Ellen Page is indeed “pretty” as Sylvia Likens; a lot prettier than the girl her character is based on. The broad title doesn’t do her justice. This is a story of not just An American Crime but domestic abuse blatant and extreme enough to reach levels of maudlinism. The plot seems improbable; family and friends joining together to beat and torture one frail teenage girl; but it’s actually whitewashed. The real-life accusations are even worse.
my rating : 3 of 5
2007
It’s Tom Hanks versus a gang of gun-toting Somalians in Captain Phillips, a movie based on the Maersk Alabama hijacking of 2009. The pirates are ugly and annoying, but director Paul Greengrass does a notable job of keeping his audience on its toes.
Suspense arises eighteen minutes in and doesn’t let up from there, though the plot takes a turn near the halfway point. Richard Phillips, portrayed here as a hero, wrote a book about the incident but the true story probably isn’t nearly as epic as this.
my rating : 4 of 5
2013