The Finest Hours

With overtones of barely believable dramatics, and depictions of natural disaster that would put an alien planet to shame, The Finest Hours, it must me remembered, comes from the Disney stable. And Disney shows – as always – how the impossible is achieved with true panache. Bernie (Chris Pine) seeks to resurrect his rather patchy coast guarding history with heroics beyond all belief, that we are told closely approximate true events.

13/20

The First Trek

The first thing that struck me about Star Trek is the simplicity of execution. For a TV series that I remember for its inherent complexity in terms of the issues depicted, the introduction to the key characters, their motivations and their budding interrelationships is surprisingly devoid of complications. The special effects though undoubtedly top of the line (and hence in sharp relief to the TV series), are by no means the focus of the story. This is about how young leaders take responsibility for thinking through and resolving challenging situations, well too aware of the consequences if they take a misstep. In terms of characters, while Kirk is a little over the top as a brash young man, Spock comes across as the conflicted half-man half-Vulcan with all the inherent conflict in such a character. Not worth # 46 all time on IMDB, but definitely an un-missable movie of the year

16.5/20