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Friday, December 9, 2016

Report Card---"Sully"

It turns out that there is a whole lot more to the "Sully" story than the fact that he landed the plane on the Hudson River and everyone survived.
That's all I knew about it going in.
I hadn't any idea that he got a whole lot of flak from the NTSB  to the point that there was a major investigation which came very close to casting Sully as a careless villain who played fast and loose with his options, and could have grounded him permanently..
It's the playing out of this public investigation that is the guts of this movie.
This is an extremely satisfying film.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Consistently absorbing.
A+.

Compelling even?

Constantly.
A+.

Is it controversial?

It was at the time.
A.

Is it a story worth telling?

Certainly.
A+.

Is it good storytelling?

Extremely.
A+.

Is it well written?

Very.
A.

Is it well cast? Well played?

Yes and yes.  Hanks is his usual awesome.  He's perfect..  Laura Linney, whom I love, is kind of wasted in  of those "loyal wife" roles, but it's always good to see her.
A+.

Well shot?

Clint Eastwood was at the helm.  I am no fan of Eastwood being at the helm.  He has had a tendency to make stuff up, as in the J. Edgar Hoover biopic.  But here, he had the good taste to tell the true story, probably because  Sully was on the set, and kept things accurate.
So Eastwood simply stayed out of the way and shot it well
A..

Did the director put such a personal stamp on it so that no one else could have made it?

Not really.
D.

How long does it take to establish the film's locale and time period?

Immediately.  Not a problem.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

Length was not a problem.
A.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

Very much, and very much.
A+.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

It was all a major revelation.
A+.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Sometimes.
B.

Is it funny?

Here and there.
B.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

At least six bucks, but that's me.
A.

Is it impressive?

Very.
A.

Overall grade: A..

Very much worth your time.

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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@comcast.net

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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2 comments:

  1. Mark:
    Unfortunately, the conflict the movie presents is from our post-fact era. There was no conflict between Sully and the NTSB, which was simply investigating the crash, as it does every crash, to see what can be learned about landing a crippled airliner under circumstances no one had ever successfully handled. See, e.g. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/09/sully_is_the_perfect_fantasy_for_the_post_fact_era_of_the_brexit_and_trump.html
    for one of many critiques of the film adding a fake narrative to bulk out a story.

    ReplyDelete

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About Me

Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."