Tag Archives: La La Land

The Boys in the Boat

The book was better. I’ve never read the book but I know it was better than the movie version of The Boys in the Boat. 

If you enjoy cliché-ridden sports stories about individuals and/or teams who overcome steep odds to claim victory in their field of competition, then this movie is for you. I myself was bored with this film.

Okay, a few positives: The depiction of Seattle’s Depression-era shantytown was impressive, no matter whether it was real or partly computer generated. The moving grandstand, on a rail car I guess, which allowed spectators to move parallel to the crew teams as they moved down the Hudson River is cool. And the overhead shots of the sculls racing along provide a pleasing images.

A big negative: Director George Clooney chose Joel Edgerton to play Al Ulbrickson, coach of the University of Washington crew team. The team goes on—spoiler alert—to represent the U.S. at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Sorry, but to me it just seems wrong to cast as the leader of Team USA… an Aussie! No disrespect to Edgerton, a fine actor, but were there no Americans available for this role? 

That’s not as bad as Ava DuVarney’s casting of Brits to play MLK, LBJ and George Wallace in her movie Selma. That still stinks!

Another positive: The Boys in the Boat is rated PG-13. So you can take the whole family. There’s romance that’s sweet and innocent and only one veiled reference to sex (but it’s married couple sex, so that’s okay.) Little kids might be amused if they’ve never seen any of these kinds of stories. And even 90-somethings might dig a movie set within their lifespans. But overall, this is ground that has be trod by makers of sports movies time and time again. Although… there are not many films about rowing. (Unless you count the rowing in the recent Lessons in Chemistry.)

If Nana loved Emma Stone in La La Land and thinks that the movie Poor Things looks interesting, steer her instead to The Boys in the Boat. She may nod off during TBITB, but she is also less likely to walk out ashen-faced.

The Boys in the Boat is the kind of movie that Nick Saban might take his Bama team to see the night before they face Michigan. It emphasizes teamwork, stick-to-it-ivness, conditioning and all that. Or, maybe not, since it’s a lily-white cast of characters. As mentioned before, and merits mentioning again, the film is rated PG-13.

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First Man

Firstman

Can the landing of the first man on the moon be… anticlimactic? In First Man, it almost is.

For a couple of reasons. We know how it turns out. The video is iconic. The “small step/giant leap” quote is ingrained into our beings.

But mainly, First Man delivers tension, suspense and the threat of peril in the life and career of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) well before the moon landing. By the time Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) are ready to moonwalk, the film has already presented the stoic Armstrong in situations that put him through intense physical and emotional challenges.

Yes, the moon landing is First Man’s money shot. And, yes, there’s a tingle that comes when the lunar vehicle is looking for a landing spot. But what precedes that event is what makes the movie another winner from director Damien Chazelle of La La Land and Whiplash fame.

The real life Armstrong was not as outgoing as other U.S. astronauts. Shepard, Glenn, Aldrin, Cooper and others were more visible via media. Armstrong, though not a recluse, did not seem to savor the limelight.

Gosling is excellent in his portrayal of a man who generally keeps his emotions in check. I’d argue that it’s harder to portray this kind of individual convincingly than to play more flamboyant types.

First Man shows Armstrong as a family man dealing with crises at home as well as a space pioneer applying his knowledge and talents to his job. His wife Janet (Claire Foy) provides needed support but also confronts him just before the moon mission, demanding he talk to his sons about the danger and risk ahead.

As other space films have shown, there is friendly competition among astronauts but a special camaraderie also exists. Armstrong’s grief when fellow spacemen-to-be suffer bad fates is deeply felt.

The soundtrack by Justin Hurwitz complements the visuals and the action beautifully.

The story of the Neil Armstrong you never knew (unless you read the book that First Man is based on) adds meaningful context to recollections of the space race and that singular accomplishment America achieved one Sunday evening in July 1969.

 

 

 

 

 

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