Captain Phillips quick review (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

A solid but not perfect effort. Still thus movie pins you to your seat, grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Some really great menacing performances Solid A

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Does it use the standard Greengrass shakycam? I'd like to see it but I can't watch his Bourne movies due to the non-stop handheld camerawork!

 

[mattCR]

There is quite a bit of shakycam. But not so much that I found it off putting.

 

[TravisR]

Thanks for the warning. I guess it's more the first person POV shots that really get me nauseous but I'll be sitting in the back of theater to stave off potential motion sickness.

 

[schan1269]

I'm on the fence because of A Hijacking.

Anybody seen both?

 

[Kevin EK]

I thought Captain Phillips was okay. Good performances, although Hanks' accent drops out after the first twenty minutes.
Lots and lots of Greengrass shakey cam, to the point of making my friend at the screening nauseous at times.
Interesting story, but nothing earth shattering in the way it was made.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I thought Captain Phillips was okay. Good performances, although Hanks' accent drops out after the first twenty minutes.
Lots and lots of Greengrass shakey cam, to the point of making my friend at the screening nauseous at times.
Interesting story, but nothing earth shattering in the way it was made.

This is what I needed - thanks! Looks like I'll wait for the Blu-ray to see it...

 

[Tino]

I thought it was terrific and one of the years best. Suspenseful and exciting from start to finish with great performances from Hanks and the actors portraying the Somali pirates. Wasn't distracted at all by the camerawork as I was too involved in what was happening to notice. ***1/2 * out of ****

 

[Patrick_S]

I agree with everything you wrote Tino and will add that it was well worth a trip to the theater.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yup, a very good film. Also, I didn't think Hanks lost his accent as somebody mentioned earlier.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I thought it was terrific and one of the years best. Suspenseful and exciting from start to finish with great performances from Hanks and the actors portraying the Somali pirates.Wasn't distracted at all by the camerawork as I was too involved in what was happening to notice.***1/2 * out of ****

For some of us, it's not a matter of aesthetics as it is nausea - I can't watch movies with super-shakycam because they literally make me sick! I went to the second "Bourne" flick and "United 93" theatrically - neither sat well with my stomach, so unless Greengrass gives up on shakycam, I can't see his movies on the big-screen. Doesn't make sense to pay $10 to watch something that I can't actually watch without intense discomfort...

 

[Tino]

For some of us, it's not a matter of aesthetics as it is nausea - I can't watch movies with super-shakycam because they literally make me sick! I went to the second "Bourne" flick and "United 93" theatrically - neither sat well with my stomach, so unless Greengrass gives up on shakycam, I can't see his movies on the big-screen. Doesn't make sense to pay $10 to watch something that I can't actually watch without intense discomfort...

I hear you Colin. "Shaky" cam doesn't bother me unless it's out of control and the only film that did that to me was Tony Scott's Man On Fire. This film didn't seem anywhere near that and I would say it is the least shaky of all his films to me.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I hear you Colin. "Shaky" cam doesn't bother me unless it's out of control and the only film that did that to me was Tony Scott's Man On Fire.This film didn't seem anywhere near that and I would say it is the least shaky of all his films to me.

Interesting - other comments made it sound like typical Greengrass camerawork.

Don't know what to believe, but I'll avoid the theatrical screening to be safe!

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Captain Phillips was very well done. Hanks delivers a truly exceptional performance, hopefully reminding folks that he remains one of the best actors in the world.The patented Greengrass cam didn't really bother me, but it hasn't in the past. He continues bring an immediacy to his films, and always examines his stories from unexpected angles.

 

[Dave Upton]

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and was also struck by the apprehension of shaky cam prior to seeing it. Thankfully - most scenes are relatively stable, but there is a fair amount of it throughout the film.

In terms of sheer suspense and character development, this was fantastic. The pirates and Hanks all truly embodied their characters perfectly.

4/5

 

[Patrick Sun]

I also thought this film had some solid angles from a storytelling perspective to keep the flow of the film going with a brisk pace, while keeping the tension on high alert as Captain Phillips and his crew try to fend off Somalian boat pirates off the coast of Africa in 2009. Tom Hanks delivers yet another fine performance as Capt. Phillips, trying to keep his men alive while sailing through treacherous waters with a boat moving lots of containers of "stuff".

Director Greengrass handles the characterizations on both sides deftly, the Somalian boat pirates and the crew on the ship. While there is some shaky cam, when it's used, it's used to drive home the chaotic nature of certain scenes to amp up the drama and urgercy. But I did not feel all that sea-sick from any of the shaky cam footage.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

 

[RobertR]

My interest in seeing the movie is severely undercut by its apparent disconnect with reality:

http://nypost.com/2013/10/13/crew-members-deny-captain-phillips-heroism/

 

[Robert Crawford]

My interest in seeing the movie is severely undercut by its apparent disconnect with reality:

http://nypost.com/2013/10/13/crew-members-deny-captain-phillips-heroism/

I don't care about what really happened, I care about being entertained which this film did for me. These films about real events should always be taken with a grain of salt as I usually do more research for the real facts after viewing the film.

 

[schan1269]

Like I said before, and is still the reason I haven't seen this...

A Hijacking is a much more real movie(and its praise promotes that) even though it is totally made up.

Since Cpt. Phillips went after a "news story" and is taking liberties...it is getting blasted.

A Hijacking doesn't have that problem.

Because of that difference. Cpt. Phillips plays out based on what it wants our reactions to be. A Hijacking couldn't care less "about us", the only concern is the story.

Edit:
According to a couple of reviewers...A Hijacking has gone on to become required viewing for first time personnel aboard ocean freighters.

 

[Patrick_S]

With movies based on a true story I alway figure the truth is somewhere between what we see on the screen and news stories like the one linked.I also look at news stories lie one linked with a skeptical eye. After all the people in the news story have 50 million reasons to tell "their" side of the story.Anyways My view is like Robert's, I care about being entertained and this movie did that for me.