“The Finest Hours” is an amazing docudrama that takes liberties here and there. It also treats accidental death with that Disney live-action panache. Does any of that interest you? Well, if it doesn’t…Star Wars is still in theaters. For those still interested, it’s neat to see Chris Pine offer up his best attempt to sound like vintage Matt Damon. You almost see him winning Casey Affleck’s respect.
Naval period drama evokes that kind of appreciation that only exists in aging male relatives that just want to be left alone to watch the Military Channel. Films like this work hard to recreate times gone by, while forcing young Hollywood to cosplay as people who hate their other work. But, don’t dwell on that. After all, you have stunning scenes of boats being wrecked and cars smashing into snow! Plus, Kubiak gets killed. It’s almost as good as his death scene in “Out of Sight”.
What hurts this film is the fact that it’s another pride and true January release. For those that don’t get the inside baseball references, January releases are dumping grounds. Whether you’re getting out of the way of a Christmas blockbuster or a studio is creating a tax shelter, these are the movies that were greenlit but lost the trigger pulls before release. I’m sure that most of you will check this out when it’s a value priced Blu-Ray. So, we’ll talk then.
Release Date: 1/29/16
