Holiday Movie Reviews -- 3 for 3

Yet another snow day or just looking for a good movie?

We probably saw more movies in the last four weeks than we have in the last four months (well, no probably about it; maybe more than in the last 8 months). Three winners in a row is definitely a record (and that doesn’t count Frozen, which we saw with Becca in 3-D -- the three could also have stood for how many people were in the theater, including us, or Hunger Games 2, again, the number standing for how many people were in the theater, including us; both of them were good, as well). 

So, in reverse order, here are three quick reviews of non-blockbuster films which we felt were all worthy of our time and money:

 The Book Thief -- I read the book and enjoyed it (well, enjoyed might be a stretch for a (sort of) Holocaust book narrated by Death) and wanted to see the movie. I didn’t think the book was an easy read, but I think it helps to have read it if you’re going to see the movie. I guess it’s not really a Holocaust book, but it is set in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust plays an important role. Geoffrey Rush is (as always) great and Sophie Nélisse, who plays the heroine, Liesel, is also spectacular. The relationship (from the book) between Liesel and her only friend, Rudy (Nico Liersch), gets short-changed, I think. Actually, I thinkalmost  all the relationships get a little short-changed, but that’s common in book to film transitions. In short, good movie, better book (hardly a unique assessment). Still, a look at the war from the POV of German non-combatants makes it unique.

Saving Mr. Banks -- I struggled briefly in the middle with this movie about Walt Disney’s (Tom Hanks) courtship of P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to secure the rights to make Mary Poppins, in part because Thompson was so good that I found her tiresome and unlikable. I get that Travers had lots of baggage (Colin Farrell does a good job as her father, in flashbacks), but who wants to watch people lug around their baggage all the time? I also think (because this is a Disney studio release) that Walt Disney is, if not sanitized, at least portrayed in the best possible light, and Hanks is always good. Still, by the end, I was genuinely touched and glad we went to see it. I think Carolyn liked it even more than I did. Definitely worth your time and worthy of the award nominations coming its way (or already arrived).

Philomena -- The best of these three good movies. We tried to see it New Year’s Eve but it sold out just as we reached the ticket sales register. Judy Dench stuns (well, can Dench really stun you any more with a performance?) as an almost-70 Irish woman on a quest to find the son taken away from her and sold by the nuns a couple or so years after the unmarried teenager gave birth at their convent. Caveat: this is probably not a movie for big fans of the Catholic Church. As a recovering Catholic,* however, I had no problem with it. Steve Cougan (he also directed and co-wrote) plays a disgraced former PR flak for British Prime Minister John Major. Yes, this film is based on actual an actual story, and the “lost” son was a real person who served in both the Bush and Reagan administrations. Philomena still lives, and Dench creates a fascinating character of depth and complexity. It’s an indie film, and so far the only place you can see it is at Frontenac. (I’d love to see indie films get exposure at venues that could show them off better, although we did see The Book Thief at a “real” theater.) Oh, and if you want to eat at The Canyon Café before or after, make a reservation. With or without dinner, Philomena is outstanding.

 * Not my expression, just one I borrowed. Thanks MAM.