The Finest Hours

The 1899 regulations written for the U.S. Life Saving Service, one of the groups that became the modern U.S. Coast Guard, state:

"In attempting a rescue the keeper will select either the boat, breeches buoy, or life car, as in his judgment is best suited to effectively cope with the existing conditions. If the device first selected fails after such trial as satisfies him that no further attempt with it is feasible, he will resort to one of the others, and if that fails, then to the remaining one, and he will not desist from his efforts until by actual trial the impossibility of effecting a rescue is demonstrated. The statement of the keeper that he did not try to use the boat because the sea or surf was too heavy will not be accepted unless attempts to launch it were actually made and, or unless the conformation of the coast—as bluffs, precipitous banks, etc.—is such as to unquestionably preclude the use of a boat."

Overtime, this has morphed into what is now the Coast Guard’s unofficial motto, “You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back,”  which actor Chris Pine, playing U.S. Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber mutters as he leads a crew of four aboard the CG-36500 motor life boat.

The story in a nutshell is this.  A powerful winter storm hit the north Atlantic in February, 1952.  A 503 f00t tanker, the Pendleton, sailing from Louisiana to Massachusetts broke in half in the early morning hours, an event that happened so quickly that the ship was unable to send a distress signal.  With seas ranging from 40 to 60 feet in height, some Coast Guard sailors refused to help with the rescue efforts when the Coast Guard’s radar showed the ship in trouble.  Bernie Webber, however, led a small crew out to rescue as many sailors as possible under the most difficult circumstances.  This is a true story.  In fact, two ships broke in half that morning off the coast of Cape Cod.  Much of the almost two-hour movie is, indeed, true, but a few facts have been changed for dramatic impact.  Nothing, however, that takes away from the power of the story.  There is a web site that details some of the facts and fictions used in the movie:  http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/finest-hours/

Anyone who has lived on or visited the coast and seen the tiny boats used by the Coast Guard will empathize with Webber and his crew.  And the salient fact is that the CG-36500 was able to rescue 32 sailors and keep its own four crew members alive, even though the boat was designed to hold no more than 12.  The boat shown below is an actual 36 foot Coast Guard Lifeboat, identical to the one used by Webber and his crew (and only two away in numbering).

The CG36498

on display at the historic Coast Guard Station at Port Orford, Oregon

photo by the author, 11/9/2007

For those of you who agree with me that most movies these days seem to be filmed at night with no special lighting, once again that is going to be the case.  But here, there’s a very practical reason for it.  The rescue happened during the dark of the night, and like it or not, there aren’t large spotlights out in the middle of the ocean.  The good news is that even though all the advertising for this movie says that it’s in 3D, it won’t be shown as a 3D movie at the Llano, so we don’t have to wear those crazy glasses that make the movie even darker.

The Finest Hours opened on January 29^th, 2016, and grossed almost $10,300,000 that weekend.  Total gross revenue for the three weeks the movie has been shown (through February 19^th) has been close to $25,500,000.  The Llano is showing the movie at 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 26-28^th.  See you there!

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 26 - 28

THE REVENANT R
March 4 - 6
RISEN PG-13
March 11 - 13

In the interest of full disclosure:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.

The Weight is Over

Dare I assume you’ve already seen Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2?  (I haven’t.  This will be my first panda movie.)  If you’ve seen the earlier epics, you probably know what to expect here.  What I didn’t know was that Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman provided the voices in all three versions of this animated feature, along with Jackie Chan, Seth Rogan, and a bunch of other noteworthy actors.  New to number 3 is Missoula favorite son J.K. Simmons, probably best known locally for his role as the Farmer’s Insurance Professor in the tv commercials, if not for his roles in Oz, Juno, Kim Possible, Whiplash, and oh so many more.  Imdb.com shows that he currently has ten roles in pre-production, post-production, etc. just for 2016 and 2017.  Personally, I’ve seen him on stage at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse in the role of Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm and in Missoula in the role of El Gallo in The Fantasticks.  Whether playing comedy, drama, or commercials, Kim (as I know him) is a truly wonderful actor.  I imagine he’s a great cartoon voice as well.  In this endeavor, Simmons does not play a panda, but rather the supernatural villain Kai, a yak! 

I don’t want to give away the plot, but if there’s a villain, then of course there has to be a hero, and it’s our old friend Po, voiced here as in numbers 1 and 2 by Jack Black.  Po’s teacher is Shifu, again voiced by Dustin Hoffman.  The question becomes can our hero, coached by his mentor, overcome the villain and save his home and friends.  Isn’t that always the question.

The movie opened in the U.S. on January 29, 2016 and grossed over $41 million on its opening weekend.  In the couple of weeks since then, it’s grossed a total of almost $94 million, so it’s a popular draw.  Jack Black has appeared on Conan O’Brian’s show plugging the movie, and J.K. Simmons and Lucy Liu have appeared, separately, on The Tonight Show doing the same.  Jack Black even appeared on Jeopardy when a category was devoted to this film.

Let’s not kid ourselves.  This is a family film.  One reviewer quoted on imdb.com had this to say:

But enough of the parent stuff, Kids will love it, so many little voices throughout the theater busted out in their joyous cute laughs, along with their parents. It has so much fun for children they will not be disappointed. 

But for adults, lets [sic] say us men will love the action and some cool above normal animation which happen all over the movie to keep some of us action junkies enthralled. And women will love the messages of love, family and self-worth with some beautiful scenes of colors and imagination. Not to say I didn't enjoy all aspects of the movie. 

I hope he’s right.  I’m looking forward to finding out for myself.  Running time is 95 minutes.  Playing February 19, 20, 21^st at 8:00 p.m., with a matinee Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., at the Llano Theatre, Plains, Montana.

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

KUNG FU PANDA 3 PG
February 19 - 21 matinee 3 p.m. Sunday

THE FINEST HOUR PG-13
February 26 - 28
THE REVENANT R
MRACH 4 - 6

In the interest of full disclosure:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.

Brooklyn

The movie Brooklyn is based on the novel of the same name by Irish novelist Colm Tóibín.  While I haven’t read this particular novel, I have read three other works by Tóibín, and know him to be an excellent word smith.  The story follows a young woman, an Irish immigrant to New York, who falls in love with an Italian fellow in the U.S., but whose romantic life becomes complicated when she returns to Ireland for a visit after the death of her sister.  The film puts many themes in opposition:  Ireland vs America, small town vs city life, immigrant vs native.  In the end, our heroine, Eilis Lacey by name, must choose where she truly belongs. 

The film was shot in Ireland as well as New York’s Coney Island, but apparently the part of New York City was played by Montreal.  The film debuted at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and caused a three-way bidding war which Fox Searchlight won in one of the largest deals to ever come out of Sundance.  The movie opened in a limited release on November 4^th, 2015, and in wide-release on November 25^th of that year.  The film grossed $187,281 in its opening weekend (remember, a limited release), and has grossed over $32 million in the two months since, easily repaying Fox Searchlight for its $9 million investment.

Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan stars as Eilis, and has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress for this role.  As a twelve-year-old, Ronan auditioned for and won the role of Briony Tallis in Joe Wright’s movie Atonement.  For this she was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress, one of the youngest ever nominated. Born in New York City, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents, she first went to Ireland at age 3.   She holds joint U.S./Irish citizenship and has acted in many films including The Lovely Bones and The Grand Budapest Hotel, where she plays the leading lady, Agatha.  Brooklyn is her first chance to play a role that is so close to her own story, her first “Irish” role.  Tóibín, writing in New York Magazine, says this about the actress:

The Ronans, on their return, came to live close to my town in Ireland. In fact, as Saoirse was growing up, they used to go to my local cinema. Thus she knows the inflections of my town, the tiny details of behavior and the mannerisms. But she knows something else, too, which sets her apart and gives her a sort of distance, a grandeur. She seems to have a real sense of her own almost ethereal beauty. You notice this when she comes into a room. She has a way of holding herself apart, controlling the light, controlling the response of those who turn to watch her.

Valentine’s Day is this weekend, and this universally acclaimed film seems like the perfect chance for a romantic evening with your loved one.  Brooklyn plays Friday, Saturday and Sunday, February 12^th -14^th, 2016, with showtimes at 8:00 p.m. each evening.  The movie runtime is 111 minutes, just shy of two hours.  And by the way, Saoirse is pronounced “Sear-sha” by Irish people, but the actress herself prefers “Ser-sha, like inertia.”  It’s Gaelic for “freedom.”

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

BROOKLYN PG-13
February 12 - 14

KUNG FU PANDA 3 PG
February 19 - 21

THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 26 - 28
REVENANT R
March 4 - 6
RISEN PG-13
March 11 - 13

In the interest of full disclosure:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.

Joy

Joy Mangano is a real person, a woman who started inventing things as a teenager.  She grew up, built a business, kept on inventing things, and has become a regular on the Home Shopping Network.  The movie, Joy, is based “loosely” on the life of the real woman, and stars Jennifer Lawrence.  Lawrence has already won a Golden Globe award as Best Actress for this role, and has been nominated for an Oscar in the same category.  Robert DeNiro plays father Rudy, and Elizabeth Röhm plays sister Peggy.   Röhm is probably best known for her roles in the tv shows Stalker, Beauty and the Beast and the original Heroes, but she will be seen on the big screen a lot in the next year as she has eight movies in production so far in 2016 as well as five roles from 2015.  Other characters you will probably recognize include Bradley Cooper, Diane Ladd, Isabelle Rossellini, Susan Lucci, and Ken Howard. 

The screenplay was written by David O. Russell, who also directed the movie.  He has twelve directing credits, including American Hustle and I Heart Huckabees,   both of which he also wrote.  The original story was written by Annie Mumulo, a comedienne, who also wrote and produced the movie Bridesmaids.   Mumulo took her inspiration from the life story of Joy Mangano, which is a pretty stimulating biography in its own right.  The real Joy grew up in an Italian-American home in New York.  She graduated with a business degree from Pace University, and invented the Miracle Mop.  Starting on QVC in 1992, she moved to HSN and today sells over $150 million a year on that channel.  Sounds like a good premise for a Lifetime movie.  She is listed as an Executive Producer of the movie version of her life, and has been boosting the movie on her own Facebook page, as well as using the movie in the inspirational quotes she posts on Twitter and Facebook.

Much has been written about how the movie differs from real life.  For instance, neither Mangano’s last name nor the product name “Miracle Mop” appear in the movie, but fiction often differs from reality.  The movie has received mixed reviews, but not the star.  This is Jennifer Lawrence’s show, no doubt about that.  She ages 20 years in the two-hour movie, and is so persuasive as she faces the shopping network tv cameras that you want to call in and buy a mop, or ten. 

A Christmas 2015 release, the movie grossed over $17 million on its opening weekend, and over $55 million in its first month.  That means that with an estimated budget of $60 million, the movie hasn’t quite paid for itself yet.  Maybe Joy needs to sell it on QVC.  And if you’re one of those folk who enjoy calling out “Hey Continuity Girl!” watch for DeNiro’s first entrance.  He comes in wearing RayBans, but when he turns around, the glasses are clear.  Turn again, and they’re back to being sunglasses.  Oh well.

Joy is scheduled to be shown Friday through Sunday, February 5^th through the 7^th, 2016 at the Llano Theatre on Railroad Street in downtown Plains.  Show times are 8 p.m. each evening; adult tickets are $5.00.

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

JOY PG-13
February 5 - 7
Unknown at this point
February 12 - 14
KUNG FU PANDA PG
February 19 - 21
THE FIFTH WAVE PG-13
February 26 - 28

In the interest of full disclosure:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.