Captain Phillips sails into the Oscar nominations and the JC Cinema

JC Cinema will be showing many Oscar nominated movies this semester including Captain Phillips (photo courtesy of GMU's Office of Events Management).

Office of Student Involvement will be showing  “Captain Phillips” at the JC Cinema this weekend.

A quick search online will easily show that “Captain Phillips” is a favorite of many award shows. It has won eight so far, with 76 nominations overall.  The upcoming Academy Awards has given the movie a nod for Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Writing, among others.  Even Rotten Tomatoes has given “Captain Phillips” a good score.

So does this movie live up to the hype?

It begins by showing Phillips (Tom Hanks) as a family man getting ready to leave on assignment to captain a merchant boat off the coast of Africa. 

Once on the boat, Phillips takes on the role of leader easily.  He does not engage in friendly conversation with the rest of the crew, but instead gets straight to work.  There are a few foreshadowing moments in the beginning of the film. For example, an email warning of the increasing rate of Somali pirates, showing a visibly nervous Phillips  leads to indeed a parade of Somali pirates crossing the sea shortly after the warning. 

What follows is a gripping thriller of the account based on a true story.  The Director, Paul Greengrass, employs use of shaky-Cam technique, adding to the intensity and reality of the situation.  Also, Barkhad Abdi, in his acting debut, manages to pull off a very convincing and psychological account of a Somali pirate  opposite Hanks’ quick-thinking Phillips.  Being able to hold your own as a newcomer against the likes of a modern legend like Hanks is no small feat and is one that  awarded Abdi a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 

With the hype around recent movies like "American Hustle" and "Wolf of Wall Street," “Captain Phillips” is refreshing with its account of a real world issue that haunts us today.  

"Captain Phillips" will be playing at the JC Cinema Jan. 30 and Jan. 31 at 9 p.m., and Feb. 1 at 6 p.m.