Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

ron howard

McCoy on Movies: THIRTEEN LIVES

By

Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen lead dramatic based on true events tale that should garner Academy Award contention

“Yes, there is more water up ahead … But luckily, no sharks!” (L to R) Colin Farrell as John Volanthen, Joel Edgerton as Harry Harris and Viggo Mortensen as Rick Stanton in THIRTEEN LIVES, directed by Ron Howard, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Vince Valitutti / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
 

 

DIRECTOR: Ron Howard

KEY CAST MEMBERS: Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Chris Jewel, Paul Gleeson, Thira ’Aum’ Chutikul, Sahajak ’Poo’ Boonthanakit, Popetorn ‘Two’ Soonthornyanakij, Thiraphat ’Tui’ Sajakul, Sukollawat ’Weir’ Kanarot and Pattrakorn ’Ploy’ Tungsupakul
THE BACK STORY: In 2018, a Thai soccer team of twelve boys and their head coach (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) ventured into a cave after practice. Then, much to their dismay, monsoon season started far earlier than expected, flooding the cave and trapping them inside. Once their families realized what had happened, their story captivated the nation and then the world, drawing attention from rescue volunteers around the globe.
Among those who find themselves motivated to help John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), the grizzled Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and anesthesiologist Harry Harris (Joel Edgerton), three veteran British cave divers. On a short list of recommended experts, the trio arrive on the scene only to discover things are far worse than they ever anticipated. But with a combination of help from the local governor (Sahajak ‘Poo’ Boonthanakit), the leader of his rescue team (Thira ‘Aum’ Chutikul) and the thousands of villagers and volunteers that come to help, the boys and their coach may have a chance to survive an extremely dire situation just yet.

THE REVIEW: There are two compliments I can give THIRTEEN LIVES that should sum up how good the Ron Howard-directed drama is: One, it’s the best work I’ve ever seen Colin Farrell do, which is high praise considering I have not always been a fan of his work (see Recall, Total) and two, the film at times feels more like a documentary than a scripted affair based on true events. There are no hokey “man up” inspirational speeches, the doubt, panic and anxiety of the situation is felt by multiple characters in a manner that never feels forced or inauthentic and the story, which is captivating on its own, features multiple insights into everything from Thai culture to the commonalities of humanity across borders. At no point in time do you feel like you’re watching characters; instead, you are watching people simply trying to help other people do something extraordinary than few of us likely could.
If the film has one flaw/deterrent, it would be it’s 2-and-a-half-hour run time. Then again, given the two-plus weeks the boys were stuck in the cave, that’s a small sacrifice to make to take in a compelling tale worthy of Academy Award consideration in several categories come next year.
THIRTEEN LIVES almost feels like a bit of a misnomer for the film title-wise. For the movie may begin with your focus on 13 lives, but by its end, it’s incredibly difficult to think about the thousands of people that came together to save them and others that will be inspired by their efforts.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

 

 

 

TIFF 2019 – Day #8

By

Hello Most Metro,

Things are winding down at TIFF.  I’ve seen 28 films so far, and I have 1.25 days left.  Today seemed like a “minor” day.  Nothing extraordinary…but lots of tear to start off the day.

DADS,  a sweet documentary, was my first film of the day. “Director Bryce Dallas Howard teams up with her father, Ron Howard, to explore contemporary fatherhood through anecdotes and wisdom from famous funnymen such as Will Smith, Jimmy Fallon, Neil Patrick Harris, and more.” (taken from TIFF catalog) This little film has a fantastic opening sequence – it’s funny, poignant, inclusive, and provokes reflection and introspection and brought me to tears right off the bat. There’s a lot to love about this little film, but it does lose some steam in the third act.  (Am I getting old and tired, or do more and more films need recuts?) There is a lot of priceless material here, and the topic is valuable.

COMING HOME AGAIN was my next film. “A Korean American man cares for his ailing mother while trying to master her traditional cooking in the latest from Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club), based on Chang-rae Lee’s New Yorker short story.” (taken from TIFF catalog)  This film starts out in a languid manner – lots of lingering shots without much happening (except everything is happening).  A young man is caring for his mother who is dying of stomach Cancer, and the days stretch on with little happening – thus the pace. But eventually some old wounds start to surface, and some additional players enter the scene – and the performances are not of the same caliber.  In the last 25 minutes, I felt like the film went off its quiet rails and not at all in a good way.  I don’t see much box office life for this one.

LYREBIRD, my last film of the day, just got picked up by Sony Classics.   “In Dan Friedkin’s directorial debut, a soldier and member of the Dutch resistance (Claes Bang) investigates stolen art in the wake of the Second World War, including a Vermeer sold to the Nazis by a flamboyant painter (Guy Pearce).” (taken from TIFF catalog)  Based on a true story, this movie goes big (at least the score and some of the performances do) and the audience seemed to like it.  The mystery at the first act’s core was an easy solve, and the movie changes genres a couple times. Though there were aspects of the story I appreciated, my final response was more of a shoulder shrug.

Thanks for checking in.

Tomorrow is my last full day of movies, and then I need to pack my bags…I head home after one movie on Saturday morning.

Cheers,
Jonathan