Sully

is a dramatization of the 2009 "Miracle On the Hudson," in which pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed an airliner, whose engines were dead from birds flying into them, on the Hudson river and saved the lives of all 155 people on board.  I've wanted to see it since it came out, and tonight I finally had the chance.

I loved it, though not without some reservations.

All the actors turn in strong performances within the limits of the roles they have, but of course Tom Hanks in the title role shines.  It's a perfect match for him, and I can't imagine anyone doing a better job with the character.

Director Clint Eastwood assembled a note-perfect film and created a bad guy, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), where real life didn't offer one.  (From the quick online scan I did, the real NTSB folks were nowhere near as mean; they were just good people doing their jobs.)

The movie's greatest joy, though, comes from the pleasure of watching competent, intelligent people do their jobs under stress competently and intelligently.  Making the NTSB question their handling of the situation only made you cheer for them more.

What reservations I have come from the handling of the NTSB and from a few scenes in which the angst was just too much.

Overall, though, it was a gripping, upbeat movie that made you want to cheer for all the main characters and for the host of minor characters representing the many New Yorkers who responded to the water landing and helped make sure everyone made it home.

Go see Sully before it leaves the theaters.

A Hologram for the King

With this weekend's lackluster openings not enough of a temptation to drag me from my house the night before I begin a two-week trip, tonight's movie was the Blu-ray pressing of this recent film.  I'd missed it in the theaters and had wanted to see it, so it was an easy choice.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, primarily because at almost no point was I sure what was going to happen next.  The plot moved in a relatively reasonable fashion, but it contained enough oddities and grace notes to make the ride worthwhile.

I said "relatively reasonable" because a great many of Tom Hanks' actions in this one would probably have gotten him kicked out of Saudi Arabia or even killed.  As with most movies these days, in this one at multiple occasions you had to suspend your reality filters and go along with it, or you would break your suspension of disbelief beyond repair.

If you haven't seen the movie, I don't want to tell you the plot, and I encourage you not to check it in advance.  Just turn on the movie and let it wash over you.  It's worth the time.

Bridge of Spies

is Steven Spielberg at his pseudo-documentary best, with Tom Hanks proving yet again that he is one of the finest film actors ever.  Mark Rylance, playing Russian spy Rudolf Abel, turns in a beautiful, understated performance that is an acting clinic in itself.  Both men inhabit their characters; their every gesture and small expression is picture perfect.  No actor in this movie goes over the top; it was a joy to watch the performances.

The script, two of whose three authors were the Coen brothers, is similarly and to my surprise understated, succumbing rarely to melodrama and often letting much go unspoken, as would happen in these sorts of negotiations.

When the film did feel like it might be overdoing it--did Donovan really see a shooting at the wall?--the scenes moved quickly past and generally came across as reasonable dramatizations of the past.

In 1990, as the wall was coming down, I rode on a train from Florence, Italy to Berlin.  For a little while, the train passed along the border between what was then the two Berlins.  West Berlin was on my left, East Berlin on my right.  To the left, life was technicolor.  To the right, it was black and white, bombed-out and apparently untouched since WWII.  (I doubt that was the case, but it looked that way.)  I was stunned.  Spielberg's rendition of East Germany exactly captured that feeling.

Bridge of Spies is an old-school, understated, excellent film about a very interesting time in our history.  I recommend it highly.

Cloud Atlas

The moment I saw the first Cloud Atlas trailer, I knew I would have to see this film.  I haven't read the David Mitchell novel of the same name, but I've heard a lot about it and have it on my to-read list.  The interwoven narratives that span time and place attracted me, as did the film's look.  When I learned that Andy and Lana Wachowski were in charge of half the film, I understood why so many of the shots were so gorgeous.  I knew I would go.

I wasn't at all sure, though, whether I'd walk out of the theater happy.  My nervousness grew when I learned the film ran just eight minutes short of three hours; Wachowskis can be self-indulgent. 

I'm happy to report that my fears were for nought; I loved it.  I was never bored, never squirmed in my seat, and despite drinking a rather large Coke Zero in the course of it, never left for the bathroom.  I wouldn't have cut any of it.  More, if they were to issue a four-hour Director's Cut, I'd preorder it. 

That said, if you're not comfortable with six different stories that jump around in place and time, or if you have trouble following disjointed narratives, this movie is not for you.  I loved all of the narrative devices.  Each story alone engaged me, and unlike some critics, I felt the endings of each brought them all together nicely. 

I particularly enjoyed all the main actors playing multiple roles, though there were times when the prosthetics necessary to turn some of the actors into Asians were too obvious and, in a few moments, wince-worthy.  Tom Hanks and Halle Berry delivered the goods in all of their different characters.  Jim Broadbent was wild-eyed and charming throughout--even when he was an unlikable ship's captain.  Hugo Weaving took every opportunity to chew the scenery--which is, I have to assume, exactly why they hired him. 

I do have some minor criticisms, but they'd also act as spoilers, so I'll withhold them.  Cloud Atlas may not wind up being the very best movie of the year, but even this far in advance of the Christmas Oscar-contender releases I'm going to guess that it will belong in any good Top 5 list. 

Don't miss this one.