Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: An air traffic controller on Long Island finds himself deeply at odds with his new co-worker, who is even more cool and collected than him.
Biased, pithy comments: You can see the glue on the film as it goes into the camera. This is a movie that has been severely edited, edited again, and then re-edited, and then even had new scenes shot and added again as it kept not gelling. Eventually, they gave up and released it, and it still doesn't gel, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some really great moments in it. It also has some riveting moments. Cusack, Thornton, and Blanchett are great (Jolie seems to have more lips than talent this time around; I couldn't figure out what the attraction was), the screamingly fast dialog surrounding air traffic control is exciting just to listen to, and even the picnic with the wives comparing nervous breakdowns just feels slick, smooth, and clever. But the rest of the film is sort of a letdown---the plot wanders away from the intensity of the air traffic control, I didn't find myself caring about the rivalry between the two men, and the vast metaphor they could have used (air traffic control as life) is left behind leaving very little in its wake. Probably a skip, but not without reservations; it's a bad story propped up by good acting and, at times, filmmaking.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie.
Directed by: Mike Newell