Thanks Mr. Banks

I'm in a Movie Review kind of mood, so bear with me.
One of the best movies I saw throughout the course of the 2013 year didn't come out until the very end. You know what they say though, "Save the best for last"
There was such heart, such raw emotion coursing through the entire movie that I sat on the edge of my seat practically every second.
A mystery was revealed throughout the course of the movie through flashbacks of Miss Travers (Actor Emma Thompson) and her childhood. Normally one would think that this would be boring and pointless, but its quite the opposite. It's fascinating, and involves innocent childhood emotion and themes. As a child her father was an alcoholic, and the movie portrays how a child reacts to this. Children never stop loving their parents, no matter what happens. That childhood faith and forgiveness that children have in their parents is astounding. The movie also shows how your childhood will influence your future and actions. Walt Disney (Actor Tom Hanks) reveals this when he talks about his rough childhood, and how it has made him a stronger man.
The movie also gives a great insight into Disney and the magic of it. You learn about what goes on there, at least back in the 60's, and how movies were made. The movie is historically rich, with famous cars, actors, clothes, and trends from the 60's. There are so many symbolic meanings and mysteries that are revealed throughout the movie, and such heartfelt creative characters, that you can't help but fall in love with it all.
I loved the fact that the movie was based on a real life event; Walt Disney trying to get the rights from the book Mary Poppins, a book written by Miss Travers, and make it into a movie. This normally would not be difficult, but Miss Travers is quite the character. She refuses to hand over the rights to her book for 20 years. She's strict, picky, and seemingly heartless. When in fact she has such a large heart for people. She wants her movie to be real, because Mary Poppins is so important to her. Mary Poppins is family to her....literally (spoiler alert!). Miss Travers refuses o use animation and music in the remake movie of Mary Poppins. But if you have seen Mary Poppins, then you know that she allowed it to happen anyway due to that big heart of hers.
 The movie seemed real and true. There was no explosions or fight scenes, there was no romance. The movie was simply based on an inspirational event. Hollywood seemed to stick their nose out this movie, and leave the tricky cliché effects for all their other movies. And that's why I loved it so much.
It was real, it was inspirational, it was symbolic and meaningful.

The Hobbit: A Super Sequel

I was practically dragged into the second movie of The Hobbit, kicking and screaming the whole way. I sat down in the squeaky, sticky theatre seats and rocked back and forth throughout the commercials with a scowl on my face. I would rather be anywhere but sitting in that chair. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE movies. But not this one. Anything but this one.
The first movie of The Hobbit, I fell asleep practically as soon as it started. It was way too long for my goldfish attention span, and way to slow for my speedy mind. I had read the book a few years back, and it hadn't been too bad, but I now knew the whole plotline. Although the books are similar and well represented by the movies, they are B-O-R-I-N-G.
In the second movie, I was stunned. There was a huge difference between the first and second movie, and the second one was so much better. All though there were still some slow and confusing scenes, most captured my attention quickly and I watched with rapt attention.
There was more depth to the movie. Anyone can make a movie with fancy fighting scenes, cool swords, and a pretty face. But not everyone can make a movie with such depth and feeling. There were several symbolic touches to the movie, as well as a look into the dwarves happy home life. These subtle yet memorable moments left viewers astounded and well-connected to the characters.
And the dragon, oh the dragon. Talk about amazing. I've loved dragons since my childhood, loved the mystical nature of it all, the majestic power that they offer. And the movie did well to keep up this impression of dragons. It was by far my favorite part of the movie. It struck fear deep into my core, as well as great admiration in my heart. That is a difficult combination to create. The dragon was beautifully fierce, amazingly horrifying, and perfectly evil.
The book portrays Smaug as just this.
I never thought I'd be saying this, but the movie was good. Honestly, I'd call it great. Not perfect, but worth the watch.



Based off a story from BMC News
http://www.brashiermiddlecollegenews.org/reviewsopinions/the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-continues-the-captivating-journey-in-the-hobbit-trilogy/