Episode 39 - Sully

Noted empty chair scolder, Clint Eastwood, directed the 2016
biographical drama, "Sully," which was proudly nominated for
three AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. The film somehow manages
to take the captivating story of one of greatest heroes
of modern times, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, and
twist it into a mind-numbingly boring rant about how governmental
agencies are malevolent and incompetent. Who knew that a
movie about a guy who single-handedly saved 155 lives and was an
Air Force fighter pilot could be such a snoozefest?


Charming and brilliant Tom Hanks made the unfortunate mistake of
following Eastwood's ham-fisted direction in his portrayal of
Sully. He presents him as stiff and robotic rather than the
charismatic and dynamic character he has demonstrated
himself to be on numerous occasions. While the real Sully
confidently strode into the media spotlight following "The
Miracle on the Hudson," he is awkwardly depicted as
a withdrawn and frightened mess who feared being
exposed as a negligent fraud. Again, we blame Dirty Harry
for this rather than Tom.


Aaron Eckhart plays Jeff Skiles, Sully's heavily-mustachioed
First Officer on US Airways Flight 1549. Eckhart's over-the-top
facial fur and cheesy affect made for a performance that was more
cartoonish than when he played Two-Face in "The Dark Knight."


Laura Linney plays Sully's wife, Lorrie Sullenberger. For some
reason, they decided to portray Sully's beloved wife, who was a
great source of support to him, as an ill-natured Nervous Nellie.
She only talks to him on the phone in this and seems to try to
add to his stress level at every opportunity.


Mike O'Malley, of Nickelodeon "GUTS" fame, plays the evil leader
of the made-up governmental conspiracy against Sully
that Eastwood shoehorned into this movie for no apparent reason.


Anna Gunn, aka Skylar White in "Breaking Bad," plays a slightly
less evil government agent. She also tries railroad Sully as
a bad guy after he saved 155 people, but she was a little bit
nicer about it.


Join us as we discuss Hanks's acclaimed history of playing
captains, chicken cannons and awkward cab conversations.


Tell us what you think by chatting with us (@filmsnuff)
on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, or by
shooting us an email over at mailbag@filmsnuff.com.


This episode is sponsored by ActualMonster.com.


Visit our website at https://www.filmsnuff.com.