Captain Phillips

 "Shut up, Irish. Too much talking."
"The problem is not me talking. The problem is you not listening."

Richard Phillips (Hanks) takes control of the Maersk Alabama at the Port of Salalah.  It is a container ship with orders to sail Mombasa, through the Gulf of Aden and around the Horn of Africa.  There has been heavier pirate activity around Somalia, causing Phillips to call for pirate drills.

During a routine drill they are approached by speed boats.  They are able to repel attack, but the next day one of the boats returns.  The boat contains 4 heavily armed men: Muse (Abdi), Bilal (Abdirahman), Najee (Ahmed) and Elmi (Ali), who manage to board the ship.  Muse takes over the ship with plans to hijack the ship for a hefty bounty from the shipping company for the return of their ship and men. With tensions high, who will win the standoff.

The film is inspired by an actual incident in 2009 when the Maersk Alabama ship was attacked by Somalian pirates.  The ship's captain, Captain Richard Phillips, was taken hostage by the pirates.  In 2010 Richard Phillips and Stephen Tally wrote about the incident "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea".  The screenplay for the film was based on the book.

The film has boasted consistent buzz since premiering.  But it has also courted controversy.  Crew members have reputed Phillips book and his portrayal in the film.  The film received 6 Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Barkhad Abdi, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

The film shows both the good and bad aspects of the characters.  Tom Hanks is great in the title role, taking Phillips from strict captain to captive.  He is upstaged by Barkhad Abdi, in his first film role.  Abdi commands the screen.  Apparently director Paul Greengrass kept the Somali characters away from the American characters until they filmed their initial meeting to add to the tension in the scene.  The film overall is intense and focuses on the confrontation between the two men.  The other novice actors portraying the Somali pirates are intense and add to the tension on screen.  I look forward to seeing these men in future films and television shows.

A strong film that leaves you exhausted when the credits roll.

Captain Phillips (2013) 134 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for
Director: Paul Greengrass
Starring: Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips
Barkhad Abdi as Muse
Catherine Keener as Andrea Phillips
Barkhad Abdirahman as BilalFaysal Ahmed as Najee
Mahat M. Ali as Elmi
Michael Chernus as Shane Murphy
David Warshofsky as Mike Perry
Corey Johnson as Ken Quinn
Chris Mulkey as John Cronan
Yul Vazquez as Captain Frank Castellano

Cutie and the Boxer

For decades, Ushio Shinohara has been regarded as a leader alternative artist.  He creates dazzling sculptures from cardboard.  He is best known for his "action" painting, which involves boxing a canvas.  Despite his reputation, he is still a struggling artist.

While his career maintains a status quo, his whife Noriko Shinohara is gaining prominence for her paintings.  Ushio and Noriko met in 1969, when he was 41 and she was a 19 year old art student.  She put her career on hold to assist him and maintain their home.  Forty years later, she is ready to emerge from his shadow and be recognized as an artist on her own.  She created a series of drawings, inspired by their relationship, titled "Cutie and the Bullie."


I discovered this film after it was nominated for an Oscar, it sounded intriguing and was available through Netflix instant streaming, so I decided to give it a shot.  First time director Zachary Heinzerling won the "Best Director Award" at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.  He chose to follow the Shinohara's at work and at home, while also incorporating home movies and promotional materials to show their 40+ year relationship.

It is an interesting film, with art imitating life.  Ultimately, the film title perfectly sums up who they are: Cutie for Noriko's "Cutie & the Bullie" drawings, and Boxer for Ushio's unique style of art and personality.  Definitely recommended.

Cutie and the Boxer (2013) 81 minutesDirector: Zachary Heinzerling
Starring: Ushio Shinohara
Noriko Shinohara

TV: Chuck

"What about you any revelations? Any ideas what you'll do next?"
"Uh, yeah, a few."
"If you say pilot the Millennium Falcon, I *will* hit you."
"Uh, why would I say that? That's absurd. I'm going to be a ninja assasin."
"No! Try again."

Several government agencies combine their intelligence into a supercomputer called the Intersect, which is stolen by a rogue CIA agent and sent as an email to his college roommate, Chuck Bartowski (Levi).  When Chuck opens the email, he downloads the Intersect into his brain, making him an extremely valuable asset.  The CIA sends Sarah Walker (Strahovski) to be his handler and pose as his girlfriend.  The NSA sends gun enthusiast John Casey (Baldwin) to help protect him and to work with him.

Chuck lives with his protective sister Ellie (Lancaster), as successful doctor, and her boyfriend Devon (McPartlin), a surgeon and fitness nut who Chuck dubs "Captain Awesome."  Chuck is a computer genius who works at the Buy More electronics store as the head of the Nerd Herd.  The Buy More is home to a colorful assortment of slackers, including his best friend Morgan (Gomez).  Chuck life becomes filled with secrets that he must keep from the people he loves the most.


I discovered Chuck shortly before the 4th season began.  The Blockbuster in my town was going out of business and was selling all their movies and TV shows, and I cam across the first season of this show.  I decided to take a risk and buy it.  I fell in love with the show from the first episode and was hooked.  I devoured the first season and bought the next season online.

The story is original and lots of fun.  There are serious moments and lots of comedy, and there are also sad moments where you can't help but cry.  Many of the episodes reference pop culture and they have a slew of great guest stars.

The cast is a great ensemble.  Zachary Levi is a charismatic lead, completely believable as a nerd turned reluctant spy.  He is well-matched with Yvonne Strahovski, who hides her natural Australian accent for the part.  She gets some awesome fights as well.  Adam Baldwin (who I loved in Firefly) is great here, he is so physical in the part, and says a great deal with just a growl and a look.  The supporting cast are all fully formed and bring a unique quality to every scene.  Sarah Lancaster sells it as Ellie and works well with Ryan McPartlin, who definitely stands out as Devon / Captain Awesome.  Joshua Gomez brings a vulnerability and likability to Morgan, you completely understand why he and Chuck are friends.  The Buy More employees are hilariously incompetent and get more ridiculous each episode.  Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky lead the crazy and up the ante every week.

The show was consistently in trouble of cancellation.  The fans rallied behind the show and that caused it to be renewed several times.  They also partnered with Subway, and which was the brand that appeared the most within the show.

An enjoyable show that ended too soon.  Love the stories, love the characters, love it all! 

Chuck (2007-2012)
Creator: Chris Fedak & Josh Schwartz
Starring: Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski
Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker
Adam Baldwin as John Casey
Joshua Gomez as Morgan Grimes
Sarah Lancaster as Dr. Ellie Bartowski
Ryan McPartlin as Dr. Devon "Captain Awesome" Woodcomb
Mark Christopher Lawrence as Big Mike
Vik Sahay as Lester Patel
Scott Krinsky as Jeff Barnes

American Hustle

"Did you ever have to find a way to survive and you knew your choices were bad, *but* you had to survive?"

In 1978, Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) and his partner / mistress Sydney Prosser (Adams) are running successful cons against bad people.  Their success is noted by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper), who catches them in a scam.  He agrees to release them and drop the charges if they help him make several arrests.

They devise a scheme involving a fake Sheikh from Iran.  However the plan attracts the attention of Camden, New Jersey mayor Carmine Polito (Renner).  Richie convinces his superiors, Anthony Amado (Alessandro Nivola), to change the plan to take down corrupt politicians, despite the concerns of his boss Stoddard Thorsen (C.K.).  As the plan grows more elaborate, Irving loses control of the situation and worries that they will fail and endanger everyone he cares for.  Meanwhile, his unpredictable wife, Rosalyn (Lawrence) begins dating a mobster who has connections to Carmine.  Can the scam succeed or are all in too deep?


The film opens with the words "Some of this actually happened," which sets up the film perfectly.  You need to pay close attention to the film to figure out who is playing who and what is actually happening at any given moment.  Director David O. Russell keeps you guessing throughout the film and manipulates every scene so that you can't predict what will happen next.

To bring his vision to life, Russell cast stars that appeared in his last 2 films: Amy Adams and Christian Bale from The Fighter and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence from Silver Linings Playbook.  Each are well-known and lauded actors, but they dive into these unique characters and show different sides to their acting abilities.  Bale is known for dramatic physical transformations to portray characters, and this is no exception.  He gained 40 pounds for the role and sports a hideous comb-over.  Adams vamps in a dramatic wardrobe and displays a solid British accent.  Cooper sports a tight perm (and even wears curlers in one scene) and goes a little crazy.  Lawrence is mesmerizing as the manipulating, passive-aggressive Rosalyn.  She dominates every scene that she's in.  They are all nominated for acting Oscars this year, dominating the acting categories and will probably win at least one.

An interesting film that keeps you guessing and throws in a few laughs amid the confusion.

American Hustle (2013) 138 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language, some sexual content and brief violence
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld
Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMaso
Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser
Jeremy Renner as Carmine Polito
Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
Louis C.K. as Stoddard Thorsen
Jack Huston as Pete Musane

Donovan's Reef

"Monk, you're not gonna let three guys gang up on one guy even if it is Gilhooley."
"I seen it done."

Life on the idyllic French Polynesian island of Haleakaloha tends to be calm, but once a year paradise is disrupted.  The cause of the disruption is a 21-year unbroken tradition of an all-out brawl between Michael "Guns" Donovan (Wayne) and Thomas "Boats" Gilhooley (Marvin), that happens on their birthday every year.  Guns Donovan and Gilhooley are corralled by their US Navy pal Dr.William Dedham (Warden).  A few weeks before Christmas, Dr. Dedham takes a trip to the outer islands, leaving his 3 children, Lelani (Malouf), Sally (Lee), and Luki (Stafford), in the care of Donovan.

Meanwhile, in Boston, the Dedham family has gathered to discuss the future of their shipping company.  After the death of the largest share holders, the person holding the most company shares is Dr. Dedham.  His daughter, Amelia (Allen) is the current company president and has never met her father.  The board sends her to Haleakaloha to convince her father to give away his shares or find a reason that they should be removed.  She arrives unannounced while Dr. Dedham is away.  To protect their friend Donovan, Gilhooley, Marquis Andre de Lage (Romero), and Father Cluzeot (Dalio) agree to pretend the kids belong to Donovan until Dr. Dedham can find a way to tell his daughter about his other children.


John Wayne is best known for westerns (he made many), but he also did well in comedies.  Wayne often worked with director John Ford (who directed Wayne's big break Stagecoach).  Most of their collaborations were westerns, but for their final collaboration they turned to comedy.

I have loved this film for years, it has a little bit of everything and is still entertaining all these years later.  From the opening scene with Gilhooley on the boat, you know it's going to be an entertaining movie.  But it is more than just a funny film, it also has a lot of heart and is anti-racism.

Wayne is joined by Lee Marvin, who he previously worked with in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.  This time they are looking for any excuse to get into a fight, which is truly entertaining to watch.  The rest of the cast are entertaining as well, specifically the kids and Cesar Romero.

The music is gorgeous and features traditional Hawaiian songs.  The film celebrates Hawaiian culture and customs.  The Christmas Paegent, with the kings of different "countries", is funny as well.

Not as well-known as other Wayne films, but still worth checking out.

Donovan's Reef (1963) 109 minutes
Director: John Ford
Starring: John Wayne as Michael "Guns" Donovan
Lee Marvin as Thomas Aloysius "Boats" Gilhooley
Elizabeth Allen as Amelia Dedham
Jack Warden as Dr. William Dedham
Cesar Romero as Marquis Andre de Lage
Dorothy Lamour as Miss Lafleur
Jacqueline Malouf as Lelani Dedam
Cherylene Lee as Sarah "Sally" Dedham
Tim Stafford as Luki Dedham
Marcel Dalio as Father Cluzeot
Mike Mazurki as Sergeant Monk Menkowicz
Jon Fong as Mr. Eu

Click here to see more reviews of Wayne films.

Olympus Has Fallen

"Is he alive?"
"Ask me a serious question."

After the First Lady died on his watch, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler) is reassigned to the desk duty.  Banning wants to get back to Presidental detail and can see the White House from his office.

President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart) has an important meeting with the Prime Minister of South Korea, Lee Tae-Woo (Keong Sim).  During the meeting, the White House is attacked by air and President Asher and important officials are relocated to the White House bunker while the Secret Service deal with the threat.  But they are overwhelmed by North Korean guerrilla forces, who manage to take down the security in 13 minutes.  In the bunker, the South Korean Prime Minister is shot and killed, along with the Secret Service presence.

During the initial attack, Banning manages to get inside the White House.  He is able to get a connection to the Pentagon, where his boss, Lynne Jacobs (Bassett), and other officials are meeting.  With the President and Vice President held hostage in the bunker, they name Speaker Allan Trumbull (Freeman) as the Acting President and place him under protection.  Can Banning rescue the President and stop terrorist Kang (Yune) from destroying the world?


I discovered this film through Netflix and based on the cast list, decided to give it a chance (on New Year's Eve).  This is one of 2 films released in 2013 about an attack on the White House (the other is White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx).  The other film was better received.

It is an interesting film.  The body count is high (according to IMDb.com it is 168) along with the violence and explosions.  Most of the cast is killed or injured by the end of the story.  The story itself is ok, fast paced and intense.  The cast works in their roles and it was an enjoyable film.  I look forward to seeing White House Down to compare the two.  Also, apparently the principle cast is reuniting for a sequel (with the same writing team and a different director), called London Has Fallen, which could be interesting.  The sequel is set to premiere in 2016.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) 119 minutes
Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Gerard Butler as Mike Banning
Aaron Eckhart as President Benjamin Asher
Morgan Freeman as Speaker Allan Trumbull
Angela Bassett as Lynne Jacobs
Rick Yune as Kang Yeonsak
Dylan McDermott as Dave Forbes
Finley Jacobsen as Connor
Melissa Leo as Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan