Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

1/26/2025

In the Heart of the Sea (2015) - Howard and stars mostly lost at sea

♥♥

The dimensions of a man swimming behind a massive whale are astonishing on this poster for Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea

Herman Melville comes to Nantucket, New England in 1850 and pressures a local to relate to him the story of how the whaling ship the Essex suffered a cruel fate on a mission thirty years prior.

In the Heart of the Sea is written by Charles Leavitt (The Mighty (1998)), with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), both) contributing story elements, adapting the same-titled 1999 non-fiction book by Nathaniel Philbrick (Abram's Eyes (1998)), and co-produced and directed by great Oklahoman filmmaker Ron Howard (Grand Theft Auto (1977)).

Not an adaptation of Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick (1851), rather this is about the true-story genesis of his novel. In the Heart of the Sea attracts with its colorful seafaring adventure. Whaling, to most people, is about as exotic as it can get. The film succeeds rather well in portraying this fascinating activity, no doubt with enormous practical difficulties, not least because the activity is so hard to imagine doing.

But good maritime scenes cannot cover the many egregious choices made by the filmmakers: The film is about Melville, - but then not really. It is about first mate Owen Chase's (Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok (2017))) marriage, - but then not really. And there's a fair argument to be made that Hemsworth is not enough of a dramatic actor to carry the part. It is about Chase's rivalry with the ship's stubborn captain, - but then not really. Finally the film is about the young Thomas, who sees everything through a big kid's eyes: SPOILER Tom Holland (Avengers: Endgame (2019)) is too cute for this part, and when as a grown man he has become Brendan Gleeson (The Village (2004)) it is impossible to see how and when the two could have possible morphed.

Maybe Howard was too unfocused during the making of the film, (he was tweeting and instagraming during shooting), or perhaps not personally invested enough. In any case, In the Heart of the Sea rumbles along hither and dither without much luck.

Ron Howard: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Disney, Howard and Co. drive expensive stick through beloved franchise

Inferno (2016) - Howard's third Langdon adventure is among the year's worst films

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (interview subject)

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
Frost/Nixon (2008) - Howard's political drama is gripping, superiorly acted
The Da Vinci Code (2006) - Howard's first Brown adaptation is a popcorn thriller hoot

2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
A Beautiful Mind (2001) - John Nash given the Epic Treatment
EDtv (1999) - Phenomenal cast shine in Howard's witty mega-flop

Far and Away (1992) - Howard, Hollywood's sweethearts visit the old West with dull result (co-writer/director)
Backdraft (1991) - Howard's giant, stupid Chicago-set firefighter movie

Grand Theft Auto (1977) or, Crash Bam Boom!
American Graffiti (1973) or, Cruisin' Modesto '62 (actor)

Watch a trailer for the movie here

Cost: 100 mil. $

Box office: 94.3 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 0.94 times its cost)

[In the Heart of the Sea premiered 2 December (London) and runs 122 minutes. 10 companies cooperated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from September 2013 in Spain and England, including in London. The film opened #2, behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, to an 11 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 25 mil. $ (26.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Mexico with 6.3 mil. $ (6.7 %) and South Korea with 5.7 mil. $ (6 %). The film made an estimated 8.6 mil. $ additionally on the domestic home video market. Howard returned with The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (2016, documentary) and theatrically with Inferno (2016). Hemsworth returned in The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016). In the Heart of the Sea is rotten at 42 % with a 5.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In the Heart of the Sea?

No comments:

Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this month ... (3-25)

1/26/2025

In the Heart of the Sea (2015) - Howard and stars mostly lost at sea

No comments:

Post a Comment

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (2-25)

My Blog List