Best Directors: Ron Howard

Ron Howard is a genuine talent, not only in front of the camera, but behind as well.  While he first started off in front of the camera with TV shows like The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, his real talent was behind the camera where his ability to direct became apparent.  His first real success came with the science fiction film Cocoon.  While he has had a number of hits and misses, some of the best movies in the world exist solely because of Howard.  While he ain’t much to look at, this guy knows his movies and how to craft ’em.  For this edition of The Best Directors, we will be examining some of Ron Howard’s best movies.

Willow

Besides Star Wars and Star TrekWillow was one of my favorite movies growing up and it still is today.  From a visual standpoint, this is a very unique film.  The main hero of the film is a “little person” named Willow, played by Warwick Davis and is one of my favorite actors.  Val Kilmer plays the bad-ass Madmartigan, and is one of the most charismatic characters put on screen.  Willow had a surprisingly dark and bleak tone to the whole affair, because the story revolves around a child that’s destined to destroy the evil queen Bavmorda, who is more than willing to slaughter each and every newborn so her reign of terror can continue.  The visual effects in this movie were simply way ahead of their time, and used a lot of stop-motion animation, miniatures, and a little CG in a groundbreaking morphing sequence.  Willow is one of the most interesting fantasy films to date and has some of the best acting I’ve seen in a movie of this kind.  This is definitely one I can easily recommend.  Ron Howard did an amazing job with this one, even though it bombed at the box office.  That’s a shame, really, I would have loved to have seen a sequel.

The Missing

The Missing is quite possibly one of the most riveting and intense Westerns I have ever seen.  The film stars Cate Blanchett as a widowed rancher when one of her daughters disappears.  She then enlists the aid of her father, played by Tommy Lee Jones.  Together they set out to find the missing girl.  This is probably one of the grittiest Westerns out there.  It doesn’t shy away from the violence or some of the really bizarre happenings that take place throughout the movie.  It’s a Western, but it also has some supernatural elements to it that make it stand out from the pack.  The performances from Blanchett and Jones are simply astounding.  Ron Howard clearly knows how to build tension and emotion to the point where it becomes cathartic.  It’s not going to be a film for everyone as there are some disturbing scenes in the film, but rarely do you find a Western that’s so gripping.

Apollo 13

“Houston, we have a problem.”  Ever since the real Apollo 13 incident, these words of been immortalized in history.  This was one of the most terrifying events in human history.  While a film could have easily exploited the near-tragedy, Ron Howard managed to craft a solid, believable and incredibly thrilling film about one of the biggest challenges ever to face NASA.  Perfectly cast with the likes of Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris, and Gary Sinise, Apollo 13 is one of the most memorable and intense dramas released in the last twenty-five years.  The film won MULTIPLE awards and is highly regarded as one of Ron Howard’s best movies.

The Da Vinci Code

This one’s going to be a bit controversial for some.  The Da Vinci Code is a movie that I really, really like.  Here’s the thing, though:  I’ve also read the book by Dan Brown.  The book garnered a lot of controversy, because it questioned a lot of the dearly-held beliefs of the Catholic Church.  In fact, the book AND the movie really jabbed the Church in the eye.  The Catholic Church was very quick to condemn the book, because they felt it was blasphemous.  The movie, on the other hand, was controversial because people thought it was pretentious, preachy and boring.  I didn’t.  I loved every minute of it.  The acting was fantastic, and while some of the puzzles and solutions in the film seem kind of coincidental, it’s still a really great story.  Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, and Jean Reno star in one of Ron Howard’s more controversial movies.

In The Heart of the Sea

 

In The Heart of the Sea is based on the actual events of the Essex, the whaling ship in 1820 that was destroyed by a whale.  The story of the Essex, in turn, inspired the fictional story of Moby Dick, written by Herman Melville.  This is absolutely one of the most stunning movies released last year.  It features a very strong cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Ben Wishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Benjamin Walker, Tom Holland, and Cillian Murphy.  This is one of those epic sea movies that strangely didn’t get a lot of attention.  It’s a shame, because it’s an incredible story.  While many have complained about the excessive use of CGI, I thought the film engrossing and extremely riveting.  This one is definitely a must-watch if you’re a fan of Ron Howard’s work.

While Ron Howard made many more films than what I’ve covered here, there is no doubt in my mind that he is one of Hollywood’s most talented directors, despite a few….misfires.  I think his movies are incredibly worthwhile and very entertaining while telling a great story.  Ron Howard is an amazing story-teller and I can’t wait to see what he does next.

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