Family Time is Put On the Line in 'The Mule'

At 88 years old, Clint Eastwood remains one of the most dedicated filmmakers of our time. His presence is always felt in his industry. He's never had more than a 5-year hiatus since he started working, may it be in directing, or in acting, and sometimes both. He's a true pillar in Hollywood and his latest film shows that he's still got it.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Just like wine, he manages to make films that get better with time. He definitely shows no signs of slowing down. The Mule is a great example. It has the same touch of Gran Torino, another film where he's the director and the lead. He plays a complicated man with deep-rooted tenderness within. Except here, he's not the grumpy serious old man and he's actually the opposite. It's really refreshing especially compared to his previous cranky and serious roles.

He plays Earl Stone, a 90-year old horticulturist, who has an affinity for flowers and how they bloom to the point where he spends more of his time with his them than his own family. But in no way his attitude shows resentment. Earl is likable and socially charismatic. He is also in love with driving, claiming that he's never had a ticket under his name all of his life. Perhaps, a speculum of his love for his land which applies to both Earl and Clint.

The resentment stays with the women in his life who he often leaves behind. His wife Mary Stone played by the overly-expressive Dianne Wiest, his daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood) whose wedding he missed, and his granddaughter Ginny (Taissa Farmiga) who defends him from his family's bitterness.

His situation is sad, but Eastwood's approach is to see the humor in it. It's hilarious as it is touching, but hidden behind the familial plot lies more complex societal issues which include racism, drugs and the authority. With Earl feeling alone because of his family giving up on him, he finds life in being a mule for a notorious cartel being hunted by the police team of Bradley Cooper, Michael Peña and Laurence Fishburne.

Earl Stone is likable but not a saint. He's racist and sometimes a misogynist, and he gets away with it. He helps a black family stuck on the road and called them "Negroes", he mockingly imitates a Mexican accent, and he deliberately calls dykes 'dykes'. The police is no different. In their investigation, they have their biases against 'blacks' and 'Latinos'. It's a sad reflection of the society and it's hard to pull it over on the sideline.

It does end in a good note though, bittersweet but good. Family still matters most for Earl as it has ever been. Earl was able to redeem his shortcomings even in the last few hours of his wife. Although  it becomes too melodramatic for its own good that it's almost reminiscent to a Pinoy heavy drama, especially with Dianne Wiest's uberly expressive eyes and delivery. It really turned saccharine after a series of punchlines. But I guess they get a free pass because they're old and dying people, despite their exchange of lines to the lyrics of More Today Than Yesterday which is excruciatingly sweet but cheesy. Like Gran Torino, Eastwood fleshes out the heart of his lead and chooses to do what he loves, by also doing what is right. In a way, the ending seems like an image of what he wants in his never-ending career.

Magic is Never Lost in 'Mary Poppins Returns'

Decades since Julie Andrews was whisked away by a magic umbrella into the clouds, Emily Blunt descends from the sky, catching Banks family's emblematic kite, bring with her the same magic that captured the hearts of many. Mary Poppins is indeed back, and she never looked a year older.

Penned by David Magee and directed by Rob Marshall, the movie centers on the new generation of the Banks family, this time during The Great Slump. Following a family loss, Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw), once a child and now the family's patriarch, is struggling to cope up, losing the joy and imagination that he used to have. Mary Poppins as if detected this from heavens, returns to fix that. Nothing has changed, and the magic is never lost on her. They stayed true to the original, and I'm not complaining.
 

Walt Disney Studios

The family has changed, however, even the neighborhood that she used to spew magic on. Yet she's still familiar with all the faces and names, even the children of Michael who she hasn't met before. Emily Blunt spruces up Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins without taking the character's essence. The moment she took over the mess that is the Banks' household, is the start of the endless good vibes and hope for the family, and even for the audience.

Just by thinking about the whole spectacle, I cannot help but smile, sing and mimic its catchy songs and how the lovely ensemble sang them. Blunt is teamed up with a great cast spanning from adorable child actors--Pixie Davis, Nathanael Saleh, and the adorable Joel Dawson, as the curious Banks children, Emily Mortimer as the adult Jane Banks, Julie Walters as forgetful Ellen, Colin Firth as the movie's main villain, and the wonderful and charming Lin-Manuel Miranda and Meryl Streep as Jack and Topsy Turvy. All have their shining moments that are all fun to watch.

Walt Disney Studios

Every magic, every number, and even the movie's animation bathes in the original's lifeblood. The lamplighters' Trip a Little Light Fantastic led by Lin-Manuel, and the film's central ballad The Places Where Lost Things Go, sung by Emily Blunt, are the highlights.

While it doesn't quite reach the timeless quality of the original, the cast's charm, performances and overall grandness make up for it. It's cinematic. And by its cheerful cotton-candy-colored finale, anyone will be filled with glee, and perhaps tears, as Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury enter their respective scenes. Every fan will be delighted to see them.