Captain Philips

Tonight I saw Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi.

Captain Rich Phillips (Hanks) is an east coast merchant marine leading a new crew through the dangerous waters of Africa to deliver cargo. Muse (Abdi) is a Somali pirate that leads a handful of fellow pirates to take over the Captain's ship. Despite the elaborate security measures, Muse succeeds.

After a nerve-wracking chain of events (all happening while the U.S. Navy Seals are getting their ducks in a row to initiate a rescue), the pirates leave the ship and escape on one of its lifeboats with Captain Phillips as their hostage.

What happened over the course of five days in real life is chronicled in just over two hours here, but it's no less harrowing. The Captain talks to them, negotiates the extension of his life and feels compassion for the youngest pirate, who is just a kid. Tempers flare, weapons are drawn and physical fights are commonplace.

What makes Paul Greengrass such a phenomenal director is how real it all feels, though it's not something everyday people will ever truly know. His gift for capturing the sound of desperate breaths, the temperature in a space and the discombobulation of chaos is unique.

All of the performances in this film are first-rate; most notably those of the pirates who weren't even actors before they took on these roles.

I can't imagine this won't get a ripple of well-deserved Oscar nominations.

~~~

The Bourne Ultimatum

This morning I saw The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon and Julia Stiles.

This was definitely the best film of the trilogy. The first one lacked sentiment, the second one was simply a 'setup' device for the third, but this one had everything: action, suspense, drama, comedy and heart.

The heart is what really sets it apart from its predecessors.

In a very brief, yet pivotal scene, Nicky (Stiles) conveys more love for Bourne (Damon) than Marie (Franke Potente) did in either of the two movies. A twist I (and hopefully the rest of the audience) didn't see coming.

And while their 'love' story is never defined, her loyalty to him essentially saves him and vice versa.

Another standout in the film is David Strathairn as Noah Vosen, a bitter government big shot hell bent on burying Bourne and anyone who stands in his way from doing so. He's pitch perfect in this role because he's evil without being menacing and makes it easy for you to side with the assassin.

This film is also less dizzying than part two and the story moves at a more comfortable pace (read: I didn't feel like throwing up because of the camera work in this one).

My only gripe would be that it had a wink of an ending that almost begs for The Bourne Resurrection.

Let's hope they just let sleeping assassins lie.