I watched “The Founder” (2017) during the week that Tropical Storm Harvey devastated Houston and for some reason, I connected the two. From a distance, way up high, hurricanes are truly a thing of beauty to behold, both in design and power. Down at the surface, however, things can get ugly and downright inhumane. My understanding of the McDonald’s restaurant story has mostly been lofty – a quintessential American success (with vague undercurrents of controversy). This beautifully filmed, superbly acted adaptation provides a street-level (gutter-level?) version, a rat-eat-rat, greed-is-good, coffee-is-for-closers version that only a Lomanesque salesman like Ray Kroc could love.
Archives for posts with tag: Michael Keaton
To understand the Michael Keaton “Batman” movies, you have to understand the context. Our generation was most familiar with Adam West Batman and wasn’t as interested in comic books as today’s geeks. In that context, Michael Keaton’s Batman is truly “dark” and “Batman Returns” (1992) is not all that bad. But does “Batman Returns,” Danny DeVito’s Penguin or Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman stand the test of time? Absolutely not. At this point, this movie only has value to students of Batman movies and geeks who want to say they saw every Batman movie (which might be one in the same person).
Remember when we used to debate who was the better Batman? Clooney? Keaton? Ummm, Kilmer? And then, in 2005, came the Dark Knight trilogy, with “Batman Begins.” Bankable, big-name stars can make for good box office, but it’s the story that makes for a great movie. When Christopher Nolan rebooted the Caped Crusader, he made the story less like the cartoonish 1960s TV series and more like the brooding comic books. And he surrounded a relative B-lister, Christian Bale, with stellar cast of character actors. Because if the story’s good enough, Batman is the only bankable big name you need.
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