Captain Phillips

Paul Greengrass's 2013 film covers a container ship seized by pirates off the Somali coast. The captain tries to protect his crew. The film watches both sides. Why the pirates do this work is shown briefly; the narrative raises the tension highest in the section aboard the lifeboat and closes with medical treatment. It rests on a real event, and members of the real crew disputed the captain's account. Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi lead. Abdi was nominated for his first film. Who it's for: those who like adaptations of real events and thrillers. Who it's not for: viewers expecting both sides given equal weight; the film puts its weight on the captain.