adamgehrke.com

Based on the 1820 event that would inspire Herman Melville’s tale Moby Dick (Ben Whishaw), an aged Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) recounts his story of the great white whale that would hunt down Captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) and First Mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) along with the rest of the whaling ship Essex, stranding the crew thousands of miles from home. Directed by Ron Howard, this classic tale is retold with creative cinematography, inspiring and beautiful score, and quality special effects. Sadly, this tale is also appears to have been told without a dialect coach on set, and without a tremendous amount of creativity in the storytelling department, sure it’s a whale of a tale but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly riveting when it needs to be. Still, Howard’s eye has certainly created something beautiful to look at, even if the story itself falls shy of Melville’s classic writings. Perhaps a matinee without the 3D goggles, In the Heart of the Sea is rated PG-13.

Macbeth (Michael Fassbender), a Thane of Scotland is coaxed into believing that one day he will become the King of Scotland by a trio of witches. Driven by his own ambition and his semi villainous wife, Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard), Macbeth murders his king to take the throne for himself, but at what consequence? Directed by Justin Kurzel and loosely based upon the writings of William Shakespeare this lugubriously slow paced cinematic wonder is set to impress audiences with stunning cinematography and staging, solid performances, and a hauntingly simplistic and desolate score to burn in the ears. The challenge? Rough dialect and old English combine to make a confounding dialogue between the players; hard to crack that nut. Still, for those in search of beauty and rage all combined in one, you’ve come to the right place. Macbeth is rated R.