MARY POPPINS RETURNS (2018)

Director:     Rob Marshall

Writers:      David Magee, Rob Marshall, John DeLuca

Actors:       Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Ben Wishaw, Dick Van Dyke, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Emily Mortimer

This is saga which brings us to the time when the original Banks children have grown up and now have challenges of their own.  Mary Poppins returns to help the family, bringing with her all her delightful and magical presence.

It’s not the same, though.  When the original came out, many of us had no clue as to the possibilities of CGI effects, and so what was magic then becomes routine now.  The “ah” and “wow” factor have disappeared because we are now conscious that certain “magical” things on screen are simply a techno effect.

We are no longer a caveman mentality mesmerized by light turning on at the flick of a switch.  We take electricity for granted now, so it’s no longer magical.  The talented Emily Blunt is a talented, powerful actress, and while I was thrilled at seeing her toes-out figure zooming in from the clouds, it wasn’t the heart-stopping gasp I experienced when Julie Andrews did it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is also talented and competent, but he just didn’t tickle my heart into the delightful energy Dick Van Dyke brought to his role.  In fact, the two who succeeded best at bringing back the joyous magic of the original movie were Meryl Streep and Dick Van Dyke. 

Having said all that, this is an excellent movie, with excellent actors and scenes, and it was time to revisit all the wonderful charms of Mary Poppins.  Unfortunately, as a young girl whose eyes popped out and heart expanded in magical wonder at the original, I can’t help making the comparison to the original, and, unfortunately, this new version is diminished in that comparison.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  Mary Poppins, Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Emily Mortimer, Ben Wishaw, Dick Van Dyke, Julie Walters

THE MULE (2018)

Director:     Clint Eastwood

Writers:      Sam Dolnick, Nick Schenk

Actors:       Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Manny Montana, Dianne Wiest, Andy Garcia, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishburne

Hooray for Clint Eastwood! What an honest, self-deprecating actor and director he reveals himself to be in this movie.  Those of us in the “senior” generation remember him as a beautiful specimen of a movie hero who could even carry a tune.

In this movie, he plays a 90-year-old horticulturalist who is guided into a life of "muling" drugs on behalf of a Mexican cartel.  His walk is slow and measured now, his voice trembly when he sings, but he is as he always has been – a stubborn, strong-willed man who has his own codes of what’s right and wrong in life.

As he did in his younger days, he depicts a heroic man who will not be steered away from his goal.  In a way, I suspect this is his personal exclamation point that, yeah, he’s no longer the hunky superhero, but he still hasn’t veered from his path of being true to himself.  

This movie is filled with surprising charm.  I giggled and cried and loved him as I always have.   As director, Eastwood knows how to bring out the humanity in his cast.  Eastwood even imbues the “bad guys” -- the cartel boss and his minions – with a certain amount of likability factor.  All the supporting cast acquit themselves competently.  Dianne Wiest, as always, captures the essence of gentleness beneath her tough exterior.

What I loved most about this movie is the honesty of life’s evolutionary journey, one containing mistakes, anger, hate, love, evil, and so many pitfalls.  Yet, throughout the journey, you can only do it “your way” since, after all, you are the one who reaps the ultimate consequences.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7959026/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  The Mule, Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Manny Montana, Dianne Wiest, Michael Pena, Andy Garcia, Laurence Fishburne

AQUAMAN (2018)

Director:     James Wan

Writers:      David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall

Actors:       Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson

The CGI effects are wonderful in this movie!  The set designs, the vision of Atlantis and costumes are eye-popping.  Heard, Dafoe and Wilson acquit themselves believably. Kidman, as always, brings class and power to her role. 

What falls short of my expectations is Aquaman himself as depicted by Jason Momoa.  I’ve seen Momoa in other movies and he knows how to be an actor.  Unfortunately, the words coming from his mouth in this movie, meant to be bad-ass and ironic, don’t fit his character.  Mamoa is gorgeous and physically perfect for the role, but since all characters are filtered through the soul (eyes) of the actor, his inherent tenderness should have been written into the fabric of his character.   As it was, as portrayed by him, Aquaman’s bad-ass words felt “off” to me.

Robert Downey (Iron Man) can say those things and get away with it because he brings the grief-ridden ruthlessness to his character which makes his sarcasm and irony funny.  Momoa’s soul is simply too tender.  I wish he had brought playfulness rather than tough-guy mockery to his character.

I think if the writers had shaped Aquaman with Momoa’s inherent tenderness in mind, this would have been a more successful movie to me.  His essence depicts it, so no new action sequences are needed, but that tenderness should have been exploited in his dialogue and how he was directed. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/?ref_=nv_sr_1

TAGS:  Aquaman, Jason Momoa, Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, James Wan, Will Beall, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick