Captain Phillips

You know, I always rag on Tom Hanks for being such a Droopy Dog imitator. Always the same mugging- boring and overdone. But this time, I have to give him credit- this time, he is NOT playing his usual gig, he is actually ACTING. Now, from the beginning you pretty much know Hanks isn't going to die- except for Philadelphia-you know he'll be fine. So you can relax and watch the Hollywood version of a true story Somali pirate take-over of a cargo ship. Some reviewers said the Somalis wound up being sympathetic- you are supposed to identify with them, excuse them and feel sorry for them. That's a bad policy and stupid filmmaking because it implies that torturing and stealing and the occasional murder are just something one has to do. I didn't identify with them. It is made clear by the dialogue that we are supposed to see that it is so HARD to be moral in countries that are run by bullies and criminals. That may be so, but stealing ships and terrorizing and kidnapping the innocent people running them is NOT justifiable. Nope. I think Tom Hanks absolutely acts his hiney off in this. He is mesmerizing at the end. And now, I believe he is finally the actor he could have been if he hadn't been sidelined into some unfortunate roles along the way. I liked the movie, even though it is sort of  a lie- Capt Phillips is not only not beloved by his crew, he is evidently sort of a risk taking jackass in real life and is being sued by the real crew.