Academy Awards Project: American Hustle and Captain Phillips

What began as my Golden Globes project morphed into an Academy Awards project since I was not feeling well enough to go to the movies throughout much of late December and early January.  Medication seems to be improving my life, so I'm trying to finish the project I've started.

While in southern California recently, I went to see American Hustle with a couple of friends. The film features an amazing cast, including Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Bradley Cooper, and has gotten a lot of sensational reviews. I went into the film expecting great things and really excited to see it.

The film was entertaining and enjoyable. I will recommend that others see it. I didn't walk away with the impression that it was one of the best films of the year. When you peel away the star power of its cast and the period costumes (sad that we already think of 70s disco wear as "period pieces"), you're left with a fairly predictable film. I was especially disappointed with the original music included in the movie. I left the theater with a smile on my face and a question on my mind:  it was fun, but what was it really about?

For me, I'm still looking for a film to prove itself worthy of the company of 12 Years a Slave and Philomena.

On Sunday afternoon, I found a film that deserved to be in the company of these films:  Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks. The story centers around an American ship that is boarded by Somalian pirates. Normally, this is not the type of film that I really enjoy; however, the strength of the ensemble cast drew me into the story and made for an entertaining afternoon of story, adventure, thrills, and triumph.

I was especially intrigued by the relationship between the characters of Captain Phillips and the pirate who refers to himself as "Captain." What we expect to be a typical good vs. evil battle quickly reveals itself to have much deeper undercurrents. I must admit, the more I see Tom Hanks' work, the more impressed I am. From Captain Phillips, Walt Disney, Forrest Gump, and Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code to Woody in Toy Story and Josh in Big, Tom Hanks is truly one of the best actors of this generation.

It should be interesting to see how this film does during the rest of the awards season; Captain Phillips is definitely note-worthy and a fine representation of American cinema.