As John Lee Hancock’s (Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side) progressed, I couldn’t help compare his lead character Ray Kroc (played by Michael Keaton – Spotlight, Birdman) to, perhaps, the most iconic television figure in the last 25 years. But, of course, I’m talking about Walter White from the AMC series Breaking Bad. Now the founder of The McDonald’s Corporation certainly didn’t go to the extremes that Walter White did when he transferred himself from a quiet high school chemistry teacher to a ruthless, cutthroat drug Kingpin, intent on destroying everything in his path by any means necessary to get what he wants. Nevertheless, Hancock’s version of Kroc felt similar in the sense that when we meet him, he is a man of integrity, doing whatever he can within the confines of the law to make a living. But, by the end of the film, he is an entirely different man, caught up in his greed, power, and wealth. But, like White, he reaches a point where he feels that he is virtually invincible to those around him as well as to the laws of the land. And just like Breaking Bad, The Founder becomes a must-watch.
Continue reading The Founder (2016)
Category Archives: John Lee Hancock
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
Emma Thompson (Howard’s End, Remains of the Day) got hosed out of an Oscar nomination! I had made it a goal to see all the nominees in all major Academy Award categories. Still, I didn’t see the snubs or the next in lines for Best Actor, Best Actress, etc., unless their movie received a nomination in one of the other major categories. It’s been a while since I reviewed all of the really good films of 2013. I’m sure I had already replaced Amy Adams (American Hustle) with a more deserving candidate. I don’t remember who I replaced her with at the moment, and I don’t feel like going back and looking. I’m pretty sure I did this, though. I believe I replaced the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for this movie because I didn’t feel like any of them deserved it. I think I did keep Jennifer Lawrence as a nominee because the nominees in the Supporting Actress category in 2013 were not overly impressive. But this review isn’t about the underwhelming American Hustle. It is about the under-appreciated Saving Mr. Banks, a movie I had written off as a lame little kids’ movie after a single trailer. It was one of those movies that I told myself I would eventually see because it had so much hype surrounding it, and I have yet to talk to someone who didn’t, at least, like it.
Continue reading Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
The Rookie (2002)
I was much less impressed with my second viewing of John Lee Hancock’s 2002 The Rookie (The Blind Side, The Alamo) than when I watched it for the first time back in 2004. This is one of those movies that you only need to see once in your life. Unfortunately, much like The Express, this “inspirational” story of overcoming the odds to reach a dream movie gets lost in the masses compared to other sports dramas based on true stories.