The Finest Hours (2016)

Best movie of this year hands down!

As Good As It Gets

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The Finest Hours: Directed by Craig Gilliespie and written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric JohnsonThis is a based on a true story Disney film, one of the few rated PG-13. Almost none are ever released through the official Disney with the big castle channel with that rating intact. This was a fairly under the radar release. I remember a big standin located just outside of the arcade at my local theater. It looked fascinating from a disaster movie stand point. But this was a bit more than that. It does fit the mold of this type of movie to a T. This could turn a lot of people off but hear me out on this one. This one is different enough. It has the swelling music cues and you know how the arcs of the characters may turn out. Chris Pine is incredible in this movie. He transforms into this character completely. He still looks like Chris Pine but his speech, his body language and his demeanor feel completely Bernie Webber, a stauch rule following meek man. He believes in the system and the way of doing things. His character is the centerpiece of this movie along with Miriam played by actress Holliday Grainger. This is where the movie takes a different route. It is the way the movie opens that really changes how things are perceived when they head out to sea in this crazy storm to rescue the crew members of the Pendleton. The movie opens with a 20 minute scene where Chris Pine and Holliday Grainger meet for the first time. They just talk and reveal bits of themselves. The bar scene then reveals more. The dance hall scene after that reveals the true crux of their relationship. This is not to say that it's the only thing worth mentioning about this well made movie. The effects of the roiling sea and the split ship were incredible. They were so beautifully done that you believed every second of it. The crew on the ship also reveal their ingenuity in trying to stay alive long enough to rescued. This is a solid well made movie. It makes you believe in the situation and feel for the characters. It is beautifully shot and just a really good movie. I give this film a B.

QUESTION: Which of these two stories sounds more interesting?(1) A Coast Guardsman has to pilot a tiny boat into the middle of a storm in order to rescue a group of people stranded on a sinking ship.(2) When his ship is caught in a storm and splits in half, the bow sinking and taking with it the entire bridge crew, an ordinary seaman finds a way to jury-rig the stern half of the ship with a manual rudder steered by his surviving shipmates in an all-out effort to drive it to shore.If you're "The Finest Hours," the answer is obvious - the first story."Wait," you may be asking, "what was that about some guy driving half a ship?"Oh, don't worry about that.Yes, this is the biggest problem with "The Finest Hours" - its fatal decision to tell the story from exactly the wrong perspective. It's a decision so bafflingly stupid I can't get my head around it. It completely ruined the film.Chris Pine plays the aforementioned Coast Guard sailor, and his arc takes up most of the running time. He's not a particularly interesting character, yet from the very beginning of the film, we see everything through his eyes. We see him fall in love with his wife in a first act that drags and drags. It lulls the viewer into thinking he's seeing some kind of romance rather than a heart-stopping real-life adventure. The actual plot ends up blindsiding the viewer.It's not until the second act that you really get a chance to meet Casey Affleck, who plays the seaman on the doomed freighter. Right away, we see he's not respected by other members of his crew, and in fact is a bit of a recluse. But when the storm tears apart his ship, he suddenly finds himself thrust into a leadership role. Taking the initiative, we see him come up with an insane plan to drive the broken part of his ship to shore. And, more unbelievably, it actually works - he even manages to beach the ship within sight of land.But the film doesn't care. I'd be generous in saying that it thinks that both Pine and Affleck's characters are equally compelling, but it just isn't true. Pine's story continually interferes with Affleck's, so much so that we miss some of the most interesting moments, such as the trial-and-error that must have happened as Affleck worked out his radical plan. In its place, we have to endure Pine's dull romantic subplot with his anxious wife, as if the story's really about them at the exclusion of everyone else.The ultimate absurdity is that the film seems to become aware that Pine's arc isn't as interesting, and has to reach to make up for it. The defining scenes are when Pine's boat is confronted with a single wave that is his biggest obstacle leaving and returning to the harbor. Both scenes of the wave are slowed down for dramatic effect. But it's laughable when you realize how small his boat is, and thus, how small the wave must be. It just doesn't compare to the borderline superheroics of Affleck's character which - it must be said - involves traveling much further than Pine ever does.Oh, and I forgot to mention - there are actually TWO ships in danger, which is the whole reason Pine gets stuck with the small boat. We don't see what happens on this second ship at all, or the rescue that takes place. Pine's arc makes it completely irrelevant.This film symbolizes a very real problem in America with regard to its hero worship. There's this mistaken belief that a man or woman in uniform doing his duty is every bit as heroic - or more so - than an ordinary person who goes above and beyond the call of duty. And, don't be mistaken, that's exactly what's going on here. Pine may have been dealt a cruddy hand by having to pilot a small boat, but he's just doing his job in going out there. Affleck, on the other hand, could've easily just given up or tried to save himself - after all, none of his shipmates liked him. But he didn't, and he went well above and beyond what was expected of him. Affleck is the true hero of this story - Pine is merely a supporting actor.Think of this in the context of "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) (spoilers ahead on this film, too). Though a fictional film, "Poseidon" chooses to focus on the normal passengers who try to fight their way to higher ground in a capsized ship. These Affleck-like characters are the heroes of the story, and everything is told from their view. The Coast Guard has a role as well, but they only arrive in the final minute of the film, after the passengers did 95% of the work in saving themselves. Just because the Coast Guard do dangerous work doesn't mean they're always the heroes. And, guess what - they're not as relateable to a typical audience as people like themselves.This is exactly how "The Finest Hours" should have been made. It should have started with Affleck on the ship and stayed with him for the entire film. We should've learned more about him, why he is the way he is, and why the others don't respect him. We should've seen every moment of his unbelievable courage, and wondered moment by moment if he would succeed. You can still put Pine in the story, but have him show up as one final obstacle. Think of the drama where, after all Affleck does, we discover that the only ship that reaches them is one too small to save everyone. Unbelievable! That would've been such a tremendous reveal and really added depth and action to the story.Who's to blame? Well, the writers, of course. How could they not have seen this? Maybe they wanted to show the heroics of both sides, but really, when you look at the story, the characters just aren't equal. The story demands better than what they gave it. A simple script revision would've fixed this. It's clear such revisions weren't attempted, and they rushed the first draft of the script. For shame.It may seem silly to criticize a film based on real events, but that doesn't mean there's only one way to present it. And if one-half of your story is vastly more interesting than the second half, why not feature it more? At the end of the day, big-budget films like this are entertainment, and you have to put your best foot forward.Two out of ten stars for Affleck's awesomeness, proportionate to how little of it the film lets you see.

I was so looking forward to watching this movie. I'd heard the comments about all the nominations for awards and so it has been on my most wanted list.Chris Pine is one of my favourite (English/Australian spelling) actors, as is Casey Affleck, and that big Scot, Graham McTavish, what a real let down from Game of Thrones and Outlander for him.It was such a shame to see so many great performers being undervalued by lousy direction. Every element for a terrific suspense filled drama was there waiting for the right direction and timing. Instead we got left with all the high drama being dawdled up to and then let slide down the other side with a whimper. Even the music score was no help. Chris Pine looked like he just wanted to sleep and I can understand that it probably was his frustration with the director. He had next-to-nothing to do. Into The Storm this wasn't, but it could have been and maybe even better. Too bad, so sad.

February 1952. Bernie Webber is a boatswain/Petty Officer at a Coast Guard station on the coast of Massachusetts. A massive storm is in progress out to sea, damaging two tankers to the point that they appear likely to sink. On one tanker, the Pendleton, the chief engineer, Ray Sybert, is using all his ingenuity, resourcefulness and experience to keep the ship afloat and buy time until help arrives. Unfortunately for him and his crew, the Coast Guard have sent their best crew and rescue boat to the other stricken tanker. When the Coast Guard discover the Pendleton's situation, Webber and a 3-man crew are sent to help. The odds are stacked against Webber - just leaving the harbour in those seas will require large amounts of skill, courage and luck. Then they have to find the Pendleton, without a compass, rescue the crew and somehow make it home safe.An enthralling (true) story of courage and survival. Compelling viewing - once the danger strikes, you're glued to your seat. What makes it so interesting is that they don't just focus on the efforts of the rescuers but also on the rescued. I found the Pendleton crew's story much more interesting than that of Webber and co - the ingenuity, resourcefulness and (reluctant) leadership of Sybert was amazing. This is helped by a great performance from Casey Affleck.Not all good though. Many of the characters seem like cartoon stereotypes - the negative naysayers, the clingy girlfriend/fiancée, the inept commander. The romantic angle was overplayed and not that necessary. It did add depth to Webber's character but not much.Performances vary. Casey Affleck is the stand-out as Sybert. Chris Pine is okay as Webber. Eric Bana is pretty weak and gives the worst American accent I've ever heard (I think it was supposed to be Southern but it varied so much and seemed so unnatural it was hard to tell). Holliday Grainger is a bit overbearing as Miriam, though that might have been intentional on the director's part.