HOLLYWOOD—Being a movie or TV critic is one job people are certain they can do-and of course, better than anyone else. They assume all it requires is watching movies or TV shows and spouting off. Certainly some days it’s not much more than that, however, if you are going to do it well, opinion, analysis and context bolstered by facts are essential.
The film “Sully,” is scheduled for release on September 9. The film is based on the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson- how Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed a failing plane filled with 155 people on the water after being struck by birds, and didn’t lose a soul. Tom Hanks plays Sully, who loves films about ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances from Average Joes who escape desert islands to surviving Somali pirates and negotiate the return of Cold War prisoners.
Clint Eastwood loves films about American heroes who don’t get the respect they deserve. So clearly they were drawn together. Some of the scenes focusing on the disaster itself-first with Sully struggling to land the plane, then with first-responders rushing to fish everyone out of the freezing water-is the best part of the film. Clint Eastwood, does a great job as director. It truly builds suspense.
Seven years after the US Airways plane landed into the icy river in January 2009, that movie is finally here. The movie captures not only the landing but a moving account that shows the event in dramatic detail and explores the frustrating investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board that Sully had to endure following the landing. The script is written by Todd Komarnicki, which is based on Sullenberger’s book “Highest Duty.” Tom Hanks excels in the movie and gives an Oscar-worthy performance in “Sully.” Let’s see if “Sully,” is nominated for an Oscar in 2017. The Academy likes to reward biopics, Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks, and this film has all three of those things.
After the Oscars this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, has expanded its membership in an attempt to improve diversity. According to a recent report by The University of Southern California, it showed that women had just 31.4 percent of spoken roles in 2015’s top 100 films, compared with 32.8 percent in 2008. Researchers said little progress had been made in increasing diversity.
The new figures follow the controversy earlier this year, sparked by two years of all-white acting nominees at the Academy Awards, as well as concerns over the gender gap in pay and the lack of female directors. The 89th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.
The latest in Hollywood is that Madonna and ex-hubby Guy Ritchie have settled a court dispute over the custody of their 16-year-old son. A spokesman for the New York State court system said the pair had reached an agreement, however didn’t reveal with which parent the teenager would live. The dispute arose in December when Rocco ignored a court order to fly back from Ritchie’s London home to live with his mother in New York. Madonna and Ritchie were married in 2000 and divorced eight years later.
Rose’s Scoop: Wishing my daughter Kelly Olszuk a very Happy 24th Birthday on September 8, she shares the day with singer Pink.
