Maverick (1994)

 

Maverick - 1994

Coming up next we have 1994's "Maverick", a story about a man who sets out to prove to himself that he's the best card player around.

The film's cast includes Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene, Alfred Molina, James Coburn, Paul L. Smith, Art LaFleur, Danny Glover, Margot Kidder, Reba McEntire, and Jack Garner.

Out in the American West, Brett Maverick sets out to prove that he's the best card player around.  To do this, he plans on entering a high stakes poker game with a total pot worth $500,000.  However, Maverick is short a few thousand dollars for his entry fee.

He enters poker games in an effort to raise the money.  During one he meets an interesting cast of characters, including the hot-tempered Angel.  "From the moment I slapped eyes on this hombre, I smelled trouble...and refried beans," says Maverick.

He also meets Southern belle Annabelle Bransford, whose simple country girl ways are just a cover for what lies beneath her surface.

Maverick wins a large pot after bluffing during a game, which earns him the ire of Angel, who protests about Maverick's self-appointed rule of hardly ever bluffing.  Maverick just smiles and says, "This was one of the hardlys."

We find out that Annabelle Bransford also wants to enter that high stakes poker game, and she'll do anything to get the money to enter.  "The Widow Pork Chop conned me?  What is it with people nowadays anyhow?" asks a bewildered Maverick.

Traveling on the stage out of the town they are in, Maverick and Annabelle join forces with a certain Marshal Zane Cooper, who is in no mood to put up with Maverick's personality.

On their way to the riverboat poker game by stagecoach, the three cross some of America's most beautiful country.

Along the way, they stop to help a group of missionaries who have been attacked by "hostiles" and who want to make them pay.

Maverick and the gang agree to help for a percentage of any money recovered.  And when they find the ones responsible, Maverick has to get creative because they are outnumbered.  "The man who’ll blow your brains out is Marshal Zane Cooper.  You probably heard of him.  I know what you’re thinkin’.  He’s old and decrepit, gums his food and his women.  But he can still shoot straight.  After you is Ugly Annie Bransford.  When she was born, she came out backwards and no one noticed.  Hell, when she was a kid, she was so ugly her parents had to tie a pork chop around her neck so the dog would play with her," Maverick tells the outlaws.

Maverick also raises some money teaming up with a friend to con a European archduke out of some funding.

Of course, hot on Maverick's trail is Angel, who wants revenge for the bluff Maverick pulled during their poker game.

Naturally, Maverick makes it to the riverboat poker game, and he is reunited with Annabelle and Cooper, from whom he got separated.

The poker game is being hosted by Commodore Duvall, and everyone is excited to pay their money to gain entrance to the high stakes game.

Now, I don't need to tell you of the romance that ensues between Maverick and Annabelle.

I also don't need to tell you about the very interesting last hand of the final poker game or the winner of the $500,000 grand prize.

Nor do I need to tell you about the relationship between Maverick and Cooper.  I'll let you watch the film and find out all about it for yourself.

Cast rundown:

   Mel Gibson.............................Brett Maverick

   Jodie Foster............................Annabelle Bransford

   Graham Greene......................Joseph

   Alfred Molina..........................Angel

   James Coburn........................Commodore Duvall

   Paul L. Smith..........................The Archduke

   Art LaFleur.............................Poker Player

   Danny Glover..........................Bank Robber

   Margot Kidder.........................Margaret Mary

   Reba McEntire........................Spectator

   Jack Garner............................Porter

And that's it for Maverick.  James Garner, appearing in this film as Marshal Zane Cooper, originally appeared as Maverick in the hit 1950's TV show of the same name.  The role of Zane Cooper was first offered to Paul Newman, who turned it down.  Meg Ryan was the first choice to play Annabelle Bransford.  Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer were also considered just in case Jodie Foster wasn't available.

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Winter's Tale (2014)

 

Winter's Tale - 2014

Coming up next is 2014's "Winter's Tale", a story about two people who fall in love.  One dies, and the other continues to walk the earth nearly a century later searching for his "miracle".

The film's cast includes Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly, Will Smith, Ripley Sobo, Eva Marie Saint, and Graham Greene.

I love the opening monologue for this film.  "What if, once upon a time, there were no stars in the sky at all?  What if the stars are not what we think?  What if the light from afar doesn't come from the rays of distant suns, but from our wings as we turn into angels?  Destiny calls to each of us.  And there is a world behind the world where we are all connected.  All part of a great and moving plan.  Magic is everywhere around us.  You just have to look.  Look.  Look closely.  For even time and distance are not what they appear to be.  We are voyagers set on a course towards destiny to find the one person our miracle is meant for.  But be warned: as we seek out the light, darkness gathers.  And the eternal contest between Good and Evil is not fought with great armies, but one life at a time."

In 1916, Pearly Soames is out to get a young man named Peter Lake.  Pearly is in fact a demon who runs the city of New York as a gangster.  And Peter used to work for him as a thief.

A mysterious white horse arrives on the scene as Peter's cronies close in around Peter.  Peter climbs on its back and is astonished to discover that the horse has wings.  The two make a quick getaway.

Peter decides to give up his life of crime and ride the horse to Florida.  However, before he can go, the horse stops in front of a large house and won't budge.  Peter decides to do one more "job" before riding south.

Within the house, a young woman named Beverly Penn is seeking relief from a high fever.  She has consumption.  In fact, she must sleep outside in the cold weather and bathe in frigid waters to keep the fever at bay.

When he catches her playing the piano as he attempts to rob her house, Peter can't take his eyes off of Beverly.  She completely captivates him.

She takes him to the kitchen and invites him to have tea with her.  They start to fall in love right then and there.

Meanwhile, Pearly has discovered that it is Peter's destiny to provide a "miracle" for a girl with red hair.  Thinking that this girl is Beverly, he contrives to kill her and prevent Peter from saving her.  Peter arrives just in time on his horse and spirits her away.

They ride to the Lake of the Coheeries, where Beverly's family has a large estate.  There, Peter is welcomed by the Penn family and especially by Beverly's little sister Willa.

Peter and Beverly spend a lot of time together and fall deeper in love.

When Pearly goes to Lucifer and asks to be allowed to follow Peter (he is bound by supernatural laws that limit his movements to the five boroughs of New York), his request is denied.  Pearly calls in a favor and plans to poison Beverly.

Back in New York, Peter and Beverly attend a ball (Beverly's first).  They have a wonderful time.  Unfortunately, the poison is delivered in Beverly's glass of champagne, and she drinks it unaware of what she is sipping.

Beverly dies that night in Peter's arm.  Peter is extremely distraught at being helpless to save her as he loses the love of his life.

Peter watches Beverly's funeral from afar.  Her little sister Willa looks off into the distance and sees him.

Willa approaches Peter, who apologizes for not being able to save Beverly.

Later that day, Peter is cornered by Pearly and his group of fellow demon thugs.  After he sends his horse off to save its life, Peter is pushed off the Brooklyn Bridge by a very satisfied Pearly, who watches him splash into the waters below.

We flash forward to 2014, where we find out that Peter is still miraculously alive.  However, he suffers from amnesia and an obsession with the drawing of a girl with red hair that he was supposed to save and couldn't.

With the help of a woman named Virginia Gamely, Peter is able to recover his memories.

Virginia is quite shocked that Peter and the man in the hundred-year-old photos seem to be the same.  "What's happening here?" she asks.

She takes Peter up to meet her boss, who just happens to be Beverly's little sister Willa.

When Peter calls out her name, Willa holds out her arms and embraces him, recognition lighting up her eyes.

Willa takes Peter and Virginia back to her house, where she offers them tea in the kitchen.  It's the same house that Peter knew all those years ago, and memories of Beverly come flooding back to him.  When Virginia asks Willa for some kind of explanation, all Willa can say is, "Well, in a life this long, you do see things.  Things that don't always add up to the world we think we know."

While all of this is going on, Pearly finds out from Lucifer that Peter was Beverly's miracle, and it caused him not to die.  Pearly asks to be made mortal so that he can fight Peter and end his life once and for all.  Lucifer grants the request.

Virginia invites Peter back to her apartment for dinner.  There, he discovers that she has a daughter that is very ill with cancer.  Peter comes to realize that it is Virginia's daughter, Abby, that he is supposed to save.  He is her miracle.

When Pearly gets too close, Peter takes Virginia and Abby (by way of the mysterious horse that has returned) to the abandoned Penn estate at Lake of the Coheeries.

Pearly shows up and an epic battle rages.  Ultimately, Peter is able to defeat him.  Pearly turns into snow as the last bit of life ebbs from his mortal body.

Peter is able to save the dying Abby, and Virginia gratefully scoops her into her arms.

With his mission accomplished, Peter visits Beverly's gravesite.  There, he stares into the eyes of his horse and realizes it's time to go and join Beverly.

Peter climbs onto the horse's back.  The horse gallops quickly and flies into the stars, as Beverly narrates the ending.  "No life is more important than another.  And nothing has been without purpose.  Nothing.  What if we are all part of a great pattern that we may someday understand?  And one day, when we have done what we alone are capable of doing, we get to rise up and reunite with those we have loved the most, forever embraced.  What if we get to become stars?"

Cast rundown:

   Colin Farrell..................................Peter Lake

   Jessica Brown Findlay.....................Beverly Penn

   Russell Crowe...............................Pearly

   William Hurt..................................Isaac Penn

   Jennifer Connelly...........................Virginia Gamely

   Will Smith.....................................The Judge

   Ripley Sobo..................................Abby Gamely

   Eva Marie Saint.............................Willa Penn

   Graham Greene.............................Humpstone John

And that's all for Winter's Tale.  The book that this film was based on was published in 1983.  That same year, the author sold the film rights to Steven Spielberg.  Martin Scorcese was also interested in the film rights, but backed out as he deemed it "unfilmable".

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