Pushing Tin

Amazon.com

Blessed by a fantastic cast and slick direction by Mike Newell, Pushing Tin is one of those invigorating movies (like Wall Street or All the President's Men) that takes you behind the scenes of a dramatic profession--in this case, the high-stress world of air-traffic controllers--and throws in a source of conflict to ramp up the tension. For ace "tin-pusher" Nick Falzone (John Cusack), that conflict arrives in the form of Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton), an Irish/Choctaw half-breed whose Zen-like control of air traffic immediately puts Nick on the defensive. Add an incident of infidelity and Nick's subsequent self-loathing and guilt, and Pushing Tin turns into a macho pissing match, with Nick's and Russell's spouses (Cate Blanchett and Angelina Jolie, respectively) stuck in the middle.

At that point, this otherwise splendid comedy-drama turns almost fatally silly, and it hits additional turbulence by lapsing into a predictable series of pat resolutions. Fortunately, the jazzy cast avoids a nosedive into the tarmac, and if you recall Blanchett's Oscar-nominated performance in Elizabeth, you'll be amazed by her flawless transformation into a smart and sweetly devoted New Jersey housewife. Dialogue is a major asset here, and the script (by TV veterans Glen and Les Charles) gives Cusack & Co. plenty to chew on. That makes Pushing Tin a breezy good time, and its flaws are easily forgiven. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Nick Falzone (John Cusack) is the busiest, and the best, air traffic controller on Long Island - until Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) roars into town like a motorcycle-riding cowboy. Fueled by caffeine and machismo, the two men embark upon an uproarious contest of wit and wills that can ultimately only have one winner.

Customer Reviews:

decent .......2007-08-23

Pushing Tin is a strange movie. It's a mix of romance comedy and drama. It actually does a fairly decent job of showing the viewer why relationships are important. It wasn't really a funny film to me personally. The segments that were supposed to make me laugh didn't work, and I was just waiting for the drama bits to come in. The first 30 minutes of plot were basically nonexistent, with me just wondering why *nothing* is happening. Eventually a storyline is created, if you're a patient person willing to wait for it to come.

Maybe I laughed at some of the cruel moments, which made me feel bad. The final 20 minutes of film were truly really good moments of creative writing and made the movie a worthwhile purchase. I should have seen the ending coming a mile away, and yet, I didn't. I forgot all about *something* Billy Bob's character had a fascination with, so it was a nice surprise to see how they managed that particular spot to fit into an excellent storyline segment.

Overall, decent, but not something you'd want to see more than once or twice.

Amazing Cast-Mediocre Movie.......2007-08-08

Pushing Tin was a bit of a disappointment, considering the makeup of the cast: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina Jolie, and Cate Blanchett among others!
The movie sheds light on a New York air traffic controller who seems to have it all, but whose life takes a sharp turn for the worst from the moment a new transfer arrives to work by his side...
The plot has elements of both comedy and drama making it rather difficult to label it as one or the other; it's actually a bit of both.
The acting is pretty good (though nothing great), while the humor and the plot are just about average.
Though the potential for a great movie was definitely there it fails to take off. A shame really...
In a nutshell, it's an ok movie, and that's about it; it lacks that extra something to put it over the top. No masterpiece here.
If a Billy Bob Thornton movie is what you're looking for, check out Monster's Ball.
If John Cusack is what you had in mind, check out Serendipity.

SOFT PUSH.......2007-02-28

John Cusack. Angelina Jolie. Billy Bob Thornton. Cate Blanchett. Jake Weber. How did such good actors get in such a lifeless, pointless movie? Basically nothing more than a testosterone competition between Thornton and Cusack, the movie isn't funny and its dramatic attempts fail because the characters are so shallow and unlikeable. Director Mike Newell blew this one, folks.

simply put - male ego.......2006-11-13

i love the runway scene with billy bob and john cusack !!
i named my team after the line: "...she's a bit of a saucemonster..."
i liked this movie.
unlike a previous viewer, this movie is funny every time i watch it.
it is simply entertaining and what else do you watch a movie for??

Entertaining glimpse into lives of Air Traffic Controllers!.......2006-11-12

This was a well made movie about co-worker rivalry, spousal infidelity, and the high energy stress and pace of Air Traffic Controllers all wrapped into one. The all star cast consists of John Cusack, Cate Blanchett, Billy Bob Thornton, and Angelina Jolie, and they all shine! Dialogue is often fast and direct, which reflects the attributes of an Air Traffic Controller's life, and helps to keep the movie moving along at an interesting pace.

Average customer rating:

Henry Fonda in THE TIN STAR
Review of "The Tin Star"
"I noticed you're wearing your guns too low."
Another Great Anthony Mann Western
As classic as you can get!

The Tin Star
Starring: Henry Fonda , Anthony Perkins , Betsy Palmer , Michel Ray , and Neville Brand
Director: Anthony Mann
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001JXPWU
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Amazon.com

Anthony Mann made some of the greatest Westerns of the 1950s, all in partnership with James Stewart. Perhaps needing to prove himself as his own man, in 1957 Mann dropped out of Night Passage to do this film. It's a rather schematic character study about a lawman-turned-bounty-hunter (Henry Fonda) who undertakes the professional shaping-up of an effete young sheriff (Anthony Perkins) too tentative to police the streets of his town. Those streets are compositionally present right outside the oversize window of the office where Perkins undergoes a lot of his soul-searching and arguments with Fonda. That's typical of the film--scrupulously designed, yet abstract to the point of dramatic aridity. The VistaVision black-and-white of cameraman Loyal Griggs (Oscar®-winner for Shane) is at once stark and glossy. Fonda's own reclamation as a social being is accomplished by way of a not-very-interesting subplot involving Betsy Palmer and a half-breed child played by Michel Ray. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

Henry Fonda in THE TIN STAR.......2007-05-13

It has so long since I saw this great western. Lost to TV for many years I was delighted to see it re mastered and put out on DVD. It did not disappoint. Great story . Great acting and the quality is first rate. A must for collectors of classic westerns.

Review of "The Tin Star".......2007-05-12

This is another great Anthony Mann directed western minus Jimmy Stewart. Henry Fonda does an outstanding job playing the wise and experienced former lawman turned bounty hunter. He passes his wisdom onto the green but very maleable "rookie" Sheriff played by Anthony Perkins (Good job by him too!). I loved the story and the action scenes. Highly Recommended! Pass the popcorn!

"I noticed you're wearing your guns too low.".......2007-03-26

Anthony Mann trademarked film with Henry Fonda as a former lawman turned bounty hunter trying to escape his past, and Anthony Perkins as a brash, overly talkative deputy-turned-Sheriff with a problematic local bully, played by a loudmouth cowardly backshooting Neville Brand, who is at the core of most of the problems in this small western town.

The formula is alive and well here with Fonda mentoring to the young Sheriff and finding a beautiful and sympathetic widow, Betsy Palmer, to take him in. The drama builds predictably but satisfactorily to the anticipated and inevitable showdown which is not to be missed. High watchability factor, its a classic.

The black and white DVD is a very good restoration and 5.1 remixing that is much better than I expected. Sadly there are no other extras or liner notes. 5 Badges

Another Great Anthony Mann Western.......2007-03-21

Anthony Mann was known for the great hardbitten Westerns he made with frequent collaborator James Stewart, such as The Naked Spur, Winchester '73, The Man From Laramie, and others. But he did make one Western with Stewart's best friend and another Western movie stalwart, the great Henry Fonda.

Fonda comes into a small town with an outlaw dead over a saddle. He's a bounty hunter, formerly a lawman who has become cynical with life and justice, and prefers the pay and independence of bounty hunting to being a town marshal. The town has a young and very inexperienced sheriff, played by Anthony Perkins, who is struggling to hold the town together as a bigoted bully played by Neville Brand tries to force his way into the sheriff's office. Fonda takes a liking to Perkins, and tries to show him the tricks of the trade. When two half-breed brothers kill the town doctor, events spiral out of control.

The Tin Star is full of wonderful performances, from Fonda who sees in the idealistic Perkins the younger man he used to be and learns to love again thanks to Betsy Palmer, who plays a widow who has a half-breed son; to Perkins, who hits the right notes as someone who'll make a fine lawman if his dumb mistakes don't kill him first, and Brand as a menacing, hateful brute who runs over as many people as he can. John McIntire (another frequent Mann collaborator) is also great as the town doctor.

This is an all-time classic. Don't miss it.

As classic as you can get!.......2006-11-09

The contribution made by Henry Fonda to classic Westerns is incredible : he made his point early with "The Oxbow Incident," his potent presence in "Drums Along the Mohawk"... He was excellent as Wyatt Earp in "My Darling Clementine," even better as the stubborn, mistaken lieutenant-colonel in "Fort Apache " a legendary gunman in "Warlock" and the hardened gunfighter-tutor in Anthony Mann's "The Tin Star."

Fonda plays a solitary-bounty hunter ("I'm not the law. I work inside it for money!") who had once been a sheriff, and who had given up the badge in disgust of the shameful way he had been treated by the citizens in a decisive tragic moment of his life--for which he lost his wife and son...

Fonda is quiet, sure, polite, sincere and appealing... Teaching Michael Ray, it was clear that he knew not only his guns but human nature... He is human, kind, anxious, worry and tender with the young boy...

Anthony Perkins is attractive in his doubts about taking action or decision... He is naïve and innocent, also incompetent for the job of an officer responsible for law and order... He always looks to Fonda for leadership, but he is eager to be a firm sheriff...

The conversation between Fonda and Perkins are the heart of the movie, which deals more with character than Gunplay: "You got to keep cool and have absolute confidence. You lack confidence." "A decent man does not want to kill. But if you're gonna shoot, you shoot to kill." "Study men. A gun is only a tool. You can master a gun if you got the knack. Harder to learn man."

The film had racism: When Bogardus kills the Indian, in the back, outside the saloon, he says: "No sheriff will disarm a white man for shooting a mingy Indian.You, an Injun lover?"

Betsy Palmer plays Nona Mayfield, a woman compelled to live outside the town because she married an Indian: "I'm just so used to everybody hating Indians."

The film had also intuition and humor:

- Kip Mayfield to Fonda: "Don't I look like a sheriff?" And Fonda replying: "You look more like a sheriff than the sheriff does."

Abbe Pickett, after being a father for eleven girls and now to a boy, asks: "You sure it ain't another girl?" and the doc replies: "Well, I hope I'm not too old to know the difference."

John McIntire is fine as the old doc whose big dream was: "I wish you two to get together."

Neville Brand enjoys oppressing, intimidating and persecuting...

Anthony Mann's "The Tin Star" is strong on location work, tense, realistic, technically competent... The film had dusty action, and a picturesque old town with its bank, hotel, saloon, jail, hanging tree and all the cowardly citizens turned out to watch...

With elements of "Shane," and "High Noon," the film is a very good Western, 'as classic as you can get.'

Average customer rating:

decent
Amazing Cast-Mediocre Movie
SOFT PUSH
simply put - male ego
Entertaining glimpse into lives of Air Traffic Controllers!

Pushing Tin
Starring: John Cusack , Billy Bob Thornton , Cate Blanchett , Angelina Jolie , and Jake Weber
Director: Mike Newell
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000067D0N
Release Date: 1999-10-05

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

decent .......2007-08-23

Amazing Cast-Mediocre Movie.......2007-08-08

SOFT PUSH.......2007-02-28

simply put - male ego.......2006-11-13

Entertaining glimpse into lives of Air Traffic Controllers!.......2006-11-12

Average customer rating:

Cult indeed
Worthwhile Italian Classic
Pathetically funny
Fulci lives!
This movie is awesome

The Beyond (Limited Edition Tin)
Starring: Al Cliver , Laura De Marchi , Giovanni De Nava , Roberto Dell'Acqua , and Anthony Flees
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305972079
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Amazon.com

Lucio "King of the Eyeball Gag" Fulci made his name with a series of gory, gooey horror epics, and The Beyond stands above all as his outré masterpiece. The largely incoherent plot has something to do with a turn-of-the-century curse and a doorway to hell in the cellar of an old New Orleans hotel. Fulci shows his usual sensitivity with wooden acting, clumsy dialogue, and buckets of oozing blood and pus, but don't let that get in the way of enjoying this mad tale of zombies from hell invading Earth and eating their way through a cast of humans: crucified martyrs, blind visionaries, creepy hotel handymen, befuddled cops, and a plucky pair of heroes desperately fleeing a horde of hungry undead. The blood-red art direction is eerily beautiful, and Fulci's relentless long takes, punctuated by jolting shock cuts and eruptions of grotesque violence, create a mood of sheer paranoid horror right down to the final, mind-bending image. And don't forget the Fulci claim to fame: eyes are gouged out, eaten away, melted with acid, and (shudder) popped out by a spike through the back of the skull. Yech! If you dare ignore such piddling details as narrative logic and let yourself get carried away on the creepy visuals, it's a deliciously stylish treat, an edgy bit of gothic gore pitched in all its bone-crunching, flesh-ripping, organ-splatting glory. This sadistic, sanguinary hell-spawn tale is for gore-hounds only.

The DVD features chatty but largely jokey commentary by David Warbeck and Catriona MacColl and an alternate German credits sequence featuring Fulci's preferred sepia-tinged prologue (but no alternate footage). --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Cult indeed.......2007-05-13

Getting the obvious out of the way, this is a movie for B Horror splatter fans, not for mainstream horror audiences. This movie, like Fulci's other films, places emphasis on graphic depiction of gore material, while paying little to no attention to plot, script, or acting. He definitely succeeds in giving zombie fans what they want, however if you expect anything more you will be disappointed. The script was particularly bad, and not in a cheesy-but-good B movie sort of way, but riddled with inconsistencies and occasionally just plain dumb. Like for example in the hospital scene with all the zombies it's obvious that the only way to take them down is to shoot them in the head, yet the guy wastes 3-4 bullets on a single zombie, gets it with a headshot, and then repeats the same pattern numerous times. Sure enough he runs out of bullets sooner than he wishes to. Acting is pretty bad too, not very credible at all. You have the typical protagonist who's seeing things others aren't, and of course those things aren't there when someone else checks it out, yet the character doesn't sound convincing at all when she's trying to explain that those things really are there and it's not her imagination. You can almost tell someone told her what to say just minutes before and she's struggling to remember. To summarize, this movie is underdeveloped but thrives on its gore factor which is fairly elevated all things taken into consideration. Don't leave this one out of your zombie film collection.

Worthwhile Italian Classic.......2007-04-11

The Beyond opens with what has become one of my favorite scenes. A strange man is painting pictures of Hell on a canvas in room 36 of an old Louisana hotel. The year is 1927 and the mans name is Sweik. The natives of the town believe that Sweik is placing a curse on thier village through his drawings and what follows is a typical southern stereotype. A lynch mob storms the hotel and constrains Sweik as he is finishing one of his paintings.

The mob then drags him down a spiral staircase into the basement where he meets his fate in the form of being crucified against a wall and then drenched in flesh eating acid. All while that typical annoying as hell gaillo music is playing in the backgound. Kathrine MacColl inherits the hotel where Shiek meet his unfortunate and horrible demise some six odd years later.

The hotel has all sorts of strange occurances, not the least of which is the consistant flooding in the basement. As she is preparing to open the hotel the flooding in the basement starts to present a real problem, thus she calls in a plumber. Joe the Plumber (yes that is the characters actual name) is called in to fix the issue. What he finds is far more serious than leaky pipe...

The reason that this film works is because of it's take no prisoners presentation. Fulci knows what we want to see, and he more than delivers. It works on the same principle that John Carpenter's 'The Fog' works, the events are presented with no context. You never really know why this guy has no head, or why that lady just got an acid bath. Nor do you care. Fulci doesn't raise any questions and he certainly doesn't answer any, but hey, thats ok with me.

Pathetically funny.......2007-03-19

This movie must be praised, but not for the "gory scenes" or "horrifying horror", but simply because IT IS DAMN FUNNY!

It has so many flaws, holes in the script and bad acting that I just couldn't stop laughing.

If you like big, big comedies, you MUST watch Lucio Fulci's movies... Trust me: it is DAMN FUN mock all his Z-quality movies

Fulci lives!.......2007-03-02

I watched this last night for first time after I've been trying to find it for months, and absolutely loved it. I will probably watch it again today. This movie, is dark, atmospheric and the N.O.L.A setting is great. I can understand why some "pop-horror" fans might not like it, a lot of the story is not explained and stuff just seems to happen out of no-where, but thats the feel Fulci was going for, and why I love it. This movie is brutal ,unrelenting and Fulci's goriest. FULCI LIVES!

This movie is awesome.......2007-02-27

If you like flicks like Blood Sucking Freaks, Necromatik, Sinful Dwarf, May, Devil's Rejects, zombie movies, or other goodies of this nature then you'll love this film. This movie shows everything, every bit of gore, with tons of attention paid to detail of the violence. Most of the really intense scenes (there are lots of them) come out of nowhere, and are well worth it when they do. Made by the same guy who made the Italian movie Zombie, but this film blows that one away. Not for the mild horror fan, this one's for us serious disturbing-movie-loving freaks only. If you're a sick and twisted horror fan, don't pass this one up, it will not disappoint. This movie is awesome.

Star Wars Trilogy DVD with Exclusive Best Buy Tin (original theatrical releases) - Widescreen

Average customer rating:

Every expense spared
George didn't alter these (what a fool)

Star Wars Trilogy DVD with Exclusive Best Buy Tin (original theatrical releases) - Widescreen
Starring: Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , and Billy Dee Williams
Director: George Lucas
Manufacturer: Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Cult Movies | Genres | DVD | Video
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Product Features:

Commentary by George Lucas, cast and crew
Widescreen Versions of all three films

ASIN: B000IKHNT8

Product Description

All three original Star Wars film (episodes IV, V and VI) in the original theatrical form, presented in widescreen with Dolby 2.0 Stereo. Includes six DVDs, two versions of each film (new enhanced versions, as well as the theatrical versions). This was an ultra rare set sold at Best Buy that included an exclusive tin that holds all six discs! Also includes tons of extra features, including commentary tracks and more!

Customer Reviews:

Every expense spared.......2007-01-27

Watching the original versions of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD is like travelling back in time - not so much to the innocence of youth but more to the days when picture quality was never much of a consideration on video releases and Fox had the reputation for the worst transfers in the business. Watching these DVDs is to step back into an age of low resolution standards conversions with all the loss of detail and motion blurring that that entailed: certainly if you've got one of the old remastered video releases you might as well hold on to that, because the quality isn't as poor as this. The sound quality is pretty awful as well. From Lucas' past track record it's all too easy to imagine this is just a scam to allow him to sell a remastered version a couple of years down the line, but it's even harder to dispel the notion that somewhere Lucas is whining "See how soft the focus is? How can you say these are better films?"

Although commonly blamed for the death of cinema as we knew it, in truth Star Wars was a huge breath of fresh air after the increasingly stale and formulaic week-in, week-out reality of woefully unimaginative and derivative downbeat on-the-cheap 70s cinema. It wasn't merely a matter of having a happy ending, more that there was a sense of panache and unapologetic adventure that had been missing for too long at the time (even the decade's best adventures, such as The Wind and the Lion and The Man Who Would Be King, saw their heroes destroyed by society in an age that had no place for them). Looking at it for the first time in years, its much better directed than remembered, extremely well constructed and beautifully designed, introducing the `future is old' concept that many would attribute to Ridley Scott. It also, unlike the prequels, has the saving grace of Han Solo, a character whose deprecating sense of humor undercuts the more solemn and potentially pretentious moments in a way that would be much missed amid the talk of apprentices, trade embargoes and midi-chloridians in the prequels. It's still fun and it still works, even in the very worst transfer of the originals.

The Empire Strikes Back suffered the least in the special edition reworkings (although the clunky rewriting of the scene with the Emperor shows Lucas' leaden touch with dialog only too clearly) and as a transfer suffers the least of the original versions, but it's still not good enough. The film itself holds up surprisingly well, fully deserving its reputation as the best (and naturally least commercially successful) of the series. A lot of the credit has to go to co-writer Leigh Brackett, with the film's verbal sparring having a classic Hollywood feel to it that gives it a mixture of the best of both worlds, while keeping things moving at a brisk pace. Irvin Kershner's direction brings the best out of the cast too, while the action scenes - particularly the battle on the ice - are the best in the series. It's just a shame that the film's (genuinely unexpected at the time) cliffhanger was thrown away in the follow-up.

Return of the Jedi isn't as bad as the scarred memories of working at a movie theatre showing it five times a day for 12 weeks would have it, but it's still the least of the series. With no producer or studio to rein him in this time, Lucas offers something that's little more than a rehash of the first two films, but with bigger Death Stars, more spaceships, more teddy bears and far, far too many Muppets, it's crippled by an atrocious opening section where one after another the heroes try to rescue Han Solo only to get captured in the most tedious ways possible. Richard Marquand's inability to direct action is much to the fore in this section, and he's not much better in the rest of the film, while Harrison Ford gives a particularly bad performance that's all too indicative of a bored man with nothing to do but stuck here anyway because of contractual obligation. If you can forget the dire first third, the rest of the film is okay when it's dealing with the Skywalkers' family feuds but less successful on the ground in the Teddy Bears Picnic - sorry, Ewok scenes. Still, it does have Princess Leia in the slavegirl outfit...

The discs also include the revised special editions released a couple of years ago, which at least boast excellent picture and sound quality, though are all extras-lite with only a commentary and a Star Wars Lego promo.

George didn't alter these (what a fool).......2006-12-22

The tin came prior to Christmas, which is great by itself! The product arrived in great shape; I really haven't looked inside it yet, since it went right into wrapping paper for the tree right after it arrived! If my son opens it and it's empty, that will be another story! However, I have always had great luck with Amazon, so far no let downs!!!

I was really pissed, along with all of the other folks (my generation), that stood in line for over four hours as kids when these movies first came out to the widescreen, only to have "you know who" alter the originals (taking out the original "ghost scene" Vader, and replacing him with the new "young Anakin"). What the hell was he thinking about? That's like taking and Original Shelby Mustang and trying to put new Mustang parts on it.... It just isn't the right thing to do, and everybody will think your retarded! Please pass this on to George!!!

So needless to say, I was very thrilled to find the "un-altered" originals for sale!!! I got them before George could screw them up! Yee-haa!!

Average customer rating:

decent
Amazing Cast-Mediocre Movie
SOFT PUSH
simply put - male ego
Entertaining glimpse into lives of Air Traffic Controllers!

Pushing Tin [Region 2]
Starring: John Cusack , Billy Bob Thornton , Cate Blanchett , Angelina Jolie , and Jake Weber
Director: Mike Newell
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00006IXCS

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

decent .......2007-08-23

Amazing Cast-Mediocre Movie.......2007-08-08

SOFT PUSH.......2007-02-28

simply put - male ego.......2006-11-13

Entertaining glimpse into lives of Air Traffic Controllers!.......2006-11-12

DVD:

DVD

DVD