“I Still Believe” Review
"Dark Waters" REVIEW
“Hotel Mumbai” Review
“Adrift” Review
“I Can’t Do this”- Tami Oldham
“You can do anything you put your mind to.” Richard Sharpe
The unbelievable true story of Tami and Richard who set sail from Tahiti to San Diego when their sail boat is nearly destroyed in a category five hurricane and leaves them adrift in the middle of the pacific ocean. Now it’s up to Tami to navigate and steer their boat as it drifts to the Hawaiian Islands. The question stands will they make it in time?
At an hour thirty six minute run time, the movie will leave audience members at the edge of their seats wondering if the next moment will be their last.
When the two trailers for this movie came out, they both leave one wanting to see for the adventure and thrill that goes into sailing ultimately around the world and the movie doesn’t disappoint. Edited seamlessly together, the viewer finds oneself on an adventure where they don’t know who will survive until the end but like the one line, it is the reason for sailing.
Richard says sailing is “Miserable, You’re either sun burnt, sleep deprived, or seasick and after awhile there’s hallucinations”. All of which is experienced in this hour and a half journey as one sees the love between a man and a woman tried and tested in this epic journey, but as Richard answers Tami as to why do it. “It’s a feeling, It’s intense. It’s just you and the infinite horizon.” The film definitely captures all of that and more in it’s hour 36 minute runtime.
Tami, played by Shailene Woodley in what is the most dramatic role of her career. Woodley does an exceptional job as a woman in the beginning who is that of a drifter herself. She arrives to tahiti only five months prior to meeting Richard and voyaging to California and yet she goes through the most growth as we see her challenged with trying to save not only herself but also the love of her life.
There are elements in this movie similar to Divergent series where again she is just trying to survive in the midst of being different and not fitting in but Woodley takes the passion from that film and elevates it to include that of learning how to survive when all hope should be lost. The other element is that of the romance aspect where we see in a short time how love as powerful as it is, it can drive one to do unexpectible things, even leaving with a stranger that she only mets a few short months ago but the message of
“come sail with me” rings true.
There is one other actor who is worth mentioning and that is of Richard played by Sam Claflin from Me Before You. Looking back on his previous work as a young man who is paralyzed, it is refreshing to see Claflin as more than a man paralyzed but one that helps guide Woodley to safety again. He portrays the same passion as he has in the past but he does it in such a way that one wonders after, did that really just happen? It’s a question at the end that the audience is left walking out with, but in a good way.
It’s about the journey and Adrift certainly takes us on a journey not only on the seas but also through the lives of our drifted lovers as it holds our attention from the first minute when Tami wakes up to water in the boat up to the moment when Richard truly professes his love.
Following in the shadows of the real life Tami and Richard, one could definitely see why the casting director chose Woodley and Clafin. There are emotions from both of them that definitely mirror that of the real life lovers. The actors did their research in the history in order to put on a star stunning performance that both Tami and Richard would be proud of.
Stx Entertainment’s Adrift is an action packed movie that combines elements of Castaway with that of The Notebook in a way that no movie has every done before. Sort of like Tom Hanks obsession with Walter the volleyball, but the director uses the love between a man and a woman in an effort to save at least one from the treacherous open seas. The bigger question is, do they succeed? One’ll have to see the movie to know the answer. Adrift came out in theaters Friday June 1 and is currently playing in a theater near you.
“Imagine” Review
“Imagine.”
It’s one word that has powerful depth when put into song and it is what drives both the movie as well as the inspiration behind what is said to be one of the most known songs in America.
The movie, based on the real life story of songwriter, Bart Milliard, (played by J. Michael Finley, in his debut role) shows the journey of Bart, as a singer songwriter, from childhood to musical sensation as we see the emotional struggle that ultimately shaped the song as a whole. The acting captures the heart of the story as a true piece of artwork and ultimately a love letter of redemption between a son to a father. In that way, regardless of religion or not, anyone who sees the movie or hears the song is immediately touched by its message.
Filmed primarily in Oklahoma City, the imagery captures the time period perfectly as the film picks up in 1985 when Young Bart (played by Brody Rose, from the film Gifted) is listening to a old school tape player which we learn is how he’s able to cope with the abuse in his house of both himself and his mother. Early on, we learn that music is going to be essential to what drives the young boy to overcome his father (played by Dennis Quaid), but we also see a shift in the boy after a trip to church camp tied to his mother leaving, where he suddenly wants to do everything to please his angry father, even by following in his father’s footsteps and joining the football team.
All in all, everything seems to be going well, until an injury his senior year haults his career and helps him rediscover the music in joining Glee club. From that moment, Bart is finally old enough to rebel against his father and he takes off, also leaving his childhood crush, Shannon (played by Madeline Carroll from the Resident Evil film) and venture out in search of himself with a church band called MercyMe, [a name given by his memaw (Cloris Leachman)].
From there, things continue to grow for the small town band as through a letter, Bart convinces music manager, Brickell (played by Trace Adkins) to help them find their voice, but ultimately it takes Bart finally realizing he must forgive his father and create a few special moments, in order to find the right song.
Ultimately, the audience also receives a little extra satisfaction of knowing the real life Mercy Me and Bart Milliard, when the director choses to let us know that Bart does reunite with his mother again.
At an hour and fifty minutes, “I Can Only Imagine” is a film that will have you fully engaged in the back story and once you know the truth, you won’t be able to listen to the song without a new sense of emotion. The film contains all that and more and although when one puts it next to other religious movies including “God’s Not Dead”, maybe it’s not as strong as the others, but still it gets the point across and by the end, the message of redemption will bring even the hardest of souls over swept with a bit of emotion, though may not be enough to shed a bit of tears.
Watch the trailer below and see “I Can Only Imagine” in a theater near you. It’s a great addition to be added to the long list of religious movie great.
Horse Soldiers Triumph
The action driven movie about the heroic horse soldiers who managed to conquer the Taliban in around 20 days is triumphing its opening weekend at the box office with 16.5 million finishing in number 2 behind the Jumanji sequel which has stayed at number 1 three weeks in a row.
Warner Brothers 12 Strong follows the brave soldiers who volunteered to go on a top secret mission in the mist of the devastation of 9-11. The film stars Chris Hemsworth as the captain who leads the 12 men through the regions of Afghanistan and home again and despite the United States lack of faith, all 12 returned home.
Ultimately,Chris Hemsworth‘s performance is by far the best yet as it shows that there is a serious side to him when things need to be serious and it also shows him as a leader that the men could follow.
12 Strong came out in theaters January 19th 2018, one can see it in a theater nearby.