flight's captain, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, made the split-second decision to ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River, rather than risk flying into any buildings. Incredibly, the aircraft, though damaged by the bird strikes and the water landing, stayed afloat long enough for rescue personnel to save the lives of all 155 people on that flight, an operation that took only twenty-four minutes in all. The incident has been into the highly engaging cinematic docudrama SULLY.Based on the book "Highest Duty" by Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow, the film, as directed by Clint Eastwood who some time back traded his acting career for one focused solely on direction, though he had been doing both on and off since 1971's PLAY MISTY FOR ME , focuses in on the pressures that Sullenberger, excellently played by Tom Hanks as always , underwent in the months following the crash. The media attention was enormous, but it was also highly scrutinizing as well. And in those months, Sullenberger and his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles Aaron Eckhart went before a seemingly endless battery of hearings conducted by both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transpiration Safety Board as to whether Sullenberger's judgment on that day was sound, given that flight simulations supposedly had shown that the plane could have accomplished either one of the four scenarios return to LaGuardia; landing at JFK; Newark; or Teterboro while achieving the same result that Hanks and Eckhart had achieved. But in the testimony the two men give, Hanks argues that the basic human element was totally left out of those scenarios. From the moment the bird strikes happened until US Airways 1549 ditched into the Hudson River, there were only 208 seconds three minutes and twenty-eight seconds ; and in that time, trying to fly the disabled craft onto a dry runway was totally unrealistic and could have resulted in the deaths of all onboard and even more on the ground.Since restaging the actual saga of Flight 1549 would be a matter of getting all the details right, helped out by Sullenberger's own book and his four decades worth of flight experience, it was really up to Eastwood's direction, and Hanks' ability to underplay, to get into the mindset of "Sully" as he dealt with all the media and government attention that he, his wife Laura Linney , and Eckhart went through in those months following what the media had deemed the "Miracle On The Hudson." Hanks deftly shows the struggles that Sullenberger faced, via flashbacks to that cold wintry day in the skies over the Big Apple, with respect to what he could have done differently or what both the media and the government investigators think he could have done differently . But at no time during the actual FAA/NTSB hearings did Sully ever lose his cool and his composure. He merely pointed out that the human element needed to be taken into consideration, not just what some alternate computer simulation said could have been done, to facilitate the saving of everyone on Flight 1549; and the playback of the flight voice recorders clears up any questions as to the judgment and veracity behind Sully's decisions.That this saga, which, like 1995's APOLLO 13 which also starred Hanks and 2015's THE 33, had a hugely successful outcome, should have been made into a movie probably shouldn't surprise anyone. But just as importantly, and also just like those films, SULLY, thanks to Hanks' usual great Everyman portrayal of Sullenberger, the kind of heroism on display is that of common people, including Hanks, his crew, his wife, the passengers, and the rescue personnel of New York City, and not just some comic-book, super-patriotic depiction of heroism that too much of Hollywood has been about in the 21st century. Nothing about the saga of US Airways Flight 1549, or the resulting Miracle On The Hudson, was cut-and-dried; it was reality, and Eastwood and Hanks should both be commended for making it that way, and successfully so.

his best movie; Oscar nominations all around will be well deserved. This is a timeless movie to be enjoyed for generations because the characters are real people who are bonded by a heroic man, husband, father, positive role model and dedicated aviator. Highly recommended as a movie worth an encore viewing.

Airways Flight. "Sully" is lean, clean, and inspiring—much like Eastwood. The conflict in "Sully" centers upon the investigation of whether Sully made the right choice. Hanks's authenticity and humility evoke Sully's strength and compassion. He reminds us that Sully did his best, and he got it right. "Sully" is one of the best movies of the year. "Sully" follows the National Transportation Safety Board NTSB investigation into the airplane landing on the Hudson River. Todd Komarnicki's screenplay based on the book by Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow seamlessly intertwines flashbacks from the water landing, and the NTSB proceedings. Eastwood effortlessly orchestrates the narrative of the startling images of the landing and the irony of the investigation. The visual effects of the plane landing on the Hudson are spectacular. Cinematographer Tom Stern captures the impact on a very personal scale. Water flooding the cabin. Sully and crew racing into action getting the passengers to safety. We see the fear in everyone's face, and the courage to get through. We are in awe. Eastwood and Komarnicki graciously acknowledge the community of heroes: from the ferry boat crew at the scene, the Coast Guard divers, to all the first responders and the police. And it starts with Sully. He has his anchors of support. Aaron Eckhart is loyal and solid as First Officer Jeff Skiles. He was his invaluable right hand during the unthinkable, and during the investigation. Just minutes into the flight, birds collide with the plane's engines. Sully notices that they lost thrust in both engines, forcing them to choose an emergency landing. Eckhart is smart and subtle in his unwavering support of Hank's Sully through it all. Laura Linney amazes as Sully's wife Lorraine, his emotional rock. Sully has his doubts, and she is always there for him. Linney is relegated by the story to phone conversations with Sully. She beautifully accentuates that what Sully does sources from their profound relationship. That also goes for Eckhart. They all see the best in each other. At the story arc Hanks as Sully graciously acknowledges all the heroes involved. We are also present to that he is catalyst for heroes emerging. Everyone involved was grateful to Sully. Eastwood is succinct in the irony of it all. Sully did his best, and saved 155 people. The NTSB scrutinized whether there were other viable alternatives. What Sully did worked in an unprecedented crisis. Period.The music in "Sully" both eloquently highlights and undercuts the range of emotions. Christian Jacob and the Tierney Sutton Band composed the score from Clint Eastwood's musical theme. The music's clarity and simplicity embody the movie's quiet heroism."Sully" is beautiful simplicity and power. Eastwood and Hanks celebrate people selflessly doing their best to make a difference. One of the measures of a hero is that he or she acknowledges and inspires other heroes. "Sully" does all that and more. It is one of the best movies of the year.

under 2 hours. Of course, the flight itself isn't the only hurdle that captain Sully went through, as he dealt with reporters, investigators, and the National Transportation Safety Board determined to diminish his heroic efforts.Who could possibly be better to play Captain Sully than the great Tom Hanks. Having wonderfully played another "controversial" captain back in 2013 as Captain Phillips, there was no doubt he could pull off a somewhat similar role. Boy does Hanks deliver. He always effortlessly pulls out the big speeches and powerful dialogue well, but I often find his more subtle acting to be more impressive. It's the moments when Sully is reacting to the big moments with only his facial expressions and body languages that give me goosebumps. Not many actors are able to bring me to the verge of tears just by a facial expression, but Hanks is one of them.Eastwood and his editors also deserve tons of credit for their work here. Much like Hanks' subtle acting, I love when Eastwood holds back the bombastic music that can sometimes take you out of a story like this and lets the audience choose how to feel by watching gorgeous cinematography and poignant acting and directing. This may be Eastwood's best directorial work since Million Dollar Baby. He understood exactly the moments to use and not music in order to pull the emotion out of his audience.Most of all, this film is a great display of the power of the human spirit. Everything about this film is grounded with humanity. No one seems fake. So often Hollywood is flooded with over-the-top filmmaking that can easily dilute the power of the film's message. Sully knows exactly what it's going for, and it does it to near perfection.+Eastwood back at the top+Hanks subtle acting+Power of human spirit91/100

intensity is all along. It left me and many audience in tears. It feels realistic in the IMAX edition with great sound effects surrounding you. The screenplay of this film is unique, Client Eastwood is an outstanding director has outdone himself with this gripping tale.Tom hanks has been the heart of the film. The acting was top notch. I am sure his meetings with Chesley SUllenberger must have contributed something in the acting department. Aaron Eckhart as Jeff Skiles also did a great job with his subtle humor and great screen presence. He makes you wanting more of the character.Coming back to the facts, Client Eastwood has left what we all know because of the footages shown in YouTube and the hearings. Overall, great performances, superb screenplay, neat editing and fabulous visual and audio effects make this film easily the best in 2016.Above all, this one has a heart!9/10

Eastwood's 2003 Academy Award winning "Mystic River" in that he deliberately takes his time in adapting the book, as he does here as well. The script is a little odd, shifting back and forth between the events of the day itself and the hearing to decide whether the pilot and co-pilot were at fault for not heading to one of the nearby airports. This leads to a little awkwardness during the first third of the film, but then works out just fine. We see the big event twice - The epic landing of the jet is more than worth seeing in and of itself.Aaron Eckhart, for once, gets to play a good guy, the co-pilot. How nice to see Delphi Harrington, a much underused actress, as the passenger in the wheelchair. She was marvelous as an intelligent, sophisticated woman in the long-gone soap opera Where the Heart Is and was also believable as a trashy Southern murderess on Guiding Light and as a trashy Southern prostitute on All My Children. Here she plays a somewhat stereotypical New York Jewish mother. As a daughter she gets Valerie Mehaffey of Desperate Housewives.Sully shows something rarely seen in movies these days, the simple heroism of ordinary people, like the ferry boat crew members who rescue the passengers from the plane.Be sure to stay for the credits, where you will see a reunion of many of the actual passengers and crew from the flight. And as Columbo would say, just one more thing - The last line of the movie is a hoot and got a big laugh! Highly recommended.

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.

landing on the Hudson in January of 2009, and got his 15 mins because of it, Eastwood shows us that even one man can see things in many different ways, as Eastwood goes through all those angles.I love Aaron Eckhart as Jeff Skiles, the co pilot who supported greatly the pilots decision. He was a great supporting actor for Tom Hanks.In the end this movie is about heroes, not just Sully but everyone involved in the US Airways Flight 1549 water landing. From the well trained flight attendances to the rescue police on the water fairy. Its about the 155 passengers and the their accounts of what happen. It's about how sometimes we forget how to treat a hero, but true heroes will always shine though, and Eastwood tells the story as real as possible knowing that he has an incredible story here.

unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and his career.Tom Hanks underplays Sullenburger but in so doing he brings out the multi-layered human qualities in the man. This is about a man who has 42 years of flying experience and he knows the aircraft like it is the back of his hand. Here is a man who does his job to the best of his abilities and he does it well. He will tell you he is not a hero but simply a man who is just doing his job. From a man with no time he becomes the man of all time. However, he is shaken to his very core when the doubts start to set in as the NTSB rips apart his heroic maneuver. Is Sullenburger a hero or a fraud? The story rests on Tom Hank's abled shoulders who has built a reputation playing understated and reluctant heroes in Bridge of Spies and Captain Phillips. On first look Hank didn't seem to put on his acting hat, but after a night of rumination his character continues to stay with me. His sullenly insular and taciturn manner displays a fully functioning problem-solver's mind, calculating the probability of survival in that instance when the birds hit the plane engines. Thank goodness he trusts his instincts rather than the computer. Hank isn't the only star in the story. At 86, Eastwood has meticulously crafted an honest story we thought we already knew into a tense drama with little bell and whistle. His unfazed skill in storytelling is assured and Sully definitely belongs to the top tier of his pantheon of good movies that include Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. In Eastwood's hands, the film flies above the usual biopic tropes and it feels like a homage to a modest man who rose to an extraordinary occasion and a salute to professionalism. It is a wonder the story doesn't carry an ounce of jingoism and it is a superb amalgam of the loud and the silence and the human elements of a near air disaster. The final star is definitely the plane crash. For a home-theatre enthusiast, the visuals and sonics are a feast for the senses. We get to see the crash and its aftermath from every physical and emotional angle. I can't remember the last time I see a reenactment of a plane crash so visceral and real. This is the closest you will get to experience one without actually being in one. I didn't care much for Eastwood's last directorial effort American Sniper because it carried too many skull-numbing and blatant embellishments, but with Sully he has redeemed himself. This may feel like a straight-forward story but the use of Rashomon-resque plot manipulation transcends the film above the usual biopics that you would forget after a night's sleep. I didn't forget this one today.