January 22, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • Page 19 Woody Allen directs exceptional character study by Dennis Seuling “Blue Jasmine” (Sony) follows the fate of Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) who, after the arrest of her husband (Alec Baldwin) for financial fraud, moves from an expensive New York City apartment to far humbler digs in a seedy part of San Francisco to stay with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins). Ginger feels sorry for Jasmine, who is totally unprepared to function in a world that requires her to earn her own living and devotes most of her time to swigging vodka, complaining, and entertaining fanci- ful ideas about her future. The arrangement creates stress for all concerned, including Ginger’s working-class boyfriend, Chili (Bobby Canavale). Parallels to “A Streetcar Named Desire” are obvious. All the elements are here: the fragile lead character who has fallen on hard times, drinks too much, flaunts her cultured sensibilities and mourns her gen- teel past; the rough-hewn brother-in-law who sees her for what she is; and the sister who tries to keep peace among the three of them. “Blue Jasmine,” however, has its own identity and appears modern and timely, in part because of the recent Bernie Madoff scandal. Hawkins does a fine job as contrast to Blanchett’s Jasmine. Pleasant, generous, sympathetic, and hard-working, her Ginger embodies the qualities that Jasmine seems unable to summon. Andrew Dice Clay por- trays Augie, Ginger’s former husband. His casting is one of the film’s pleasant sur- prises. Clay is completely convincing as a manual laborer embittered by thwarted aspirations. Blu-ray and DVD bonuses include “Notes from the Red Carpet,” a cast dis- cussion of the making of the film and their characters, and a press conference. “Captain Phillips” (Sony) is an account of the actual attempt by four Somali pirates to hijack a huge American merchant ship. Phillips (Tom Hanks) takes his vessel on a route off the coast of Africa. A group of Somali pirates succeeds in commandeering the ship. They are led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi), a gaunt, frightening presence. Hanks is impressive as Phillips, though he doesn’t entirely master the New England accent. Abdi, a native-born Somali from the Midwest, makes the most searing impres- sion. An untrained newcomer to acting, Abdi is totally convincing as his character’s desperation and frustration mount. Unlike his fellow pirates (Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali), Muse is motivated more by reason than emotion. Director Paul Greengrass captures the tension, particularly when the pirates take command of the ship. He masterfully coor- dinates performance, editing, and photog- raphy to create an exceptional cinematic experience. As in “United 93,” the outcome of the film is known to all who remember the news reports, yet Greengrass manages to make the events riveting. The two disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack contains three making-of featurettes and commentary with the director. “Instructions Not Included” (Lions Gate) focuses on Valentin (Eugenio Derbez), a bachelor in his 30s living in Acapulco who fancies himself quite the ladies man and attracts a parade of pretty women for one- night stands. One day, one of his conquests (Jessica Lindsey) shows up with a baby that she claims is his, and takes off. Valentin is left holding a baby girl, thoroughly over- whelmed and unprepared for what being a parent involves. Deciding that baby Maggie will have (continued on Crossword page) Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin star in ‘Blue Jasmine.’