Captain Phillips director has talent for tension

Speciality Theatre

Gravity

*****

Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney. 

Director: Alfonso Caurón

Rated: PG-13

Showing: Fri- 2:30pm 2D,  6:15pm 3D, 9:00pm 3D; Sat 6:15pm 3D, 9:00pm 3D; Sun 2:15pm 3D, 5:00pm 3D,  7:30pm 2D; Mon-Tues 6:15pm 2D, 8:30pm 2D; Wed-Thurs 2:30 pm 2D, 6:15pm 3D, 8:15pm 3D 

Call 295-2751 for show times.

Runtime: 90 minutes

Drama, sci-fi, thriller

There’s a scene that comes early in Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón’s stunning tale of survival, that will absolutely take your breath away.

Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a nervous medical engineer making her first space-shuttle flight, and her far more experienced co-pilot Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), are assaulted by a storm of space debris, the detritus of a destroyed Russian satellite, that leaves them marooned and facing their own mortality. 

It’s an amazing sequence that not only shows a cunning use of technology but makes the case that Gravity is one of the few films that demands to be seen in 3-D IMAX.

Yet it also has an emotional and spiritual depth that, like 127 Hours, another film about man vs. isolation, transcends what might at first seem a gimmicky plot device.

The film evokes the grandeur of the cosmos from the opening shots of Stone and Kowalski outside their craft, set against the vast backdrop of the universe and a beautiful blue Earth. She’s making repairs while he (and a third astronaut that we only see from a distance) is bouncing around like a first-grader at recess.

But things take a turn for the serious when that debris field slams into them, ultimately leaving Stone alone to perhaps drift to her demise. 

That’s when Gravity becomes tense and suspenseful. 

Captain Phillips

****

Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman. 

Director: Paul Greengrass

Rated: PG-13

Showing: Call 295-2751 for show times.

Runtime: 135 minutes

Biography, crime, drama 

It wasn’t that long ago and we remember how it turned out. So there’s no way that Captain Phillips, the movie about the 2009 pirate attack on the M.V. Maersk Alabama, should be as surprising and entertaining a sea tale as it is.

What happened was more heroic than you’d expect. The resistance of the crew, the resilience and craftiness of the pirates and the guile, level-headedness and bravery of the title character are so Hollywood that you half expect Bruce Willis heroics and an exchange of pithy trash-talk catch-phrases.

But this thrilling retelling was directed by Paul (United 93) Greengrass, an unfussy director with a talent for tension. And it was adapted from the real Capt. Richard Phillips’ book by Billy (“Breach”/ “Shattered Glass”) Ray.

They’ve cooked up an engrossing, sober-minded, fact-centered account, telling the story from parallel points of view of the two hard-case captains here. There’s Phillips, a veteran no-nonsense sailor, and a Somali pirate named Muse. Phillips has his job, his pushy bosses, his ways of dealing with an attack “by the book.” But so does Muse, a smart thug who has to answer to a murderous warlord if he doesn’t seize a ship and ransom it and its crew.

Hanks lets himself get so deep into his ordeal that you believe the beatings, the horrific stress, the numb terror of that indentation on his forehead where the pistol barrel was pressed.

The performances and Greengrass’ way with action immerse us and make “Captain Phillips” a tight, taut, edge-of-your-seat thriller even if you remember the ending. With a film well over two hours long, that’s high praise indeed. 

Neptune Theatre

Runner Runner

**

Stars: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton. 

Director: Brad Furman. 

Rated: R

Showing: 7:30pm daily except Sunday 5:30pm.

Runtime: 91 minutes

Crime, drama, thriller.

A Princeton math genius (Justin Timberlake) who has cultivated a lucrative side gig via online poker loses his life savings and flies to Costa Rica to confront the magnate (Ben Affleck) who may have cheated him out of his money.

In its early moments, the movie evokes everything from The Social Network to Casino. 

By the end, the film has become as exciting as a game of Old Maid.

R-rated thrillers are hardly ever this dull and listless, but this movie manages to eradicate all of Timberlake’s charisma and makes you flash back to Affleck’s Paycheck / Gigli era. 

Liberty Theatre

Baggage Claim

***

Stars: Paula Patton, Taye Diggs, Jill Scott 

Director: David E Talbert.

Rated: PG13

Showing: Friday, Saturday 2:30, 6, 8:30pm, Sunday 2:30, 5:30; Mon to Thurs 2:30, 6:30

Runtime: 96 minutes

Comedy

Baggage Claim is a harmless romantic comedy that follows a familiar theme: A young woman just can’t seem to find the right man. She sets out to find that true love while remaining oblivious to how the man of her dreams has always been in her life. If you can’t spot this guy, you’ve never seen a Lifetime or Hallmark movie. 

The woman in question is flight attendant Montana Moore (Paula Patton), a perpetual bridesmaid who finally sets a 30-day timetable to find a husband. 

It would be easy to dismiss Baggage Claim for its retreaded theme, uneven script and forced acting efforts. Just like a blind date, you have to look past the flaws to find the heart. 

Southside Theatre

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