The Edge of the Frame

Does everyone remember when a cargo ship was attacked by Somali pirates a few years back? It took me a few seconds, but I got there. Sometimes the best true stories are those that not many have heard of. It doesn’t skyrocket expectations and it allows people to be surprised with an “I can’t believe that really happened,” moment. It certainly doesn’t hurt, however, when one of America’s finest and most popular actors is cast in the lead role to help job people’s memories.

It’s been announced that Tom Hanks will be playing the role of Richard Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked by pirates in April of 2009. In order to spare the lives of his crew, Captain Phillips allowed himself to be taken hostage by the pirates. After four days of captivity he was rescued by U.S. Navy Seals. The film is based on Phillips’ memoir, “A Captain’s Duty.”

I must say that Hanks hasn’t had the best decade in terms of acting. Aside from his voice contribution to “Toy Story 3,” the last ten years have been plagued by projects like “Angels and Demons,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Ladykillers,” “Polar Express” and “The Terminal.” He has been absent from the Oscar nominations for ten years and it’s been a question as to when, if ever, he would take home that coveted third Best Actor Oscar (making him the first actor to ever accomplish such a feat).

However, things may be looking up for America’s new Jimmy Stewart. This is only the tip of the iceberg of a number of promising looking films in his arsenal over the next few years. There’s “Triple Frontier,” Kathryn Bigelow’s adventure film follow-up to her Oscar-winning job on “The Hurt Locker.” Also, there’s “Larry Crowne,” Tom Hanks’ own writer/director project which he will also star in, about a middle-aged man who decides to go back to college. Finally, there’s Stephen Daldry’s post-9/11 film “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” Throw this in with this new role of playing a real-life hero who fought against incredible odds, and you’ve got one great time to be a Tom Hanks fan…..or Tom Hanks, himself, for that matter.