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jmovies
Let's Call It A Bromance
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:22 pm Posts: 12333
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In the Heart of the Sea
In the Heart of the SeaQuote: In the Heart of the Sea is an upcoming 2015 epic historical adventure thriller drama film based on Nathaniel Philbrick's 2000 non-fiction book of the same name, about the sinking of the American whaling ship Essex in 1820, that inspired the tale of Moby-Dick. Directed by Ron Howard, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson.
In The Heart of the Sea is scheduled for release on December 11, 2015.
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Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:05 am |
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jmovies
Let's Call It A Bromance
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:22 pm Posts: 12333
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
I enjoyed it. Hemsworth definitely does a solid job here and the story goes by fairly straightforward. While these parts of films usually overstay their welcome, I really enjoyed the "present" day storyline with Gleeson and Whishaw and actually wished there was a bit more of it. The film should do well with audiences and could end up being a solid alternative to Star Wars sellouts.
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Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:08 am |
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Dil
Forum General
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:48 pm Posts: 8942 Location: Houston, Texas
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
I liked it aswell. It's one of those films that starts off merely ok, but improves as it goes along. I have always loved these survival type adventure flicks and although the characters could've been a bit more fleshed out it seemed as if the chemistry between them got better by the mid point which helps once you get to that third act. Hemsworth was good, but I actually think Benjamin Walker gave a stronger performance. Iv'e liked the guy ever since Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter even though that movie was insanely stupid he was a good Lincoln. However, Brendan Gleeson gives the most powerful/emotional performance in the movie IMO. Those present day scenes between him and Whishaw were great and even the actress who played the wife was really good. There was some weak CGI during those whaling sequences with the exception of Moby Dick, but overall it's still very well done and Howard even manages to craft some of the most thrilling set pieces I have seen in a while. The cinematography is consistently beautiful aswell and you could definitely tell that they spent a serious amount of money on it. I don't know what it's box-office chances will look like going against something like Star Wars, but it should be a crowd-pleaser as I heard a lot of positive comments from people on the way out.
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Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:26 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
Too much CGI.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:55 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
Ron Howard dramatizes the tragic final voyage of the American whaling ship Essex in In the Heart of the Sea, an astonishing visual experience and a decent-if-unspectacular dramatic one. Thousands of nautical miles from the coast of South America, a gargantuan sperm whale destroyed the ship, and its crew escaped in three lifeboats, contending with claustrophobia, exposure, and hunger for months and even resorting to cannibalism to survive. The cinematic staging of these events is spectacular, including the convincing computer-generated rendering of the whale (a presence both fearsome and tragic). There is an impressionistic quality to the images composed by Howard and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who previously shot the director's Rush: vivid closeups of carved wooden surfaces and men's harshly worn flesh give way to J. M. W. Turner-style whirls of mist, motion, and nautical light. And though the dynamic is familiar (from Mutiny on the Bounty) and rather cursorily sketched on the page, a macho feud between patrician, untested Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) and salt-of-the-earth first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) is involving and well-performed.
The ruination of the Essex partly inspired a certain epic American novel by Herman Melville, a fact which unfortunately weighs too heavily upon Howard's film. It opens with, ends with, and frequently cuts to an extended—fictional—conversation shared by an ambitious, intrigued Melville (Ben Whishaw) and the voyage's final remaining survivor (Brendan Gleeson), still guarded regarding the ordeal. It is strange to say performers as tremendous as Gleeson and Whishaw should be excised from any film they grace, but their loquacious scenes together tend to defuse the menace and muscularity of the story of the Essex crew, dialing down a very important sense of immediacy. The telling of this grim maritime adventure requires no extraneous literary justification (it need not be cornily framed as a Moby-Dick origin story), and it is a shame Howard did not realize this in time to change course.
B
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:41 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
Another odd dynamic stemming from the stodgy framing device: when Tom Nickerson begins telling his story, the film cuts to an intimate moment between Owen Chase and his wife. There is never much of an attempt to show the action from the wide-eyed perspective of Tom Holland's young Nickerson. If the film were truly indebted to Moby-Dick, he should presumably be the Ishmael through which we see Chase, the captain, etc.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Fri Dec 11, 2015 12:50 am |
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Steve
Indiana Jones IV
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:09 pm Posts: 1796
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
This movie serves no purpose, really. It has nothing to say and is far too underwhelming on an aesthetic / entertainment level. None of the action holds any weight because the audience lacks empathy for the characters. The only somewhat successful 'emotional moment' occurs in Cillian Murphy's acceptance of death on an island after an infected head wound takes hold. Later brother. Overall the characterizations are thin and detract from any emotional heft. There is an attempt to show the events through the eyes of a starry-eyed green-horn, but the mechanism is criminally underdeveloped.
So, despite the potentially exhilarating setting and plot points (giant, murderous whale stalks and destroys men on their whaling expedition), the movie fails to develop any sense of dread surrounding these dreadful events. The cheesy back-and-forth between Winshaw and Gleeson attempts to frame the story as historically relevant, or something, but repeatedly bogs down the flow. Just witnessing the events as they happen would greater serve the development of an atmosphere, and provide a better garden for which thematic ideas to thrive. Dread, insanity, survival, desperation, greed and passion. These ideas are touched but not built upon.
Also, I'm a hippy so I wouldn't have minded seeing a better utilization of the idea of 'man as beast,' and the whale just being a bro and taking out these murderous apes who have come to kill him and his. Fuck those guys.
C
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Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:26 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
I want to try some whale meat one day.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Fri Dec 11, 2015 10:10 pm |
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Ludovician
Full Fledged Member
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 10:24 pm Posts: 55
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
I give it a B, which with a movie as ambitious as this, I suppose is the proverbial "damning faint praise". The pacing is the biggest problem with the movie. After the Essex sunk relatively early in the film, I found myself wondering how the film was going to have a proper narrative climax, and the answer was: it didn't.
I also found the Herman Melville scenes to be entirely superfluous and hokey. Anyone who has read Moby-Dick knows how rambling and discursive it is (which I mean in an entirely good way); this dumbing down of its writing process to the straightforward "adopted narrative" in the film not only doesn't jell with the book, it comes off as a rather amateurish framing device that constantly interrupts the pacing and mounting tension of the often riveting survival scenes.
Now, this is a great-looking movie with a fantastic cast--I thought Benjamin Walker was particularly great, probably partly because his character had great development through the film--but it just doesn't all come together.
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Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:10 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
Yes, the Melville content is so extraneous and mystifying. The nadir is when the film pauses halfway through for a monologue where he frets whether he is talented enough to do justice to the story of the Essex, etc., etc.
It seems clear the film is not interested in Melville's history or personality, so I can only imagine he is there because it was believed the dramatization of the tragedy of the Essex required "prestigious" justification (it has to be understood as Moby-Dick Begins or Moby-Dick: Year Zero), which is sad and wrongheaded.
The film also definitely should have lingered longer at key points. The use of "day 40 adrift"-type subtitles does not connect as intended because the restless editing rarely allows us to contemplate the blend of hardship and tedium the men are enduring. Another true-story failed Oscar horse, last year's Unbroken, did a superior job depicting lost-at-sea misery within a mainstream context.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
Last edited by David on Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:37 pm |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
David wrote: The nadir is when the film pauses halfway through for the monologue where he frets whether he is talented enough to do justice the story of the Essex, etc., etc.
After the scene my girlfriend was like: "What the fuck? They are actually trying to draw parallels between Melville's self-doubts and the survival tale of the Essex?! This is ridiculous."
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Sat Dec 12, 2015 5:54 pm |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20347 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
This was actually better than expected in that it was only boring in a couple parts, it was beautiful to look at, the effects, costumes and production design were top notch. It mostly held my attention, which is more than can be said for a lot if films recently. Nothing special at all, but not a bad way to kill two hours.
B-
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Thu Apr 14, 2016 10:51 am |
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tree and a half
Cream of the Crop
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 11:38 am Posts: 2084
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
A rare misfire for Ron Howard, cripes this was boring. *D*
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Thu Apr 14, 2016 10:55 am |
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Jack Sparrow
KJ's Leading Idiot
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:15 pm Posts: 36923
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. Visually it looks nice but at times it feels overused. C.
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Thu Apr 14, 2016 1:21 pm |
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tree and a half
Cream of the Crop
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 11:38 am Posts: 2084
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
Jack Sparrow wrote: When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. If only the movie was half as exciting as the poster.
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Fri Apr 15, 2016 6:30 am |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
The framing of the story (Herman Melville's quest for the story of the Essex fate) is completely useless and serves no purpose. The main story is a terrific one which is badly presented on screen. There are some good scenes but it's dull, unfocused (especially character wise). A surprising complete miss from Ron Howard.
** / ***** (D)
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Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:23 am |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
Jack Sparrow wrote: When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. Moby Dick is not in this movie.
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Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:24 am |
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tree and a half
Cream of the Crop
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 11:38 am Posts: 2084
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
_axiom wrote: Jack Sparrow wrote: When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. Moby Dick is not in this movie. Of course it's Moby Dick, that's the premise of the movie - the whale that inspired Melville to write his classic novel of the same name.
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Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:37 am |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
tree and a half wrote: _axiom wrote: Jack Sparrow wrote: When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. Moby Dick is not in this movie. Of course it's Moby Dick, that's the premise of the movie - the whale that inspired Melville to write his classic novel of the same name. The only white whale named Moby Dick is in Melville's novel of the same name and its adaptations. As this is not an adaptation of the novel, the white whale appearing here is not named Moby Dick. Was this whale an inspiration to Melville? Yes. And that's the point of the movie. But the name is Melville's own thing.
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Sun Oct 02, 2016 12:00 pm |
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
I see no major issue with calling the whale in the film Moby-Dick. Howard belabors the connection.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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Sun Oct 02, 2016 6:53 pm |
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zwackerm
Hold the door!
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:26 pm Posts: 20347 Location: Where they shot Knock at the Cabin
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
_axiom wrote: Jack Sparrow wrote: When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. Moby Dick is not in this movie.
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Sun Oct 02, 2016 7:20 pm |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
David wrote: I see no major issue with calling the whale in the film Moby-Dick. Howard belabors the connection. Of course he wants to make a clear connection. But that's just it.
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Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:52 am |
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Jmart
Superman: The Movie
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:47 am Posts: 21152 Location: Massachusetts
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
_axiom wrote: tree and a half wrote: _axiom wrote: Jack Sparrow wrote: When Moby Dick shows the film shines rest is just noise. Moby Dick is not in this movie. Of course it's Moby Dick, that's the premise of the movie - the whale that inspired Melville to write his classic novel of the same name. The only white whale named Moby Dick is in Melville's novel of the same name and its adaptations. As this is not an adaptation of the novel, the white whale appearing here is not named Moby Dick. Was this whale an inspiration to Melville? Yes. And that's the point of the movie. But the name is Melville's own thing. There's being a stickler. There's being a dick. And there's...whatever this is.
_________________My DVD Collection Marty McGee (1989-2005)
If I’m not here, I’m on Letterboxd.
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Mon Oct 03, 2016 5:02 am |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm Posts: 92093 Location: Bonn, Germany
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
_axiom is a miserable fucking grouch, whose posts in the reviews forum make me want to bitch slap him.
_________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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Mon Oct 03, 2016 8:26 am |
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_axiom
The Wall
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:50 am Posts: 16163 Location: Croatia
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Re: In the Heart of the Sea
I just took the best sip of coffee in a long time.
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Tue Oct 04, 2016 5:01 am |
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