The story of Chesley Sullenberger, an American pilot who became a hero after landing his damaged plane on the Hudson River in order to save the flight's passengers and crew.
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Director:
Paul Greengrass
Stars:
Tom Hanks,
Barkhad Abdi,
Barkhad Abdirahman
A dramatization of the disaster back in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon created a giant explosion, which created the worst oil spill in American history.
Director:
Peter Berg
Stars:
Mark Wahlberg,
Kurt Russell,
Douglas M. Griffin
During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
Director:
Oliver Stone
Stars:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Shailene Woodley,
Melissa Leo
Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.
A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early.
Director:
Morten Tyldum
Stars:
Jennifer Lawrence,
Chris Pratt,
Michael Sheen
The story of Ray Kroc, a salesman who turned two brothers' innovative fast food eatery, McDonald's, into the biggest restaurant business in the world, with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.
Director:
John Lee Hancock
Stars:
Michael Keaton,
Nick Offerman,
John Carroll Lynch
Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
In 1942, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war.
On Thursday, January 15th, 2009, the world witnessed the "Miracle on the Hudson" when Captain Chesley Sullenberger, nicknamed "Sully", glided his disabled plane onto the frigid waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and his career. Written by
Warner Bros.
Chesley Sullenberger: during the credits, in archive footage of a U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crew and passengers reunion. See more »
Goofs
When US Airways 1549 is shown taxiing to the runways, the aircraft in the background are United Boeing 737 MAX. Strangely 737 MAX didn't exist back in 2009! 737 MAX made its first flight in 2016, 7 years after the Hudson incident. This fact can be confirmed by looking at the split wing-lets of the 737 MAX. See more »
Quotes
ATC #1:
Aren't you coming?
Patrick Harten:
I guess you didn't hear. I lost Cactus 1549 in the Hudson.
ATC #1:
Yeah? I guess you haven't heard. He landed the son of a bitch.
Patrick Harten:
What?
ATC #1:
Everyone's been pulled off. It's a miracle!
Patrick Harten:
That's not possible.
See more »
Crazy Credits
As the credits roll, there is a reuniting scene with the passengers and crew. Another scene follows shortly with Sully's wife talking briefly about what has been going on at their home since the miraculous landing on the Hudson River. See more »
* technically perfect. What Clint Eastwood shares with Ron Howard is that they are both actors-turned-directors who consistently make technically perfect films. (Howard, on the other hand, was never voted "sexiest man alive" in his acting career. Just a trivia point...)
* what they also share is a penchant for taking larger-than-life people and literally making them much-larger-than-life on the big screen. After this, you will feel like you have known Sully as long as his family.
* in the presence of such directorial talent, it is easy to overlook the casting choices. In this case, I suggest that Hanks may not get the credit he is due. This may be the best performance of his career. He sets a deer-in-the-headlights tone early; and by mid-movie, the viewer starts to feel as paranoid as his character. Amazing performance.
* recommended for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that it is one of the best films of the year.
And now the esoteric part of the review:
* have a friend, a university professor, who once explained to me, at some length, that the #1 most "unnatural" event in life is an MRI scan. You are placed immobile in a life-size cassette and then inserted into an appliance that bombards you with EM waves while deafening you with noise unlike you have ever heard before. Like a baby, you are completely dependent on outside help, and, if the machine failed, it is far from certain you could escape on your own. Yet this is a part of our culture, and the common wisdom is we should be grateful the tech exists in the first place.
* the second most un-natural event in our culture? Air travel, he said. (You can do the comparisons on your own.)
* the kicker is that my friend ended his dissertation by mentioning there are "standing" MRIs which do the same job and are more comfortable but expensive, so many hospitals and clinics avoid them. We are, after all, a society that is all about money.
* watching the people leave the plane in the film I remembered my friend's strong views. A century ago, air travel was a very different experience. If you think about it, as is the case with the MRI, it is really all about the money.
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![Sully -- The story of [link=nm3314810], who became a hero after gliding his plane along the water in the Hudson River, saving all of the airplane flights 155 crew and passengers.](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/G/01/imdb/images/nopicture/small/no-video-slate-856072904._CB514893337_.png "Sully -- The story of [link=nm3314810], who became a hero after gliding his plane along the water in the Hudson River, saving all of the airplane flights 155 crew and passengers.")
First, the film itself:
* technically perfect. What Clint Eastwood shares with Ron Howard is that they are both actors-turned-directors who consistently make technically perfect films. (Howard, on the other hand, was never voted "sexiest man alive" in his acting career. Just a trivia point...)
* what they also share is a penchant for taking larger-than-life people and literally making them much-larger-than-life on the big screen. After this, you will feel like you have known Sully as long as his family.
* in the presence of such directorial talent, it is easy to overlook the casting choices. In this case, I suggest that Hanks may not get the credit he is due. This may be the best performance of his career. He sets a deer-in-the-headlights tone early; and by mid-movie, the viewer starts to feel as paranoid as his character. Amazing performance.
* recommended for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that it is one of the best films of the year.
And now the esoteric part of the review:
* have a friend, a university professor, who once explained to me, at some length, that the #1 most "unnatural" event in life is an MRI scan. You are placed immobile in a life-size cassette and then inserted into an appliance that bombards you with EM waves while deafening you with noise unlike you have ever heard before. Like a baby, you are completely dependent on outside help, and, if the machine failed, it is far from certain you could escape on your own. Yet this is a part of our culture, and the common wisdom is we should be grateful the tech exists in the first place.
* the second most un-natural event in our culture? Air travel, he said. (You can do the comparisons on your own.)
* the kicker is that my friend ended his dissertation by mentioning there are "standing" MRIs which do the same job and are more comfortable but expensive, so many hospitals and clinics avoid them. We are, after all, a society that is all about money.
* watching the people leave the plane in the film I remembered my friend's strong views. A century ago, air travel was a very different experience. If you think about it, as is the case with the MRI, it is really all about the money.