Cheating just a little

Discussion of programming on TCM.
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mrsl
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Cheating just a little

Post by mrsl »

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HOTEL


I truly enjoyed watching Hotel the other night and got a kick out of some of the things that really dated it. The old, old fashioned room keys for example, that were so easy to copy. Also, walking in and asking for the room of a visitor, and getting it - ha, ha. And wouldn't it be fun to take just any elevator and go up to the penthouse(?) - especially when the elevator man has to turn the wheel to get to it!!! There were other things too, but my memory is already dimming.


SAVING MR. BANKS

This is where the 'cheating' comes in. Actually I watched this on an IN DEMAND channel. I enjoyed it immensely, but thought it would have more funny scenes in it. Mainly it was quite a drama. I also found that, like Walt Disney, I have misunderstood the entire story all these years. This is not a movie for little kids for sure, but it was a pleasure to see a movie that was just a movie, with a story that had a beginning, a middle, and an end, with normal people, and normal human experiences. Like Walt, I always thought Mary Poppins came to help the children because they were so unhappy, but as the movie proves out, it is their father that she is to help. I don't know if I got it some 40 years ago when I watched it with my own kids and have just forgotten, but I doubt if that is the case.

For those who don't know (and don't want to know, don't read further) (SPOILER ALERT),

P.L. (Pamela) Travers needs to sell the rights to Mary Poppins to Disney because she is broke and needs the money desperately, but she is holding on by the skin of her teeth before signing the contract. She insists on NO CARTOONS, NO MUSIC AND SINGING, NO DANCING, etc. but the three fellows working on the script and the music manage to get that stuff in anyway, and finally turn her around. I have never seen Emma Thompson in anything I don't like, because she is so expert at everything she does, and of course Tom Hanks is brilliant as Walt Disney. The three guys who I nick-named Huey, Luey and Duey, also bring a refreshing sense of both fun and frustration to the story. They did a great job of turning the clock back in clothes, cars and general scenery. There were a lot of flashbacks in P.L.'s life and altho I know her father is Colin Farrell, and her mom (of course), is Ruth Wilson, but I was curious about the little girl who played P.L. as a child and was surprised to see that she is not even listed in the cast - she was half of the movie!

As I said, I enjoyed it a lot and as a rental, you won't be disappointed, but don't get it to watch with the kids if they are not yet tempered to todays' movies.
Anne


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Western Guy
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Re: Cheating just a little

Post by Western Guy »

Anne, SAVING MR. BANKS is one movie I was excited about and planned to see once it was theatrically released. Yet for some reason I missed it at the (ugh!) Cineplex and have yet to watch it on DVD or Pay-per-View. Thanks to you, I now am definitely going to put it on my agenda for this weekend. I enjoy movies of this type. Two others that are somewhat similar that I own and am immensely fond of are A FAIRY STORY and MISS POTTER. And for the record, YOU'VE GOT MAIL is my all-time favorite romance film that the missus and I watch at least once a month.

Okay, the truth is out: I might write hard-edged novels . . . but I'm really a sentimental fool.
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mrsl
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Re: Cheating just a little

Post by mrsl »

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Well Weste Guy, as usual I got a couple of things screwed up. I was looking for a young P.L Travers in the cast list, and this a.m. I watched it again and realized the little girl was referred to as Ginty, not Helen which it turns out is her real name. Actually her name is Annie Rose Buckley and she is the cutest little gal to come along in a while.

The other thing I messed up on was that the lady I mentioned was RUTH Wilson, not Rita (Mrs. Hanks), as I thought.

That is the very reason I don't like to say too much about a movie when I give my brief reviews. People just like you who have not yet had a chance to see a movie. I don't want to wreck it for them. I try to give the synopsis without telling any secrets that should not be revealed that could spoil the pleasure some folks might get from it.
Write back and let me know if you enjoyed it.
Anne


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* * * * * * * * What is past is prologue. * * * * * * * *

]***********************************************************************
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Lzcutter
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Re: Cheating just a little

Post by Lzcutter »

MrCutter and I watched the film again last night and while I still think it should come with a disclaimer at the beginning that says, "Some of this actually happened", we enjoyed the film as much as when we saw it earlier this year on the big screen.

I look forward to hearing what others have to say about it!

Thanks, Anne, for writing about it!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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