Film Review -- Captain Phillips

This Paul Greengrass-directed thriller stars Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi. Based on real events, it tells the story of Richard Phillips (Hanks), a merchant mariner whose cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, is taken hostage by Somali pirates on April 8, 2009. Let by Abduwhali Muse (Abdi), the four pirates are unsuccessful in seizing the ship, so they kidnap Captain Phillips and hold him hostage in one of the Alabama's lifeboats, hoping to reach the coast of Somalia before the Navy stops them. I will start by saying this: the film -- as a film -- is spectacular. Even though these events are very recent, and the outcome easily remembered, the film manages to be tense practically from the moment it begins to the moment it ends. It is beautifully directed, acted, written, edited, etc. However, the story that it tells is extremely one-sided. The good-vs.-evil distinction is very evident, and there is no grey area: Captain Phillips is good and heroic, and the pirates are bad and evil. No matter how much their actions fall under the "despicable" category, I did feel sorry for the pirates throughout most of the film. There is a scene towards the beginning that depicts their living conditions in Somalia, and it is very sad to see. I remembered this scene when Captain Phillips, in the lifeboat, asks Muse, "Isn't there more to life than fishing and kidnapping?", and Muse replies, "Maybe in America, Irish. Maybe in America." What chance in life do these pirates have, living in poverty in Somalia? The "American Dream" lies so far beyond their realm of existence that piracy, to them, seems like one of the only ways to escape the destitution that is their reality. Thus, I really wish the film had shown more of the pirates' perspective. Theirs is a very sad story that also deserves to be told. But, being an American feature, the filmmakers chose to tell it from Captain Phillips' viewpoint, and that was their choice. Although I wish its final narrative had been different, the film presented to me, purely as a piece of storytelling and of filmmaking, is fantastic.

Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B+

Film Review -- Gravity

Alfonso Cuarón's highly anticipated space thriller stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. On her first space mission, medical engineer Ryan Stone (Bullock) is thrown into the depths of outer space when satellite debris strikes and destroys the mission's shuttle. She and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (Clooney) are the lone survivors of the accident. With their oxygen supplies running low and thousands of miles between them and the next functioning space station, the astronauts must figure out a way to get back to Earth. The film, first of all, is a visual wonder. This is, hands-down, the best use of 3D in any film, and the cinematography is both terrifying and spectacular. Director and co-writer Cuarón accomplished an incredible feat: imagining and executing a film with a very difficult subject matter and making it suspenseful, thrilling, and engaging. Sandra Bullock must also be given a lot of credit for basically carrying the film, being the only person on camera for much of it. She will probably get an Oscar nomination just for that. The dialogue felt a little forced at times, but that was probably inevitable in a film without almost any. The film's primary purpose is to stun audiences with its visuals, and I usually gravitate (no pun intended) towards films that focus more on plot. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize how truly impressive this film is.

Should you see it: Yes
Grade: A

Film Review -- Jobs

This biographical feature is directed by Joshua Michael Stern and stars Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, and Lukas Haas. It centers around the life of Apple co-founder and visionary Steve Jobs (Kutcher), specifically the years between the company's conception in the 1970s to its return from economic trouble in the '90s. In 1974, Jobs is a college dropout who teams up with his brilliant neighbor, Steve Wozniak (Gad) to perfect the latter's invention, a home computer -- the Apple 1. In his parents' garage in the Silicon Valley, and with the help of Wozniak, some friends, and a gutsy investor (Mulroney), the group launches one of the largest, most valuable companies in the world. Of course, the road to success wasn't easy or quick. Along the way, many changes -- including Wozniak's departure and Jobs being unseated from his CEO position -- threatened Apple's very existence. Jobs pulled it back from the brink -- and then some -- in a way only a visionary could do with his creation. The film was garnering mixed - to - bad reviews, so I was initially hesitant to spend money on a movie ticket. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was sharp, the directing very nuanced, and the acting was great (Ashton actually made a pretty good Jobs....and most of the actors physically resembled their characters very closely). I wish the film had encompassed more time; it ends just as Apple's "Golden Era" is about to begin, and about six years away from the revolutionary iPod introduction (the flash forward opening scene was a nice touch, though). I may be asking too much, because it is a lot of ground to cover, and I understand the stylistic choice that the filmmakers made. Is it extraordinary? No. It's very enjoyable, and quite a nice film, but not a masterpiece. That being said, I do think it deserves more credit that it is being given.

Should you see it: Yes
Grade: B

Film Review -- Elysium

This sci-fi thriller from Neill Blomkamp stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, and Wagner Moura. In 2154, the Earth has become a vast wasteland. The wealthy now live in a space station called Elysium, while the less fortunate are left in the remains of a planet whose destruction was brought about by human activity. Max de Costa (Damon) is a humble factory worker on Earth who, after being exposed to a lethal dose of radiation, has five days to get himself to Elysium, where state-of-the-art machines cure any disease. This means taking on a dangerous mission that will change the destinies of Earth and Elysium -- but not if the latter's Secretary of Defense, Delacourt (Foster), can help it. The film's premise is gripping, and the potential for moral messages (be environmentally responsible, close the gap between the rich and the poor) are abundant. But this film is so poorly executed. The writing is stiff and slow, the direction isn't sharp, and the pace is muddy when is should be tense. The film ends up coming off in a silly, self-indulgent way, when it could have made a real impact, not only in the genre of sci-fi  but also in the consciences of the audiences. In all, Elysium is a big disappointment.

Should you see it: No
Grade: C-