986). Hoosiers (1986). He played Tom Ripley, King Koopa, the villain in Speed (1994), and a crazy NFL referee. He was friends with James Dean, John Wayne, and Vincent Price, and briefly married to Michelle Phillips.
This movie is another example of a regrettable Hollywood trend of powerful actors letting passion projects get out of control. Not to be deterred, Kevin Costner followed up this bomb with an even more bloated personal mission, The Postman (1997).
While certainly not a misunderstood masterpiece, it’s not as bad as the reviews suggest, but its overwhelming ideology proves action adventure and political propaganda don’t play together well.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Director Marc Webb’s previous experience with (500) Days of Summer (2009) helped him find an emotional center to the Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) story and our favorite webslinger’s chemistry with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) is phenomenal, aided, no doubt, by the stars real-life romance. Sally Field is warm and inviting as Aunt May and Chris Cooper is excellently creepy as Norman Osborn.
Despite its stellar cast, this film failed because it neglected the first rule of super hero films, it tried to do too much. Introducing Electro (Jamie Foxx) Rhino (Paul Giamatti), and Green Goblin, developing the Spidey / Gwen relationship, introducing the Peter / Harry dynamic, and tweaking Spider-Man’s origin to include his parents involvement is a tall task to accomplish in a weekly comic, and impossible in a two and a half hour film.
Gwen’s arc was resolved too quickly. Since her father died in the first film, I would have preferred to create some distance, so there isn’t a major, personal death in each film.
Regrettably, Jamie Foxx plays Electro like a skit from In Living Color, and the movie wastes Paul Giamatti as Rhino. While I like Sally Field’s take on Aunt May, I was confused why everyone at the hospital turned to a sixty year old nursing student for guidance during a catastrophe.
Dane Dehane brings a refreshing, evil edge to Harry Osborne, but because he was absent from the first film, their relationship felt superfluous.
This film has a lot going for it, but there are too many flaws and it’s too impatient. Desperate for a hit franchise generator, Sony tried to throw too much into the film. This is what separates the Marvel Cinematic Universe from their competitors in the comic book world: their willingness to trust the material and the patience to let the story develop.
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
I love Mary Poppins, the 1964 film and the original books by P.L. Travers. I love Tom Hanks. I love Emma Thompson. I love behind the scenes films about Hollywood.
This movie won’t change anyone’s opinion, but Hanks deserves enormous credit for taking a well-known public figure and creating a vibrant character without falling into an impression.
While at Cambridge, Emma Thompson was a member of the Footlights with Stephen Fry and High Laurie, but, like Hanks, her talent was too immense to remain a comedic performer. She won an Academy Award for Howards End (1992), the year before Hanks won his first. Her performance is understated and reserved, but captures Travers struggle balancing her monetary need and the protection of her beloved creation. This struggle elevates the film from being a glorified DVD extra about the making of Mary Poppins (1964) into an essay on the conflict between art and commerce.
B.J. Novak and Jason Schartzman are good as the Sherman Brothers It’s fun seeing Novak in roles like this, but soon, he’ll have to decide if he’s content with a career as a writer and occasional background player. If he’s going to move to feature billing, it has to happen soon.
This sweet movie provides fresh insight into an American treasure and adds another layer of enjoyment to the original film.