When Paul Greengrass directs a thoroughly dramatic tale based on true events and Tom Hanks takes on the title role, you think you know what to expect. But just you wait — the piercingly realistic "Captain Phillips" will exceed your expectations. The story of the six days that Richard Phillips, captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, spent in April 2009 first trying to avoid a gang of Somali pirates and then as their restive captive, this film does an impeccable job of creating and tightening the narrative screws. The result is so propulsive that you may find yourself looking at your watch not out of boredom but because you're not sure how much more tension you can stand. But "Captain Phillips," based on the real man's memoir, is more than a reaffirmation of how good Greengrass, responsible for both "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum," is at the delicious mechanics of crackerjack storytelling. Read more http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...phillips-movie-review-20131011,0,781246.story
