Voyaging
#79: Captain Phillips - The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. [imdb]
The last phrase of that summary has nothing to do with anything in the movie and is not even a reference. (For what it's worth.) The movie has more than enough to handle without that factoid, and it handles it quite well.
Paul Greengrass was the perfect person to direct this movie. He knows how to do constant intensity and desperation without ever feeling like it's operating by rote; the action is organic to the scene and to the characters, on whom the camera is constantly in tight. Tom Hanks, too, does his best work in years*. His progression through the movie, all the way through to the end, reminds you that he's not just the consistently likeable Tom Hanks, but an award-winning star.
*Caveat: I haven't seen Cloud Atlas.
The movie does well at showing multiple perspectives, although it doesn't focus on morality or the broader issues, preferring to stick to the immediate story and play to the filmmakers' skills. It doesn't oversimplify the hijacking and all that ensues to a strictly two-sided problem. It's a really effective elevator story, essentially. I would recommend that you catch it soon, since it's giving way in theatres now to the parade of holiday season movies (omg so excite).
My backlog is growing and will continue to grow this weekend. Even Thor yet awaits me. Eep!
The last phrase of that summary has nothing to do with anything in the movie and is not even a reference. (For what it's worth.) The movie has more than enough to handle without that factoid, and it handles it quite well.
Paul Greengrass was the perfect person to direct this movie. He knows how to do constant intensity and desperation without ever feeling like it's operating by rote; the action is organic to the scene and to the characters, on whom the camera is constantly in tight. Tom Hanks, too, does his best work in years*. His progression through the movie, all the way through to the end, reminds you that he's not just the consistently likeable Tom Hanks, but an award-winning star.
*Caveat: I haven't seen Cloud Atlas.
The movie does well at showing multiple perspectives, although it doesn't focus on morality or the broader issues, preferring to stick to the immediate story and play to the filmmakers' skills. It doesn't oversimplify the hijacking and all that ensues to a strictly two-sided problem. It's a really effective elevator story, essentially. I would recommend that you catch it soon, since it's giving way in theatres now to the parade of holiday season movies (omg so excite).
My backlog is growing and will continue to grow this weekend. Even Thor yet awaits me. Eep!