Report Card----"Captain Phillips"

"Captain Phillips". like "Gravity", is also an amusement park ride.
This one is sort of like "Pirates of the Caribbean"
It is much more of a ripping yarn than "Gravity".
But there are two significant problems with it.
All the promotion for it, and the interviews with the real Captain Phillips create a spoiler alert.
You know he'll end up fine.
Also, Captain Phillips, portrayed by Tom Hanks, is essentially a shmuck and a putz.
There are fully insured ships carrying cargo through Somali Pirate infested waters, where the crew can be armed with weapons to defend themselves.
Yet, Captain Phillips knowingly and willingly commands ships that aren't insured for weaponry.
This is known as 'Asking for it".
Or perhaps "Captain Phillips is not a good enough captain to gain employment on one of those weapon-insured ships.
It leads, in any case to "shmuck and putzdom'

On to the scoring: 

Is it interesting?

Very.
A-.

Compelling even?

Not really
C.

Is it controversial?

Only in what I've already mentioned.
D..

Is it a story worth telling?

Why not?
A-.

Is it good storytelling?

At least you briefly got to see the good Captain's home life when his wife drives him to the airport.
"Gravity" cried out for such scenes.
B+.

Is it well written?

Not bad.
B.

Is it well cast? Well played?  Well shot?

They sure got Africans who sounded like Africans.
I guess that's why they got all those Oscar nominations.
I'm curious to see how they would tackle other roles.
C-.

Is it too long? Too short?

A little long.
B-.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

It happened.  I didn't care.  In the end credits, it said that Captain Phillips went back to sea.
Probably in another of those uninsured ships.  So I cared even less.
C-.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

You didn't need no crystal ball for this one.
D.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Just about how anyone can be nominated for an acting award because of accurate casting.
D.

Is it funny?

Occasionally.
B.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

Not even in Somali trinkets.
F.

Is it impressive ?

It didn't impress me.
C.

Overall grade: B-.

Another one that didn't deserve it's Best Picture nomination.
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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
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I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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