By Grace Young

I went to the theater with no intentions of seeing Captain Phillips but I was convinced on the grounds of “it’s a longer movie so we get to spend more time together!” Because I’m dumb and didn’t think that one through all the way, I ended up in theater 3, all the way in the back with my knees pulled to my chest and hands firmly pressed over my ears. I am incredibly terrified of guns and loud noises, which makes my decision to see this movie even more questionable.

However, once the movie started and I got used to the gunfire, my hands left my ears and I almost started to enjoy myself. Tom Hanks has just the right fatherly feel to play Captain Phillips and Barkhad Abdi – who had no previous acting experience and only auditioned for the waffle his brother had promised him if he did – is thrilling and scarily real in his role as head pirate.

Captain Phillips is based on a true story of a cargo ship hijacking off the coast of Somalia and is certainly not a fluffy story to watch on a Sunday afternoon. There are guns and a moderate amount of blood, but it is a captivating story on human bravery that I would definitely recommend.

View reviews for the other Oscar nominated films here.