Captain Phillips

Posted on October 10, 2013 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use
Profanity:	Strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Intense, graphic, and disturbing violence including threats, torture, and guns
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	October 11, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	January 21, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B008JFUNKU

Memorable movie villains tend to fall into two categories: volatile and violent or sociopathic and megalomaniac. Both kinds are caricatures, sketched in exaggerated terms to justify our feeling of triumph when the hero prevails. But in “Captain Phillips,” the true story of a US merchant ship taken over by Somali pirates, the villain is far more real and far more terrifying. Somali native Barkhad Abdi stars as Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the leader of a group of four teenagers sent to hijack ships for ransom money by elders in their village. Muse is the scariest of villains, someone with no other options and nothing to lose. Abdi’s performance in his first acting role is stunning, terrifying, and heartbreaking.

An awkward opening scene shows Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) is at home in Vermont, preparing for his trip and driving to the airport with his wife (Catherine Keener), with some clunky, exposition-heavy dialog intended to foreshadow upcoming unrest. Once he gets to the boat, called the Maersk Alabama, director Paul Greengrass locks into the taut, intimate style he showed in “United 93” and two Bourne movies. The ship has a crew of 20. They have been warned about the possibility of pirates and have had some training in how to respond. Phillips orders a surprise drill to make them practice their defensive tactics. But this is not a military ship. They are carrying 17 metric tons of cargo. Their primary tactics are diversion and their primary weapons are their firehoses.

At first, the firehoses work. But then the Somalis get close enough to the ship to attach their ladder and climb aboard. “I’m the captain now,” says Muse. His lack of affect is chilling.

Director Paul Greengrass has an intimate, documentary style that keeps even those who remember the details of the real story on edge. The pirates search the ship, looking for the crew like a nightmare game of sardines. Phillips leads them around, genial and cooperative on the surface, but always thinking about how to impede them without making them angry. When their boat is destroyed, they take one of the lifeboats, more like a capsule than a ship, and they take Phillips as hostage. For four grueling days, Phillips has to try to keep calm and do what he can to help the US Navy, which is assembling its response. Hanks goes deeper than he ever has before, ultimately reaching a place of wrenching vulnerability.

After a shaky start, Greengrass and his talented cast make this into more than a story of courage and resilience. While he clearly has a point of view and never pretends that the pirates are justified, he allows us to understand their desperate circumstances.

Parents should know that this is the true story of a pirate attack on a US ship, featuring intense and disturbing scenes of threats, torture, and violence with some graphic images and dramatic emotional breakdown.

Family discussion: What was Captain Phillips’ most difficult decision? What was the most difficult decision for the US military in responding to the pirates? Do you disagree with any of their actions?

If you like this, try: “United 93,” another true story from the same director and Captain Phillips’ book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea

Prisoners

Posted on September 19, 2013 at 8:08 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for disturbing violent content including torture and language throughout
Profanity:	Constant very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Substance abuse to deal with stress
Violence/ Scariness:	Extensive and disturbing violence, including torture
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	September 20, 2013

The subject matter of the movie “Prisoners”– parents desperately searching for their kidnapped little girls– is so potent that it requires a strong, sure director to maintain control. Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (“Incendies”), in his first Hollywood feature film, is mostly successful but along the way he is sorely tested by emotionally charged social, religious and moral themes struggling to break free of the excruciating situation and gallop off in the direction of political metaphor, propaganda, violence, or sermonizing.

Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a strong, self-reliant, religious man whose six-year-old daughter disappears while walking in their neighborhood with a friend. Dover’s wife, played by Maria Bello, becomes so distraught that she soon sedates herself into helplessness. Their neighbors, Franklin and Nancy Birch (played by Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) whose daughter also disappears, look for a different path out of their nightmare.

As the hours tick by, the parents lose patience with police detective Loki (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and begin to take matters into their own hands. The distraught father yells at the cop, “Two little girls have to be worth more than whatever little rule you have to break.” Loki does not agree, and the race is on, to see whose tactics will be most effective, and whose tactics are morally justifiable. Jackman makes clear he is willing to do anything to get his daughter back, including torturing a suspect: “He’s not a person anymore, he stopped being a person when he took on our daughter.”

Prisoners is a dark, tense crime drama with an excellent cast and some important topical themes. It is not for the faint of heart. Director Villeneuve says that he hopes his film will inspire audiences to debate these issues “long after the movie ends,” and in this he surely succeeds. There are issues to debate regarding the treatment of the mentally ill, civil liberties, law enforcement, self-reliance, and morals in modern society, and especially the ultimate question of whether the end justifies the means. The movie has some excellent, artful moments, cleverly filmed with flair and style. However, there are also moments when the movie gets carried away with itself, losing its sense of proportion, and taking already extreme situations a notch or two beyond credibility.

Parents should know that this story concerns kidnapping and child abuse, extensive violence (including torture and shooting, alcohol, substance abuse to deal with stress, and constant very strong language.

Family discussion: When is it appropriate for people to take the law into their own hands? Who is right? Who does the director think is right? How does this story relate to issues in geopolitical conflict?

If you like this, try: “Ransom”

Related Tags:

Crime Movies -- format Thriller

World War Z

Posted on September 16, 2013 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense frightening zombie sequences, violence and disturbing images
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Constant peril and violence with many characters injured and killed, children in peril, scary zombies, many disturbing images including graphic wounds and attacks, dead bodies, tension and scary surprises
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	June 21, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	September 17, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005LAIIMG

There are going to be a lot of superheroes on screen this summer, but none of them are as super as Gerry Lane a former investigator for the UN called back into action to fight the zombie apocalypse. No superhero outfit or origin story — he doesn’t need one. He’s just an ordinary good guy who happens to be super-smart, super-kind, super-honorable, and super-able to withstand all kinds of physical challenges, perform emergency surgery, and be an awwww-inspiring dad and husband. To put it another way, he’s played by Brad Pitt. Based on the book by Max Brooks (son of Oscar-winners Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks), the story takes Lane all over the world to find “patient zero,” the original source of the plague that has turned millions of people into zombies, so they can figure out how to fight them.

A brief opening scene shows us Lane interacting endearingly with his adorable family: wife Karin (Jessica Chastian-ish Mirielle Enos), and two daughters, one with a stuffed animal and one with asthma. We have just enough time to fall in love with them on what seems like an ordinary day, until all hell breaks loose while they are driving to work and school. At first, all is confusion and chaos, and then the zombies arrive. They are fast and aggressive and it takes just 12 seconds after a person is attacked for them to become fast and aggressive zombies themselves. Zombies are, as we have come to know from many other movies, extremely focused and therefore extremely effective. They have just one purpose: to create more zombies. They will do whatever it takes to whomever it takes. And the humans who must try to survive will be faced with terrible choices.

After a harrowing escape, the Lanes and a young boy who helped them are rescued by a helicopter and taken to Gerry’s former boss at the UN, working from an aircraft carrier. At first, Gerry refuses to leave his family to investigate the source of the zombies. But the Naval Commander (David Andrews) makes it clear that they only have room for “essential personel” on their ship — and that Gerry’s family will only be considered essential as long as Gerry takes on the mission of escorting a young professor and expert in virology to Korea to track down the first reported case. They set off with some Navy Seals for protection, but soon Gerry is on his own, globe-trotting from Korea to Israel to Wales in search of answers.

Director Marc Forster, not known for thrillers, keeps things taut and involving, holding back information to keep us just a little strung out and then allowing us some release at just the right moment. The zombies are fast and relentless. Even at a PG-13 level, with muted gore, they are very disturbing. One just clicks his teeth with what could hardly be described as a knowing look — maybe just focused — and it is really creepy. From the heartbeat sound behind the opening logo to the seemingly innocent moments that turn ominous, the pacing is tight and absorbing and the the characters and the puzzle weighty. But it is Pitt who makes it all work. He is so good at everything that we almost wonder why he needs a plane — surely he can just fly to the next city on his own — but his un-angsty goodness and sheer star power is itself the most powerful reminder of why it is that we want the humans to win.

Parents should know that this film has graphic and disturbing images, extended very intense sequences of peril with many characters injured and killed, scary and disgusting zombies, emergency amputation, guns, explosions, and chases.

Family discussion: Do you agree with the “tenth man” rule? How did Gerry use what he learned from the doctor? From his observations?

If you like this, try: “28 Days Later,” “I Am Legend,” and “The Andromeda Strain” and the book by Max Brooks

Getaway

Posted on August 29, 2013 at 6:48 pm

There’s dumb fun and then there’s just dumb. “Gateway” is closer to that second category, and worse, so forgettable that better title would be “Throwaway.” This one has 99 cent DVD bin all over it.

Ethan Hawke, believably seedy, plays a former race car driver awfully named Brent Magna. He was known for being both reckless and fearful and “wrecking expensive cars.” He and his wife now live in Bulgaria. He comes home on Christmas Eve to find that his wife has been kidnapped. If he wants to see her alive again, he must do exactly as he is told, starting with stealing a very fancy car and then driving it very fast. On the other end of the phone is a mysterious man with an unidentifiable but clearly villainous accent and a disturbingly genial tone that darkens when he becomes insistent and threatening.

We see only his mouth and stubble-covered chin as he sips a cocktail. Magna hears only his voice, directing him to undertake a series of seemingly random and very reckless tasks in the car, which has been equipped with every possible kind of monitoring device, including microphones, cameras, and a sort of high-end Lojack. The man listed in the credits only as The Voice tells him to speed through a park crowded with Christmas celebrants and crash into the dias. He tells Magna that if he tries to get help or is stopped by the police, he will kill Magna’s wife, who we see getting roughed up and tossed into a cell equipped with the obligatory stained mattress.

A teenage girl with a gun (Selena Gomez) tries to steal the car. Voice orders Magna to kill her. Magna cannot do it. Voice changes his mind and tells Magna to keep her in the car. Not that it made any sense before this point, but now is when it really goes off the rails. The girl is supposed to be something between the Dragon Tattoo hacker (with the hacker skills and bad manners but without the tattoos, piercings, and omni-sexuality) and Mackenzie Phillips in “American Graffiti” (with the attitude but without the shaving cream and Paul LeMat). Even if her crazy list of character traits made sense — did I mention she also happens to be the owner of the super-duper stolen vehicle? — Gomez would not be the actress to pull this off. Whenever she is called upon to show rage or toughness, she looks like she’s ordering a soda at the malt shop. Magna has principles about killing people. Until he doesn’t. And don’t get me started on the conveniently irrational and incompetent behavior of the police and the fact that everyone speaks English. Each subsequent twist piles on another layer of preposterousness. When Voice said there was only more more task, I was more relieved than Magna was.

“Getaway” wants to be “Die Hard” in a car. But it stalls in first gear.

Parents should know that this film has constant peril and violence including chases, explosions, crashes, and guns, characters in peril and minor characters injured and killed, frequent s-words and other bad language, criminal activity including extortion, kidnapping, and theft, drinking and scenes in bar

Family discussion: What evidence did you see of Magna’s recklessness and fear? What did he and the girl have in common?

If you like this, try: “Nick of Time,” “Cellular,” and “Phone Booth”

Related Tags:

Action/Adventure Thriller

Closed Circuit

Posted on August 27, 2013 at 8:00 am

Terrorism has killed thousands of people, destroyed buildings and property, and caused seismic rifts in our notions of who constitutes “us” and “them.” What is even more terrifying is the damage it has inflicted on our most fundamental notions of privacy and justice. “Closed Circuit” is an up-to-the-minute thriller in which the chases and explosions are less scary than what it reveals about how ineffective our legal system is for responding to terrorism. The damage to democracy may be more devastating than the damage to life and property.

The story begins with a shocking terrorist attack at a London market. Two suspects died in the bombing and one died “resisting arrest.” Farroukh Erdogan (Denis Moschitto), described as “the last man standing,” is quickly captured and accused. The traditional judicial system cannot provide him with the rights that are accorded all defendants under UK law, including the right to examine and respond to all evidence against him and to be given any evidence the government has that might cast doubt on his guilt. So he is given two different trial attorneys (called barristers in Great Britain), one for an open hearing, one for a separate closed hearing. The judge soberly advises them that “you must not meet or communicate or share information in any way.”

Martin (Eric Bana) will represent Erdogan in the open hearing to the best of his ability without any access to information deemed sensitive by the government. Claudia (Rebecca Hall) is appointed to have access to those files the government has selected as confidential. In a complicated set of procedures, if she discovers something in those files that is relevant to the case, she can show it to the judge but not to Martin or the defendant. This procedure is intended to provide some some fairness in an inherently unfair process we continue to refer to as the justice system. “There is no right way out of this,” a character will say.

Claudia initially tries to withdraw. She does not explain much but we learn that she and Martin have a history. Even though the process prohibits them from having any contact, that past relationship makes things more complicated.

Separately, Martin and Claudia begin to believe that they are being manipulated, even threatened. But by which side? Is it possible to sustain a democracy, or any kind of accountability, when an official explains, “You want the freedom to attack me, but without me you wouldn’t have much freedom at all?” It is eerily reminiscent of Jack Nicholson’s famous speech in “A Few Good Men” and Jose Ferrar’s in “The Caine Mutiny.” Both accuse us of feeling superior to the decisions we delegate to those who guard our freedom, and our willingness to overlook the infringements of freedom that result.

As an audience, we can distance ourselves from the chases and explosions. Our most terrifying realization is the same one Pogo made famous: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Parents should know that this film has very strong language, references to adultery a terrorist attack, chases and fights, suicide, some disturbing images of murder victims, drinking, and smoking.

Family discussion: Read up on the US FISA court and the controversy about NSA access to personal information. How do we balance the need for national security with the fundamental guarantees of individual justice like the presumption of innocence, the right to examine evidence, and the protection against self-incrimination?

If you like this, try: “Four Lions” and “The Ghostwriter”

Related Tags:

Courtroom Drama Politics Thriller