Pushing Tin (Wide Screen)

Advantages: A bit of a black comedy, interesting setting, some great lines, great cast
Disadvantages: a bit predictable, more geared towards men, slightly limp ending

When I first heard about this movie, it was by reading the back of the box at the store. It was billed as a comedy with some drama. A bit of a black comedy. Okay, so that grabbed me. I love black comedies. And it had John Cusack in it - I've loved everything he's ever done. Add to that Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchette and you've got quite a cast going on there. So, how did it end up playing out? Surprising. Very different than ...
...an air traffic control room in one of the busiest of air space, New York TRACON, where it's busy 24 hours a day. Nick "The Zone" Falzone, played by John Cusack, is the best of the best among the air traffic controllers. When you are bringing in hundreds of planes full of people, there is little room for error. And Nick doesn't make mistakes. The movie does a fairly good job of showing the amount of tension, stress and danger that this job can hold. ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent performances, great script and accomplsihed direction. Enjoyably offbeat, with drama and comedy equally effective
Disadvantages: Slightly too talky for some, while the psychology makes it possibly more appealing to a male audience, the ending is a bit too corny

...on the video box for Pushing Tin. "An outrageous comedy about two air-traffic controllers whose intense rivalry and penchant for one-upmanship causes hilarious havoc with their careers, their marriages - and the planes in their airspace". Okay, the bit about two air-traffic controllers is correct, as is the presence of intense rivalry. Their careers and marriages do suffer, but I wouldn't class those aspects as hilarious. It sounds quite snappy, ...
...some poignant dramatic situations. Pushing Tin is another off-beat choice in the distinguished career of John Cusack, and it's almost an adult extension of his classic 80s movies like Say Anything or Better Off Dead. Once again Cusack is the flawed, talkative, cynical hero he plays so much better than anyone else around. At the outset, he's the man in control - literally and figuratively. A gift for memorising and siphoning vast amounts of information ... Read review

Advantages: Billy Bob Thornton, Great bit with the planes back draft!
Disadvantages: Poor Script, and story line

For this job you have to have nerves of steel, and kahoonas the size of watermelons, I mean lets face it, how many of us would have the nerve to guide down a jumbo jet going 500mph, full of people? Well that’s what these guys do for a living, and is not only one, its hundreds an hour, in New York air control centre. ‘Pushing Tin’, stars John Cusack (Grosse Pointe Blank) who plays the cocky yet reliable, king of the controllers, ...
...the pile has its advantages, you get the respect of your colleges, and the new guys look on you as a god. This was so, until Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) turns up to work, he has something of a reputation of being a something of an enigmatic character. He soon stakes his claim as top dog in the race to become king of the tower. As you probably have guessed it machoism takes over, and you can almost see and feel the testosterone pumping around ... Read review

Advantages: Performances from Cusack and Thorton.
Disadvantages: The horrible ending

With director Mike Newell at the helm, and a cast including John Cusack, Billy Bob Thorton, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett I have to say I was disappointed. Having said that there are some superb scenes in this film it just doesn't achieve a consistently high level with too many gimmicky sub-plots. The movie is set at the Terminal Radar Approach Control Center on Long Island and starts with Nick Falzone (Cusack) as the main man. The life of an ...
...thrill-a-minute with Falzone, an arrogant but charming man, seemingly as in control of every facet of his life as he is of the scope. All this is thrown into turmoil with the arrival of Russell Bell (Thornton) whose skill at controlling the scope ('pushing tin') exceeds even Falzones... this leads to the strongest part of the movie where the two compete in a dangerous game of one-upmanship in the stressful control room environment. Unfortunately ... Read review

Advantages: Pretty good story, well acted, some funny bits
Disadvantages: none, we liked it

I'm amazed that the other reviewers of this movie gave it such poor reviews, as my hubby and I watched it last night and thought it was pretty good. The fast-paced atmosphere of the air traffic controllers workplace, Newark, New Jersey, further reiterated my 13 yr old decision not to fly anymore! I thought it portrayed the stresses and relationships of the people working there, pretty well. It's not a job I'd want the responsibility of. It examines ...
...undisputed hero of his little clique, best at his job, big ego tripper. Then in comes a new guy,Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton), astride two wheels, only he's not new to the job. He's a whizz too and is a bit crazy, prompting the awe of some of the other controllers, so poor old Nick starts feeling less loved and wanted. He starts to have an identity crisis. Angelina Jolie, as Russell's wife, was excellent, although in the beginning we were thinking ... Read review