Movie No. 6 (2014): CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Captain Phillips (2013)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi

Paul Greengrass once again succeeds in recreating drama of a real event with artistic passion. He did it well in United 93 in 2006. He does it again in Captain Phillips. He has the ability to create scenes (in fact, continuous scenes) that never fail to sustain tension, which is supposedly the point he tries to make.

Tom Hanks is back. The last time I saw him essay a memorable performance was in Philadelphia. This is just my opinion. Yes, I saw him in Forrest Gump and Cast Away, where he did well, too. But in my book, such performances were just okay, not much to rave about. But in Captain Phillips, he's just unforgettable. He really looks like a captain, not because he's in uniform but because of the gestures and sense of authority he exudes. And during the tense moments, he does masterful acting like a mixture of fear, defiance, worry, hope, and cunning manifesting in his facial expressions. The same can be said about the reluctance and false authority displayed in Barkhad Abdi's gestures as the leader of the Somalian Pirates that seized Captain Phillips' ship.

Rating: 4.0/4.0

Date seen: January 10, 2013