Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

Director: Craig Gillespie
Cast: Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Walt Disney Studios

In February 1952 during one of the worst sea storms to hit Cape Cod, an oil tanker off the coast broke in two, trapping 30 men aboard the sinking ship. In 70 foot high seas, four young Coast Guard men take a small rescue boat on a near suicide rescue mission.

I liked it!...Straight to the point, it was enjoyable, it held my attention, I liked the characters and their back stories...Mostly I liked the action that took place at sea during a furious sea storm. Some will compare this movie to The Perfect Storm (2000). OK fair enough, and if you liked one film then there's a good chance you will like the other.

Most all of what you see being done in the rescue was real. It might seem unbelievable but then that's why this famous rescue that took place in 1952 is the stuff of sea legends. I could fault with a couple of the CG scenes, especially where the rescue boat is submerged under a big wave. I think that scene gives a false impression of what was going on. And no the ship was not a submarine even though in those 2 seconds of CG it kind of looks like it was. What happened was the waves were so big that they broke completely over the ship and in a sense covered it in water for a few seconds.

Chris Pine, best known for playing the young Captain Kirk in the reboot Star Trek movies, is nothing like the Starship captain. He's a shy young man, who follows orders and has just meet the love of his life played aptly by Holliday Grainger. I thought Pine did a great job of being a totally different character in this film, one that was very believable and likeable. This goes for all the characters, no over the top performances here.

The Finest Hours, goes to show that the Disney Studio can produce a PG moving without smoking scenes, gratuitous violence, nudity and foul language and make a movie that is not only entertaining but believable.

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What's funny is (this never occurred to me)... I figured the title simply refers to the old saying about gun powder. But apparently, due to the gender views at the time, it had a double meaning that was capitalized on to market the movie to both men and women:

I found these posters advertising the film, and there are others on the Net featuring the starlets using powder puffs! But believe me, there is no scene like this in the movie (in fact, I don't think there's any scene involving make-up).






This would've been a more accurate advertisement...


...than this

That is funny. Talk about deceptive poster ads. The bottom photo must be a publicity still. I'm going to have to see this movie!

BTW Captain, You need to update your first photo, the hot link failed. Just hit F5 to see what I mean.

Thanks, Rules. I removed it. You guys got the idea!

It's kind of funny the kind of marketing that was used - I don't want to call it deceptive (as the cast is very good looking), but all the glamour shots don't seem to convey that it's about women joining the army. There are a couple scenes in the beginning of the movie (one I described before) that show Susan Peters (with the guy playing her husband) and Lana Turner in bedroom wear, but that's about it.

I saw Armed and Dangerous at the movies and I didn't like it then.

So I take it this was made during WWII? If so that makes it sort of special as I think it's neat to see these films that were delivering a war time message to a country at war. You know I always like Agnes Moorehead in any role I've seen her in. I'm not a real big fan of Lana Turner, but yes I have seen Laraine Day in a number of movies and really liked her. Have you seen any other WWII films mainly about women? I can think of a couple. So Proudly We Hail (1943) is probably my favorite one.

What didn't you like about it? That was 30 years ago, maybe it's time for a rewatch? Do you like John Candy in general?

I like John Candy, but I'm not crazy about many comedies that aren't at least rated R.

Without Limits (1998) is the second major film made about the life of long distances runner Steve Prefontaine, the other movie being Prefontaine (1997). Steve Prefontaine was a young runner from Oregon who despite his small size was able to out compete everyone in the U.S. He managed to make the U.S. Olympic team and went to the ill fated Munich Olympics (1972). His performances there was poor and it haunted him for the rest of his life.


Without Limits was produced by Tom Cruise who had planned on starring as the runner but didn't do it, as he felt he was too old. That's too bad as Cruise sort of looks like the real Steve Prefontaine and I think he could have done a good job. In fact I think he could have breathed some compassion and soul into the character on the screen.

The actor who ended up playing the runner was Billy Crudup, who didn't do a bad job but just didn't bring the character to life. Though the fault might lay with the director who choose a film style that glossed over a lot of the events by choosing to show them in a peripheral way. It's like we see the abbreviated version of what happens but never get emotionally involved.

I preferred 1997's Prefontaine starring Jared Leto as the runner. That film had a lot more heart and felt personal. Still Without Limits was a good watch and I enjoyed it.

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Why do they need to be rated R? Just asking, what would make a PG movie not likeable but if an R rating would make it more likable.

I don't know, but I guess I just like raunchier movies more. My favorites include Animal House, Stripes, Caddyshack, The Hangover, Old School, stuff like that. I love the first Vacation (rated R), and don't care for any of the sequels. Even besides comedy, probably over 95% of my favorites are at least rated R.

Fair enough....Animal House, Stripes, Caddyshack, Vacation all favorites of mine too. I do like the other Vacations also, well not the last reboot! That one blew!

If you notice what I watch for a while, besides the classics, you won't notice hardly any PG movies.

That's a strange dichotomy. Classics or R-rated moderns.
I like you, Cricket, you're weird.

I actually do notice what you watch...you like lots of BBB movies (boobs, bombs and blood movies) ...You watch lots of critically acclaimed foreign films too, including many from Japan's golden era. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) is a favorite since you were a kid. You thought highly of Elmer Gantry, Some Came Running and The Best Years of our Lives. You don't like sci fi, fantasy or period pieces very much, but you will watch animation. You tend to like dark disturbing movies with sleezy elements, especially crime elements, and you love slasher/horror films, the sicker the better. You watch a lot of movies sometimes up to 60 a month! You impress me as being very diversified and knowledgeable in movies.

How did I do

Pretty good, except I only watched animation for that countdown, and I saw Robin Hood for the first time while here. My wife is the same way; PG movies don't interest her.

I've read a few very good reviews of The Finest Hours, so it's a movie that I've been considering watching. I'm not sure that it's my type of movie, but I liked The Perfect Storm, so I think I might like this movie too.

__________________
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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

I think I'm starting to understand why the Comedy HoF was a failure.

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Director: John Huston
Writers: John Huston(screenplay), Dashiell Hammett(novel)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
Genre: Film Noir, Mystery

A private detective (Humphrey Bogart) takes on a case from a mysterious woman (Mary Astor). The case ends up involving him with three rather strange criminals as they all seek to be the first to find a priceless statuette...The Maltese Falcon.


Review: The Maltese Falcon is considered to be the first Film Noir of the classic period (1941-1958). The movie has some of the Film Noir hallmark elements: like subdued lighting, dark shadows and low camera angles. And of course we have one of the greatest detectives of all time, Sam Spade...Not to mention a very devious femme fatale Brigid (Mary Astor). But I couldn't help but notice how the music score seemed un-noir like.

I liked this film but it is wordy! I read that the script was almost word for word from the original 1929 Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. If someone loves lots of dialogue and twist and turns, this movie has it. It's so complex, that I was never sure who was up to what.

The end scene where all the main characters are in the apartment goes on for 20 minutes! That would never be done today and John Huston who was directing his first picture, made that scene captivating.

There wasn't much action or character development, but man the script and the way the actors delivered their lines like a buzz saw was a thing of sheer beauty.

And what a cast! Bogie paired up with Peter Lorrie and Sydney Greenstreet with Mary Astor to boot. That's not even mentioning veteran character actors like Ward Bond, Barton MacLaine and Gladys George.

Watch the Maltese Falcon statuette when Bogie picks it up. He nearly dropped it. I read it was made out of lead and they're three of them, each is worth a million bucks. A million bucks! for a hunk of lead! that shows you how beloved this film is.