QUICK REVIEW: The Finest Hours

Howdy people, feels like ages since I’ve done a film review fresh from the cinema, but since my plans got changed last night I had some free time and decided to check out The Finest Hours. Now this was a film I was looking forward to because of not only the amazing true life story it was based on but also because of the cast. I saw the reviews were okay, but I still wanted to see what it was like for myself, and that I’ve seen it I’m ready to pas judgement!

So the story can be described as the following:

” The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.”

So here’s the thing about The Finest Hours, it was great when it was primarily focused on the seaman of the oil tanker and their attempts to survive and the eventual rescue mission conducted by the Bernie and his crew. I really did enjoy the moments with the crew of the SS Pendleton, their situation was very scary and dangerous and this film did well to illustrate tension, fear and hopelessness within the crew members but also demonstrate the near impossibility of their survival. But when the story was shifted from the sea to Miriam and her ongoing concerns for her fiance or anything going on with the characters on land, that’s when the film got uninteresting. Near the start of the film we get to see the start of Bernie and Miriam’s relationship and it was cute and fine, but unfortunately as the film went on it became more of a hinderance on the story than a compelling part of it. And while I understood the need to show the story from the perspective of the friends and family of the men stranded at sea, it wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped and a fair amount of the story felt a little formulaic when it comes to these “based on true events” kind of film.

As for the cast they were pretty solid but there were performances that stood out more than others. For me the stand outs were Chris Pine as Bernard “Bernie” Webber and Casey Affleck as Ray Sybert. These two characters are given the most amount of screen time and have the most engaging and relevant effects on the story, plus their performances were really solid. I enjoyed the tenacity of Webber, while Sybert’s knowledge and level headedness in the face of adversity was nice to see. As for Holliday Grainger as Miriam Pentinen Webber, I did enjoy her performance as she was cute, yet determined and concerned for her fiance, but unfortunately the character became more annoying than anything else. I also enjoyed Ben Foster as Richard Livesey, John Ortiz was good as Wallace Quirey and I really liked Graham McTavish as Frank Fauteux, and it was good to see Keiynan Lonsdale from The Flash in this film as Eldon Hanan. And finally it’s always good to see Eric Bana around and while he was decent as Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff was alright

The presentation was one of the stronger elements of this film. Visually this film looked great with an awesome sense of scale, good lighting and detail for the action sequences when the ship was falling apart or when the rescue boat was pushing through the crashing waves of the ocean. And the film score by Carter Burwell had some moments of beauty in some of the dramatic or uplifting scenes, but I felt like it wasn’t dramatically well-matched with what was happening on-screen of numerous occasions.

In conclusion The Finest Hours was decent film with good special effects and solid story material out at sea, however, with too much time dedicated to Bernie’s fiance and a lack of emotional depth, it missed the chance to be more than an average historic film.

Rating: 6/10

So have you seen The Finest Hours and if so what did you think of it? Be sure to leave your thoughts below and I’ll see you on the next review, laters! 😀

 

Films To Look Out For In 2016 Part 1

Howdy people of the interweb it’s time of year again when we have a whole year of films ahead of us and as I’ve done since 2013 I’m going to do my own personal preview of upcoming films that I believe deserve your attention entitled: Films to look out for in 2016! In PART 1 I’ll be covering films coming out from now until March.

Now before we begin I have two main things I need yo point out:

1. Obviously a lot films come out, so if they’re not on my list it’s either because I don’t know about them or I don’t care…
2. 2015 films getting their UK releases this year don’t count! So there. 😛

Okay then, let’s start 😀

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Release Date: January 15th (USA), January 29th (UK)

Trailer:

I want to give this film a chance because the subject matter is interesting and I think the trailer illustrates a lot of tension, high stakes and action that I like in the thriller genre, plus it is a Michael Bay film where there aren’t any Transformers involved, that’s a good thing right? Honestly I’ve been wanting to see what Bay could do with other material outside of the Transformers franchise since 2011 and I didn’t mind Pain & Gain so I can only hope this is the film that puts him on the right track again as a filmmaker.

The 5th Wave

Release Date: January 22nd (USA & UK)

Trailer:

This film looks like it could be pretty good (average) or kind of lame. I like the concept, I mean alien invasion, Earth getting destroyed and aliens disguised as humans, it’s all stuff that’s been done before, but I’ll always watch it again if its done right. This film reminds me of Independence Day mixed with The Maze Runner or Insurgent films, and I don’t like the vibe I’m getting from the latter two films. But hell I may give it a watch just because I like

The Boy

Release Date: January 22nd (USA), February 19th (UK)

Trailer:

I’m not really a fan of horror films, however, if there are actors/actresses that I like or a certain about a buzz behind the film then I’ll give it a shot and this is one of those kind of films. I’m curious to see how Lauren Cohan fares in her first major role that isn’t related to The Walking Dead, plus I’m interested to see Rupert Evans again since the last I saw him was back in 2004 with Hellboy. This films does seem to have all the generic modern horror film traits like jump scares, a possessed doll, some mystery about someone dying, and few other things. This film could be another standard bad horror film near the start of the year but I guess we’ll see in due time.

Dirty Grandpa

Release Date: January 22nd (USA), January 25th (UK)

Trailer:

While this film could just end up being another generic comedy focused on sex, age and other silly elements that come with adult-focused humour, but I do like Robert De Niro and Zac Efron and they look like an interesting combination and hope that their performances and the story will be good. Also Aubrey Plaza is in the film too, that’s an automatic viewing experience for me.

Jane Got A Gun

Release Date: January 29th (USA)

Trailer:

I remember when I was talking about this film last year and yet it did not appear! Next thing you know the film’s delayed again to 2016 and while there’s no UK release for the film yet, I just glad that the film’s finally seeing the light of day. Like I said before I’m a massive fan of Ewan McGregor, I also really like Joel Edgerton as well, but I’m curious to see Natalie Portman the most because this is her first leading role since Black Swan to my knowledge. And I’m curious to see how this tale of revenge turns out, and after seeing the trailer I’m liking what I’m seeing.

The Finest Hours

Release Date: January 29th (USA), February 19th (UK)

Trailer:

This film looks insane and the fact that it’s based on a real life event just increases my curiosity and need to see the film. This looks like it’ll be a pretty incredible tale of survival for the people stranded at sea, but also of a rescue mission that is just as dangerous. The visual presentation looks great with good special effects and cinematography for all the crazy action in the ocean, and the cast also has me interested with Chris Pine, Casey Affleck and Eric Bana being involved, plus I’m also curious to see Holliday Grainger again. I’m hoping that this’ll be a big success for Pine because he really needs to something bigger than Star Trek.

Kung Fu Panda 3

Release Date: January 29th (USA), March 11th (UK)

Trailer:

Firstly can I mention how I hate the fact that this film won’t be released until March for us in the UK, that’s just mean. With that out of the way I am interested to see how this third entry in the Kung Fu Panda series will turn out. I liked the first and really enjoyed the second for the creativity, humour and difference in style and action when compared to other animated films, and it looks like this film will be similar. I love the art direction, use of colour and charismatic characters, plus the story seems like it’ll have some unique and interesting elements with Po finally meeting his father and having to train other Pandas.

Hail, Caesar!

Release Date: February 5th (USA), March 4th (UK)

Trailer:

Anytime the Cohen brothers are coming out with a new film it has my interest, since their version of True Grit I’ve been following their work and while I didn’t love Inside Llewlyn Davis, I did enjoyed the performances and music a lot, and this film certainly looks intriguing. I like the concept of there being dodgy dealings in 1950’s Hollywood on such a large production and the sheer number of cast members also excites me too.

Deadpool

Release Date: February 12th (USA), February 10th (UK)

Trailer:

I want this to be good, I really do. I didn’t get into Deadpool until around 2006, but since then I’ve loved the character and his strange, violence and humourous nature that he brings to the Marvel universe. And after that shitty version of the character we got in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, we’ve needed a correction for the public to see this character properly. This film looks like it’ll be a lot of fun with the violence, action and humour, I just hope the humour is unique and well-written and not just adult and sex-filled for the sake of it like some of the worst episodes of Family Guy.

Zoolander No. 2

Release Date: February 12th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I didn’t see Zoolander until I was around 18 or 19 back in 2009 I believe and I really liked it, wouldn’t call it one of my favourite films ever, but it was still pretty good, and while I don’t like sequels that come out a good number of years after the previous entry especially when there’s no one asking for it, Zoolander 2 looks like it could be fun. I didn’t see the full trailer until a few weeks ago but I was surprised by how much it made me laugh. I looks like Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell haven’t lost a step and the humour looks solid enough, plus I loved Benedict Cumberbatch’s appearance and the celebrity cameos look interesting, so I’m down for this.

Eddie the Eagle

Release Date: February 26th (USA), April 1st (UK)

Trailer:

This film looks very interesting. Taron Egerton was great in Kingsman and this role looks like this is a good progression for him as an actor, and it looks like he’ll kill it in this role, plus we also have Hugh Jackman and I’ll watch him in almost anything. This looks like one of those interesting trial over adversity kind of films and I’m down for it, especially with Dexter Fletcher (one of my favourite people from Hotel Babylon) directing it.

Triple 9

Release Date: February 26th (USA), February 19th (UK)

Trailer:

I like thriller films especially those with a heavy crime/heist element and I’m down for this film. The cast alone had me down for this film when I thought it was coming out this time last year, but I’m also a sucker for thrillers where blackmail and corruption within the police force involved.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Release Date: March 6th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I heard about this film on Collider Movie Talk and after seeing the trailer I’m interested in this film for sure. I love Tina Fey and this comedy-based war film looks unconventional and yet quite fun. Plus I’m always down to see more of Alfred Molina and Martin Freeman, plus checking out more of Margot Robbie’s talents in different films is always fun too.

Zootopia

Release Date: March 4th (USA), March 25th (UK)

Trailer:

This is a film I’ve heard a lot about especially after D23, but for whatever reason the story on paper didn’t sound like it’d be for me, however, after seeing the trailer I’m down for it for sure. Disney in the last few years have been stepping it up big time with their animation material and this looks like it’ll be another win for them. I’m getting that great sense of humour, adventure and drama that Disney films are known for and I’m liking how colourful, detailed and vivid this film looks.

Midnight Special

Release Date: March 18th (USA), April 15th (UK)

Trailer:

I feel like I’m repeating myself but it bares mentioning again, this was a film that I had on my list for 2015, but hasn’t shown up until now, however now that there’s a trailer I’m down for it more so than before. I reminds me a lot of Looper when it comes to the special kid with supernatural abilities. I looks like Michael Shannon has a son who has powers and he’s trying to protect him, and I like Shannon and I’m curious to see what Adam Driver and Kirsten Dunst bring to this film.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Release Date: March 25th (USA & UK)

Trailer:

I want to love this film but for some reason I can’t get into it like everyone else can. That’s not to say I won’t watch the film though, I will be their opening weekend. I want this film to succeed so that that DC film universe can get started, and so far I’m hyped for Ben Affleck as Batman, I liked Henry Cavill as Superman, and so far their material when they confront each other looks great. But I’m not down with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, I have my concerns about Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and that second trailer looked like it showed certain elements of the third act of the film that I would have preferred to have seen in the cinema. With that being said, I hope that this film will be fun.

Alrighty then, that’s PART 1 done. Thanks a lot for reading. Are any of the films listed on your personal list of films to watch? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them below and I’ll see you for PART 2! Laters 😀