View Full Version : Captain Phillips (film)
Watched the movie tonight and it's easily one of the better movies I've seen this year. The entertainment factor of the movie was pretty good. I found it intense (ie kept me interested) without many lulls. Knowing this is M4C and GD, I'm sure you guys will find something grossly wrong with it. :p
SilverBullet432
10-15-13, 23:50
I saw it on saturday, I liked it alot. Some good acting by Hanks if you ask me (i'm not an actor lol). Can't wait for blu ray release. I've been fascinated by what all went into the rescue since the day he was rescued.
Its supposed to be loosely based on actual events... loosely enough that many of the crew are coming forward and calling "BULLSHIT" on the portrayal of actions by the captain, and especially the bad reflections on themselves.
http://nypost.com/2013/10/13/crew-members-deny-captain-phillips-heroism/
Good to hear, first movie in a few years I'd really like to see. Tom Hanks usually puts out good films.
I work in the industry. I work on drill ships, not freighters. But my wife and many of my friends work on merchant ships. A few of my co-workers used to sail. (that's the term as opposed to sitting still and drilling). One co-worker actually worked on the Maersk Alabama and had disembarked two weeks before the incident. He had a lot of intel about Captain Phillips as a person and the ship and industry as a whole. I could share, but choose not to because they're not my words or opinions, they're somone else's.
Anyways, pirates are not an uncommon thing when sailing on merchant ships. My wife and friends have been boarded several times in their careers. More often than not, these pirates are sheepish, they themselves are scared, they're starving, poor, dirty and more or less like bums. They just want some cash, food and water and they scatter faster than they ever came onboard. Something underlying must have happened on the Maersk Alabama for it to escalate to the international level and world media that it did.
And one topic I talk about a lot with friends and family members, mostly who do not shoot guns, is about the sniper shot from the back deck of the ship in the "real" story. It was reported to be 30 meters. A hundered feet behind the fantail of a container ship is almost directly under the ship. I see 30 meters as an easy, short shot, despite the motion of the waves, etc. First of all, the ship was likely not moving with the wave motion. It's a LARGE container ship. And while the lifeboat could have been bobbing up and down, it was tied off and kept on a determined heading. I see the shot as doable. Not saying I could do it, but it's not like it was 1000 meters shooting from a moving truck to a moving helicopter. I've heard time and time again "what a remarkable shot by an expert marksman military sniper". And it was an outstanding shot, important, that's for sure. But I think it gets more credit than what it deserves for how difficult it was. Anyone going to cut me down from that opinion?
I like Tom Hanks' acting, but I won't see the movie. I don't think of Captain Phillips as a hero, he was a kidnap victim.
I thought the SEALS took their shots from the afterdeck of a DDG. There would be a little more pitch, roll and yaw to take into account than when taking a shot from a larger vessel.
Isn't the crew suing Captain Phillips for ignoring warnings about traveling through the area where his ship was boarded and he was taken hostage?
Doc Safari
10-16-13, 13:14
You can do the Google yourself, but I read several articles after seeing the movie that basically have the crew painting Philliips out to be an arrogant boob that no one wanted to sail with, not the hero the movie portrays.
Its supposed to be loosely based on actual events... loosely enough that many of the crew are coming forward and calling "BULLSHIT" on the portrayal of actions by the captain, and especially the bad reflections on themselves.
http://nypost.com/2013/10/13/crew-members-deny-captain-phillips-heroism/
Thanx for the heads up. I don't care for "loosely based on actual events" type movies as that's also called fiction.
Nothing wrong with fiction, but either do your best to follow the events as they happen as best you can within the medium, or just call it fiction and be done with it.
That something in the middle stuff between fiction and fact or "loosely based on actual events" has never been a movie I tend to bother with as a rule.
Ned Christiansen
10-16-13, 17:18
Read the book (A Captain's Duty) a couple years ago and thought it was great. Saw the movie a few days ago and thought it was great. Tom Hanks-- always great!
Watched the movie tonight and it's easily one of the better movies I've seen this year. The entertainment factor of the movie was pretty good. I found it intense (ie kept me interested) without many lulls. Knowing this is M4C and GD, I'm sure you guys will find something grossly wrong with it. :p
I'm not sure I'm ok with making this guy into some kind of hero when his ship was within 240 miles of Somalia and there were advisories recommending a 600 mile distance due to things like pirates. Seemed entirely avoidable and he put everyone at risk and then necessitated a rescue effort on the tax payers dime.
I'm normally a big Tom Hanks fan but honestly I still haven't completely forgiven him for that Larry Crowne horseshit.
I work in the industry. I work on drill ships, not freighters. But my wife and many of my friends work on merchant ships. A few of my co-workers used to sail. (that's the term as opposed to sitting still and drilling). One co-worker actually worked on the Maersk Alabama and had disembarked two weeks before the incident. He had a lot of intel about Captain Phillips as a person and the ship and industry as a whole. I could share, but choose not to because they're not my words or opinions, they're somone else's.
Anyways, pirates are not an uncommon thing when sailing on merchant ships. My wife and friends have been boarded several times in their careers. More often than not, these pirates are sheepish, they themselves are scared, they're starving, poor, dirty and more or less like bums. They just want some cash, food and water and they scatter faster than they ever came onboard. Something underlying must have happened on the Maersk Alabama for it to escalate to the international level and world media that it did.
And one topic I talk about a lot with friends and family members, mostly who do not shoot guns, is about the sniper shot from the back deck of the ship in the "real" story. It was reported to be 30 meters. A hundered feet behind the fantail of a container ship is almost directly under the ship. I see 30 meters as an easy, short shot, despite the motion of the waves, etc. First of all, the ship was likely not moving with the wave motion. It's a LARGE container ship. And while the lifeboat could have been bobbing up and down, it was tied off and kept on a determined heading. I see the shot as doable. Not saying I could do it, but it's not like it was 1000 meters shooting from a moving truck to a moving helicopter. I've heard time and time again "what a remarkable shot by an expert marksman military sniper". And it was an outstanding shot, important, that's for sure. But I think it gets more credit than what it deserves for how difficult it was. Anyone going to cut me down from that opinion?
You can't dangle that info carrot out there and not say anything more about it, that's a dik move lol
Moose-Knuckle
10-16-13, 19:02
It was reported to be 30 meters. A hundered feet behind the fantail of a container ship is almost directly under the ship. I see 30 meters as an easy, short shot, despite the motion of the waves, etc. First of all, the ship was likely not moving with the wave motion. It's a LARGE container ship. And while the lifeboat could have been bobbing up and down, it was tied off and kept on a determined heading. I see the shot as doable. Not saying I could do it, but it's not like it was 1000 meters shooting from a moving truck to a moving helicopter. I've heard time and time again "what a remarkable shot by an expert marksman military sniper". And it was an outstanding shot, important, that's for sure. But I think it gets more credit than what it deserves for how difficult it was. Anyone going to cut me down from that opinion?
IIRC there were TWO SEAL snipers that shot simultaneously from one ship to another ship to neutralize the threat. I'd say that was pretty clutch. I have not read any books on the matter, talked with anyone that was there, or watched the movie.
Its a movie. Not a documentary.
I don't give a flying shit if its 100% correct, if I did I would go watch a documentary about it.
Ned Christiansen
10-16-13, 19:18
I also recently saw "A Hijacking", similar story, Norwegian vessel, crew, and company. Liked it too.
Its a movie. Not a documentary.
I don't give a flying shit if its 100% correct, if I did I would go watch a documentary about it.
Would you feel the same way about a film portraying the Weather Underground as civil rights freedom fighters?
You can't dangle that info carrot out there and not say anything more about it, that's a dik move lol
Okay, since I won't dime anybody out by giving names, here's what I have heard from a fellow merchant mariner who had worked with Captain Phillips before. And another report of a report from a mate who was onboard the Alabama at the time of the incident.
Captain Phillips was a douche of a boss to work for. He did things his way, he didn't follow company policy from time to time. Only if something made his job easier did he agree to do it. If it made his job harder, he avoided it. And he never considered for his crew, HE always came first. Obviously, he was not liked by his crew...never was.
When the pirates boarded the Alabama's lifeboat, they were all set and had agreed to flee from the ship. Captain Phillips was never going to be a hostage. The pirates never planned that. Supposedly, Captain Phillips volunteered to go in the lifeboat with them for the reason "someone needs to show them how to run the lifeboat." A nearby shipmate of Captain Phillips' strongly urged him NOT to get on the lifeboat..."just let them leave." But the captain got on the lifeboat anyways and made himself the hostage by his own doing. When the boat was launched, HE was the one who made the radio call that he had been taken hostage. Those were his words. What "hostage" gets to make a radio call? He wanted to be a hostage, get saved, and then be seen as this hero.
Take it or leave it, that's what I heard.
I really enjoy Tom Hanks movies. He is my favorite actor of all time. He can do comedy, drama, action, romance and cartoon voiceover. Just look at movies like Big, Turner and Hooch, Sleepless in Seattle, Splash, Cast Away, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Polar Express, Toy Story, and need I say it...Forrest Gump!!! I studied for a highschool history test by watching that movie.
But I really don't want to see Captain Phillips. Sorry Tom.
matemike,
I'm not sure where you sail or what kind of pirates you have had contact with but trust me when I say the Somali type are not same. I actually did a couple transits there from Mombasa and while we were underway there were multiple attacks in the area one of which lasted 3.5 hours. As American shipboard security had we been taken alive we would have most likely been killed or ransomed to AQ affiliates. With the recent political changes in Africa and especially that area its dangerous. Just look at the attack in Nairobi.
madisonsfinest
10-16-13, 22:14
giving himself up to be a hostage for notoriety does not make any sense.
Eurodriver
10-16-13, 22:34
matemike,
I'm not sure where you sail or what kind of pirates you have had contact with but trust me when I say the Somali type are not same. I actually did a couple transits there from Mombasa and while we were underway there were multiple attacks in the area one of which lasted 3.5 hours. As American shipboard security had we been taken alive we would have most likely been killed or ransomed to AQ affiliates. With the recent political changes in Africa and especially that area its dangerous. Just look at the attack in Nairobi.
This - all day.
eternal24k
10-16-13, 22:37
I'm not sure I'm ok with making this guy into some kind of hero when his ship was within 240 miles of Somalia and there were advisories recommending a 600 mile distance due to things like pirates. Seemed entirely avoidable and he put everyone at risk and then necessitated a rescue effort on the tax payers dime.
I'm normally a big Tom Hanks fan but honestly I still haven't completely forgiven him for that Larry Crowne horseshit.
Yeah, he lives down the road from me, everybody around here acts like he an amazing hero, completely ignoring the fact he risked the lives of his crew
Yeah, he lives down the road from me, everybody around here acts like he an amazing hero, completely ignoring the fact he risked the lives of his crew
Funny how the world works.
People who do incredibly brave, selfless acts regularly go unnoticed and unrewarded and then we make heroes out of people who did nothing remarkable and are often culpable for their circumstances.
For the rest of this guys life people are going to buy him drinks and tell his story to their kids. Meanwhile, probably on the same block, is somebody with a prosthetic leg who risked himself for someone else because he believed it was the only chance they had.
He won't be getting a movie made. Fortunately such men are typically content with their purple heart and the rewards of knowing they did what they thought was right and that the wounds suffered are minor compared to the lifetime of regret that would have accompanied of not doing what they thought was right.
I queued up some documentaries on Netflix last night. One is from Discovery and the other from Nat Geo. I'll see how they are.
This is a personal thing of mine but I disconnect reality from the movies when I do go watch them. The ONLY reason I go to the movies is to be entertained. I don't sit there and compare world events to them even though they could be based off true events. It's all entertainment for me. It's a time period I set aside and not have to worry about things going on. I remember my pops taking me to the theater growing up. There was not a concern in the world.
Would you feel the same way about a film portraying the Weather Underground as civil rights freedom fighters?
Sure, because I wouldn't give a shit about a commie movie (plus im sure some morons think they are freedom fighters)
Same argument could be made about nelson mandela. Both however are irrelevant to this topic, since I'm pretty sure Cpt. Phillips didn't bomb anyone, nor did he have a political agenda........but why would that stop you from making the argument right?
It is a MOVIE (loosely based on a true story type of thing......ya know.....). Again, if you want the real deal, watch a documentary, that's what they are for. Or are people unable to separate fiction from reality???? Well don't answer that, most numbnuts think we've been fighting unjust wars and blowing billions on those same wars to defend "freedom" and "democracy"...lol I just answered my own question.
I queued up some documentaries on Netflix last night. One is from Discovery and the other from Nat Geo. I'll see how they are.
This is a personal thing of mine but I disconnect reality from the movies when I do go watch them. The ONLY reason I go to the movies is to be entertained. I don't sit there and compare world events to them even though they could be based off true events. It's all entertainment for me. It's a time period I set aside and not have to worry about things going on. I remember my pops taking me to the theater growing up. There was not a concern in the world.
I understand that. And there are some movies I enjoy that aren't 100% the way it happened. But the reason I like movies like Blackhawk Down and Tora, Tora, Tora is is because they are reliably factual. It's a bit like the difference between fiction and non fiction when it comes to books.
Sure, because I wouldn't give a shit about a commie movie (plus im sure some morons think they are freedom fighters)
Same argument could be made about nelson mandela. Both however are irrelevant to this topic, since I'm pretty sure Cpt. Phillips didn't bomb anyone, nor did he have a political agenda........but why would that stop you from making the argument right?
Of course Capt. Phillips didn't engage in any acts of terrorism. It was an extreme example to try and explain my POV regarding how some misrepresentations can be offensive.
It is a MOVIE (loosely based on a true story type of thing......ya know.....). Again, if you want the real deal, watch a documentary, that's what they are for. Or are people unable to separate fiction from reality???? Well don't answer that, most numbnuts think we've been fighting unjust wars and blowing billions on those same wars to defend "freedom" and "democracy"...lol I just answered my own question.
Again, I get that. All I'm doing is explaining my preference the way you have explained yours. To me, if you are going to take the time to tell a story, tell it right.
Take Pearl Harbor for example. They went to great lengths to identify Doris Miller and tell his story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Miller
But they decided to make composite characters out of the handful of pilots who actually got off the ground or came from the carrier Enterprise. They then had these same men become participants in the Doolittle Raid. To me it hurt the movie even more.
And I do understand you viewpoint, I can actually do that with the film The Patriot. It pretty much "told the story and set the tone" even if many of the characters, including the main character, were composites and many of the events were fictionalized for effect.
Although it probably would have been a better movie with some more historical accuracy.
I think my basic objection is that many tend to accept historical films as accurate in the same way so many of us believed the kid from the Life cereal commercial died eating pop rocks and coke.
MountainRaven
10-27-13, 22:13
Apparently the story that crewmembers of the Maersk Alabama are unhappy with the portrayal of Captain Phillips is likely part of a Hollywood "whisper campaign" - an effort to smear the name of an Oscar-hopeful movie in the hopes that it will negatively impact the film's likelihood of winning an Oscar.
Link: Word On The Street Is Oscars 'Whisper Campaigns' Have Begun : NPR (http://www.npr.org/2013/10/27/240759654/word-on-the-street-is-oscars-whisper-campaigns-have-begun?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook).
Apparently the story that crewmembers of the Maersk Alabama are unhappy with the portrayal of Captain Phillips is likely part of a Hollywood "whisper campaign" - an effort to smear the name of an Oscar-hopeful movie in the hopes that it will negatively impact the film's likelihood of winning an Oscar.
Link: Word On The Street Is Oscars 'Whisper Campaigns' Have Begun : NPR (http://www.npr.org/2013/10/27/240759654/word-on-the-street-is-oscars-whisper-campaigns-have-begun?utm_content=socialflow&utm_campaign=nprfacebook&utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook).
Well here are the facts.
The Maersk Alabama hijacking was a series of events involving piracy that began with four Somali pirates seizing the cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl.
On 27 April 2009, Maersk Alabama crew member Richard E. Hicks filed a lawsuit against his employer, Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line, Ltd., for knowingly sending him into pirate-infested waters near Somalia. Houston attorney Brian Beckcom, who is representing Richard Hicks and eight other members of the crew, said that Captain Phillips knowingly and willingly put the crew in danger by ignoring reports of recent pirate attacks and disregarding warnings to remain at least 600 miles from the coast of Somalia.
I don't think the 2009 lawsuit has ANYTHING to do with trying to harm the oscar chances for the film. In fact I believe that those involved in the film are engaging in a deception campaign to try and garner sympathy for the film by suggesting they are victims of a smear campaign complete with implications of "unnamed crew members" when they are in fact well known.
MountainRaven
10-28-13, 11:29
I'm sure that if the lawsuit goes to trial, we will learn all the facts of the case.
Since it will probably settle out of court, we probably will never learn all the fact of the case.
In any case, it is interesting how the warning was apparently issued the day before the attack occurred. Which made it pretty difficult to comply with, especially in light of the fact that the entire coast of Kenya is within 600 miles of Somalia and Mombasa (destination) alone is within 600 miles of Mogadishu. And how, in September of 2010, the Maersk Alabama was nearly a thousand miles away from Somalia and managed to get attacked again (this time they had a security team aboard that defeated the attempt).
;)
I'm sure that if the lawsuit goes to trial, we will learn all the facts of the case.
Since it will probably settle out of court, we probably will never learn all the fact of the case.
In any case, it is interesting how the warning was apparently issued the day before the attack occurred. Which made it pretty difficult to comply with, especially in light of the fact that the entire coast of Kenya is within 600 miles of Somalia and Mombasa (destination) alone is within 600 miles of Mogadishu. And how, in September of 2010, the Maersk Alabama was nearly a thousand miles away from Somalia and managed to get attacked again (this time they had a security team aboard that defeated the attempt).
;)
We don't need a court case to know where they were, we don't need a court case to know what the warnings said.
Now if the guy had been almost 1000 miles away (which proves 600 is possible so we can negate that point of your reply) and he still got attacked while heeding a 600 mile warning THEN there would be no fault on the part of the captain.
The problem is they received a 600 mile warning and were only 240 miles out. And those who find fault with that action because it put them at risk didn't start complaining because somebody was gonna make a movie. The fact that somebody made a movie turning this careless act into a hero tale is just additional insult.
MountainRaven
10-28-13, 14:01
We don't need a court case to know where they were, we don't need a court case to know what the warnings said.
Now if the guy had been almost 1000 miles away (which proves 600 is possible so we can negate that point of your reply) and he still got attacked while heeding a 600 mile warning THEN there would be no fault on the part of the captain.
The problem is they received a 600 mile warning and were only 240 miles out. And those who find fault with that action because it put them at risk didn't start complaining because somebody was gonna make a movie. The fact that somebody made a movie turning this careless act into a hero tale is just additional insult.
Hold on… So, when you get attacked 1000 miles away from Chicago, it proves that violence can happen anywhere. When you get attacked 240 miles from Chicago it proves that violence can happen anywhere. When a ship gets attacked 1000 miles from Somalia, it proves that a ship doesn't need to be 240 miles from Somalia… what?
I'd bet dollars to donuts that when the warning came through Captain Phillips made a judgement call: That he can sail x more miles and add y more days placing his ship and crew at risk of pirate attack for z more hours… or they can just haul ass for port. And then your "they're attacked within 600 miles thing" would still apply, even if he had turned for open ocean all ahead full and didn't make it past that line before being attacked.
The Maersk Alabama has been attacked four more times since the incident depicted in the movie. At least one of those times was past the magical "no pirates allowed here" line.
Frankly, suing your employer because you actually had to deal with a risk that you knew about when you took the job seems a little frivolous. Digression: Or maybe it's the way forward? Maybe there should be a class-action against the federal government by Iraq and Afghanistan vets who were blown up by IEDs and suffered TBI and/or PTSD. Maybe every time a kid gets killed by a gangbanger in Chicago, the parents should sue the city for failing to provide an environment in which it is safe to raise children.
I'm not seeing how a 2009 law suit becomes a "whisper campaign" to undermine the Oscar chances for a 2013 movie.
But the reason I like movies like Blackhawk Down and Tora, Tora, Tora is is because they are reliably factual. It's a bit like the difference between fiction and non fiction when it comes to books.
Now THAT's funny.....
I saw it and was moderately entertained. However, could not help but think throughout the first half that a lot of problems could have been solved with an M2 and a thousand rounds of ammunition.
Magic_Salad0892
10-28-13, 16:07
I understand that. And there are some movies I enjoy that aren't 100% the way it happened. But the reason I like movies like Blackhawk Down and Tora, Tora, Tora is is because they are reliably factual. It's a bit like the difference between fiction and non fiction when it comes to books.
Reading Black Hawk Down makes the movie better.
They really got some of the little details down well. Like the dude who took an RPG round, the severed hand, and some other stuff that I thought was just added in.
I saw it and was moderately entertained. However, could not help but think throughout the first half that a lot of problems could have been solved with an M2 and a thousand rounds of ammunition.
"I'd give an R&R in Bangkok for the smell of a .50!"
Now THAT's funny.....
Is it your opinion that those movies are not factually reliable?
Hold on… So, when you get attacked 1000 miles away from Chicago, it proves that violence can happen anywhere. When you get attacked 240 miles from Chicago it proves that violence can happen anywhere. When a ship gets attacked 1000 miles from Somalia, it proves that a ship doesn't need to be 240 miles from Somalia… what?
I'd bet dollars to donuts that when the warning came through Captain Phillips made a judgement call: That he can sail x more miles and add y more days placing his ship and crew at risk of pirate attack for z more hours… or they can just haul ass for port. And then your "they're attacked within 600 miles thing" would still apply, even if he had turned for open ocean all ahead full and didn't make it past that line before being attacked.
The Maersk Alabama has been attacked four more times since the incident depicted in the movie. At least one of those times was past the magical "no pirates allowed here" line.
Frankly, suing your employer because you actually had to deal with a risk that you knew about when you took the job seems a little frivolous. Digression: Or maybe it's the way forward? Maybe there should be a class-action against the federal government by Iraq and Afghanistan vets who were blown up by IEDs and suffered TBI and/or PTSD. Maybe every time a kid gets killed by a gangbanger in Chicago, the parents should sue the city for failing to provide an environment in which it is safe to raise children.
Let me simplify this for you.
The guy received threat warnings and chose to ignore them and some of the crew feel he placed them all in danger as a result. That fact that bad shit can happen anywhere does not invalidate threat warnings.
As for the whole oscar thing, it's BS smoke and mirrors done to offset the genuine negativity associated with making such a person a hero.
Moose-Knuckle
10-29-13, 02:57
However, could not help but think throughout the first half that a lot of problems could have been solved with an M2 and a thousand rounds of ammunition.
I think the same thing every time I'm stuck in traffic and or encounter road raggers . . .
Is it your opinion that those movies are not factually reliable?
It is my opinion (as I was not there) that from knowing and speaking to several people in involved in BHD that Bowden's book left some holes and was not at all inclusive. I think the movie did a respectable job in representing the major themes of the book and two correlate pretty well. I like the book and the movie, and the event certainly opened the door to many innovations.
As for Tora, Tora, Tora....it was a great movie and I have no frame of reference on which to judge.
I saw it and was moderately entertained. However, could not help but think throughout the first half that a lot of problems could have been solved with an M2 and a thousand rounds of ammunition.
That would get the job done. If the crew spotted them through the big eyes and could ID them as pirates, they could chew on their asses with the M2 before they got inside effective RPG range.
Hollywood is chatting the Captain up as some kind of hero, which I think is BS. Heroes are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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