Tom Hanks delivers a deep performance in Captain Phillips

FLICK PICKS: TOM Hanks gives a deep performance in Captain Phillips, Steve Coogan channels Alan Partridge and Snow White is given a retro reboot.

WHAT movies to see on the weekend, with Leigh Paatsch.

FULL COMPLEMENTS OF THE SEIZIN'

The best movie dramas based on real-life events can make you forget the established facts, and simply feel the moment at hand. Such is the case with CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, a gripping account of the 2009 hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama by four Somali pirates. Director Paul Greengrass and screenwriter Billy Ray take a deep-focus, investigative tack with a compelling story. No detail is spared. Every piece of the procedural puzzle that must be handed to the viewer is delivered. Most importantly of all, we are joined at the hip throughout the ordeal to Captain Richard Phillips (masterfully played by Tom Hanks). While Phillips is able to shield a surprising number of his crew from direct contact with the pirates, the threat to his own life escalates by the hour. True stories on film rarely rise to the high standard achieved by the filmmakers here. The same accolades must be given to Tom Hanks for his centred, unfailingly credible and nuanced performance in the title role. Highly recommended.

{General release.}

A MAN, A MICROPHONE AND A MAJOR CRISIS

ALAN PARTRIDGE: ALPHA PAPAmarks the long-awaited movie debut of a British TV character revered by comedy connoisseurs all over the globe. Alan Partridge (played by Steve Coogan) is a washed-up TV talk-show host now making ends meet on a low-rating radio station. When a fellow DJ is sacked by management and takes the entire station hostage, the bitter, twisted and supremely self-serving Partridge is the only person the cops and the crook will trust.

A big mistake for both parties. Perhaps best appreciated if you have already had some exposure to the unique absurdity of all things Alan Partridge. The humour can plunge to dark depths very quickly if you're not on your guard. So have your wits about you, and be prepared to laugh hard and often. Sometimes against your better judgment. If you need a crash course in the bizarre brilliance of all things Alan, try a few webisodes of his series Mid Morning Matters on YouTube.

{General releas e.}

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SNOW BUSINESS

Here is a sublime example of how to magically transform the familiar into the original. Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger takes the famous fairy tale Snow White, and gives it a retro reboot that kicks some majorly innovative goals. While BLANCANIEVES will be compared by many to recent Oscar-winner The Artist - yep, it's a black-and-white silent - the two share about as much in common as a panther and a panda.

Even when dragging his audience into the darker recesses of the story first penned by the Brothers Grimm, Berger never lets the heady momentum drop. Nor is Blancanieves unafraid to rewrite or totally shred the source text as it sees fit. Lovers of film technique are going to be knocked out by the editing, cinematography and 1920s set designs on display. A flamenco-influenced musical score swells with sounds for sore ears.

{Limited release}