Just couldn't wait for this cinematic rendering of the high-profile 2009 Somali pirate hijacking to be over. Was it because the tension was unbearable (which actually makes this a good film), or because other crew members had already ruined the movie by calling it a big lie? Maybe Greengrass (United 93) had made the characters too simplistic (Philips' idiotic opening conversations about their kid's future; Somalians' motivations for "Let's make a lot of money!"), or just that his overt use of shaky documentary-style photography bordered on nauseating. Without Hanks' unbelievable performance in a final scene, this would've been a NoMo.
PS: The disagreements I've had this year with RottenTomatoes have been staggering - from the MoJo-scored After Earth, that got a meager 11% on the Tomatometer, to this movie, which got a 97% and I'm trying to forget already.
Mo says:
I will give it a miss, I'm not a Tom Hanks fan anyway, I just don't like his overly sincere persona, you don't get to the top without stepping on a few faces.
ReplyDeleteWow, I've never read that viewpoint on Tom Hanks - although he only seems to be able to play positive roles, which obviously conveys a positive image offstage. Even his part in "Road to Perdition", supposedly a villainous role, was still a "gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold".
DeleteHe is all technique, I can see him "act", I do enjoy Big though and of course Saving Private Ryan and The Green Mile. I found his portrayal of a gay man in Philadelphia to be insulting and it had the opposite effect on me that it should have. I just wanted him to die so the movie could be over. I never shed a tear.
ReplyDeleteI thought the worst movie about gays (although ironically celebrated by gays) was "Brokeback Mountain". My understanding was the film claimed homosexuality to be an acquired trait, while gays constantly fight to prove it has a genetic basis. Complete backfire.
DeleteI never did see Brokeback Mountain and have to say I think that being gay is not something that can be chosen, you either are or are not. Although the pursuit of the pink $£ can see straight people faking "gayness" for cash.
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