A rescue mission is assembled in Thailand where a group of young boys and their soccer coach are trapped in a system of underground caves that are flooding.

The 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue was an event that captured the world’s attention as twelve school-aged soccer players and their coach were caught in a sudden monsoon and seemingly lost in the depths of a harrowing cave. With the water rising, and hope beginning to fade a collection of skilled oddballs and adrenaline junkies were brought in to help find a miracle, and their heroism under pressure would lead to one of the greatest events in human history. This is the setting that Ron Howard brings us into in Thirteen Lives, and with his meticulous attention to detail and almost documentarian-like focus, he puts audiences right at the core of this story.

As a filmmaker, Ron Howard has been responsible for some of the best films of the last two decades. From Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and Rush, he’s a filmmaker who can put his audience right into the centre of the action. He also has a real craft of capturing true-to-life stories and characters, and this is exactly the approach he brings to Thirteen Lives. In his narrative, Howard finds a great split between his focus on the team of rescue divers who are brought in throughout the world to help coordinate the diving mission, along with the central Thai characters who saw it as their duty to rescue the boys. From start to end the clock is ticking with Thirteen Lives and Howard ramps up the severity of the narrative as minute by minute ticks by and you wonder how the hell these divers are going to reach the trapped boys.

As a cinematic experience, Thirteen Lives will have you on a razor’s edge. Howard’s approach to capturing the action of this unfolding rescue in a minute-by-minute stance creates a brewing sense of paranoia and intensity in the audience. Just how the hell are the divers and the Thai government going to get these kids out? Along with the bureaucratic back and forth, and measures of control and micro-management amidst an operation that is growing ever more dangerous by the moment are the film’s intense underwater scenes that capture the diver’s rescue action. Dark, claustrophobic and dread-inducing these moments make for an intense watch and Howard captures both a ‘fear of the water’ quality, along with the skill, calm and professionalism of the divers who took on this mission.

With his principal cast, Ron Howard completely lucks out with the presence of Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton as rescue divers Richard Stanton, John Volanthen and Dr Richard ‘Harry’ Harris. Each of the performers does a great job in realising their character with Mortensen capturing the standoffish yet peak professionalism of Stanton, Farrell bringing a parent’s concern and committed focus to courage as Volanthen and Egerton being the outsider who takes a gamble as Harris. The three men act well together and complement each other in their performances. Thirteen Lives benefits greatly from their addition to the cast and these actors’ commitment to the men they portray and the story they’re bringing to life.

Thirteen Lives is far and away one of the most heroic and awe-inspiring pieces of film that you’ll see all year. It’s a phenomenally intense watch and you’ll be spellbound by the narrative, performances, cinematography and intensity of this story and it’s honouring one of the greatest achievements in human history. So hold your breath tight and prepare to go under because Thirteen Lives is one incredible watch.

Thirteen Lives is now streaming on Prime Video.

Image: Thirteen Lives

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Set in an uncharted galactic frontier, talented young thief and wannabe pilot Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) finds himself with the opportunity of a lifetime as he is drafted into a high stakes criminal heist that could very well make him the greatest pilot in the whole of the galaxy.

Just as in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo mixes things up with the application of a fresh setting and genres. Taking up the reins this time is long time Hollywood legend Ron Howard who gets chance to put his own spin on the Star Wars canon. What he delivers is a Western/Crime movie hybrid that introduces audiences to the edge of the Empire where the only thing that matters is survival. Here an oppressed society lives under the will of a host of dangerous crime syndicates that control this part of the galaxy with an iron fist. This darker setting makes for great viewing and Howard imbues it with all of the tropes that we’ve come to expect from these genres such as gunfights, gambling dens, confidence tricks and a handful of dynamic chase sequence. I’ve long wanted to really see a Western/Crime edge brought to the franchise and it’s pretty cool to see this realized up on the big-screen.

What also separates Solo from the other Star Wars films is that it is very much a biographical film exploring the early life of the Galaxy’s greatest ever smuggler. But when we first meet Han he sure has a long way to go. Taking on the part is rising star Alden Ehrenreich and the young actor does a great job in the role. How does he do this you ask? Simple, he makes the character his own. Harrison Ford is a hard act to follow for any actor, but with Han Solo it’s a whole other level. But if Ehrenreich felt any pressure he definitely didn’t show it up on screen, and his performance is pretty damn cool to watch.

Ehrenreich’s Han is in his early twenties when we meet him and he’s got a lot to prove. Growing up a slum rat he’s dreamed of escaping into space and he finally gets his chance here. Ehrenreich’s Han is the Han we know, except not fully formed. He’s got a little bit more idealism in him, and he’s not the cynical merc we first meet in A New Hope. He’s cocky, brash and has a talent for getting himself into trouble but somehow he’s always able to find a way out. In Solo we also get to see how Han first met his co-pilot and best friend Chewbacca, but let me say that their first meeting is not at all friendly. However Ehrenreich and Chewbacca performer Joonas Suotamo really get the Han/Chewie chemistry and make for a great odd couple up on screen.

Being the lovable rogue that he is Han also has a way with the ladies and here we meet the woman that shapes his  early life in the form of his childhood sweetheart Qi’ra played by Emilia Clarke. Clarke’s Qi’ra is first and foremost a survivor and has a had a very hard road in life. She’s a real femme fatale type character and even though you can feel the love that they share for each other, it’s clear that she has her own interior motives. Glamorous, alluring, dazzling and very capable Qi’ra has some very cool moments on-screen and her decisions ultimately shape Han into the man he will become.

However if this film does indeed have a scene stealer than I have to give it to Donald Glover as the galaxy’s smoothest operator Lando Calrissian. While Han might be the wannabe pilot here, Glover’s Calrissian is the veteran and he’s certainly got a few rumors chasing him. It’s best to describe Glover as the coolest guy in the room and he certainly brings this energy and swagger to the role. He’s supremely confident in his abilities and he has plenty of back and forth verbal sparring with Han who he views as a bit of try-hard. Paired with Calrissian is his faithful droid L3-37 portrayed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. You’ve never seen a droid like L3 before and she puts all other droids to shame. Sassy and up for the good cause she’s very happy to stir the pot to help liberate her fellow droids and her interaction’s with Lando and girl chat sessions with Qi’ra really crank up the humor.

Ron Howard keeps the action interesting with Solo and he doesn’t just rely on your standard blaster fight fest. He mixes things up and introduces some particularly cool heist and chase elements which keep things fresh. And yes the Millennium Falcon is a crucial part to the story, although it’s not ‘a hunk of junk’ here. Instead it’s all shiny and fresh of the production line and being Lando’s ship has a particularly cool style to it. While I can’t go into details on the film’s coolest scene which references a particularly cool part of the Star Wars mythos without falling into spoiler territory, I will say that you get to see the Falcon in all her glory….and she’s very, very fast.

While Solo is ultimately its own standalone movie it also offers some great insight into the larger picture of A New Hope and the Star Wars canon. Its definitely something I wasn’t expecting and sort of draws on Han’s destiny and the ultimate secret that even though he considers himself to be an outlaw he’s fundamentally the good guy.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is a very fun ride and really took me by surprise with what it offers to its audience. It’s jam packed with action and has plenty of cool character moments and the cast do a phenomenal job. Trust me when I say you’ll want to engage the hyper drive and make the jump to light speed for this one.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures

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Adapted from terrifying true events, In the Heart of the Sea takes place in 1820 when the crew of the whaling ship Essex, including Captain George Pollard Jr. (Benjamin Walker) and first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth), were struck by a large bull sperm whale and shipwrecked at sea for 90 days. 

Here’s five reasons to watch:

5. A moving oil canvas

Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle captures the wild beauty of the ocean with magnificent depth, detail, and colour that makes one feel like they are watching an oil canvas painting come alive on screen. Utilising a sepia palette of deep aquas and blues, Mantle truly captures the wildness of the ocean, setting the scene for the climactic duel between man and beast.

4. A cabin boy’s tale

Making a mark on the big screen is young thespian Tom Holland as the Essex’s cabin boy Thomas Nickerson. Holland is fearless in the emotion that he brings to the very green Nickerson who, while feeling the call of the ocean, is not void of the fear that grips him at the prospect of his future. Holland offers a completely humanising performance, and audiences will cling to him as their introduction to this different, magnificent, and often dangerous world.

3. Ron Howard – a man caught in eye of the storm 

It takes a master navigator to guide a ship through a storm, and legendary director Ron Howard does so with passion and expertise. In a tribute to his immense talents as a filmmaker, Howard is able to handle the dual narratives of a powerful and exotic adventure tale, before suddenly throwing his audiences head first into the insurmountable horrors of being lost at sea. With Howard at the helm of the ship, In the Heart of the Sea transcends the boundary of a historical adventure tale to a meditation on the human spirit and character.

2. The clash at sea

Central to the success of In the Heart of the Sea are co-leads Chris Hemsworth and Benjamin Walker, who bring a clash of ideology and a direct competitiveness to their performances. In the role of First Mate Owen Chase, Chris Hemsworth is the heroic Alpha Male of the sea, who has conquered it numerous times. However, when he is passed over for promotion, his arrogance and foolhardiness sends his crew spiraling into the abyss. Playing opposite Hemsworth’s Chase is Benjamin Walker as the ill-equipped, but purposeful and pompous Captain George Pollard whose inexperience and recklessness at sea comes as a direct result of his desire to one-up Chase at every turn. Both Hemsworth and Walker play off of each masterfully, and their choices and rash actions drive the story to a titillating climax.

1. Beast of the great depths

The magnificent beast that Pollard, Chase and the rest of their crew intend to plunder really brings the fury of Mother Nature upon them in brutal anger. This silent creature, constructed using CGI, is a literal force that represents the themes of an untamed ocean, and the unstoppable force of nature that both Howard and author Herman Melville (whom is portrayed in the film by Ben Whishaw) were first captured by. A symbol of power, strength, and beauty, the Whale who stalks the crew of the Essex and punishes them for their crimes against nature, is a brilliantly realised creation.

Imaage source: Roadshow Films.

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