Director Mike Newell's `Pushing Tin' is about the turbulent life of air traffic controllers. Its delightful and thought-provoking screenplay is not intended for the usual `airhead' moviegoer. So please put on your thinking cap for this one. The film stars John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, and Angelina Jolie. Thornton and Jolie executed average `plane' performances. However, Cusack and Blanchett rose high with theirs. I do not blame Billy Bob or Angelina for not going up to par with John and Cate. Maybe, Billy Bob and Angelina were way too much in the clouds on and off the set, or maybe it was just that their characters were not fully developed in the script. Even though i am not `Pushing Tin' as one of the best film of 99, it is still one that you should put on the `safe landing looking' section. *** Average

Cocky hotshot workaholic air traffic controller Nick Falzone (an excellent performance by John Cusack) reigns supreme as the top dog at the airport he works at. However, Nick's heretofore sturdy hold on things gets knocked out of whack with the arrival of laid-back, but virile and imposing new transfer Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton in peak rugged form). Pretty soon Nick's personal and professional lives take a downward turn for the worse.

Director Mike Newell astutely captures the fierce high pressure nature of a highly unusual and intense workplace, keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a steady pace, and maintains a quirky tone that balances precariously between flaky comedy and thoughtful drama. The offbeat and original script by Glen and Les Charles offers some stinging insights on the intrinsic destructive futility of macho competitive male one-upmanship and the continual struggle for control in one's life, but falters a bit at the end by trying to wrap things up too neatly in a bow.

Fortunately, the uniformly fine acting by the bang-up cast holds this movie together: Cusack and Thornton both do sterling work in their meaty roles, Cate Blanchett delivers a touching turn as Nick's fed-up and neglected wife Connie, and Angelina Jolie brings a scorching vampy allure to her juicy part as Russell's luscious young babe wife Mary, plus there are sound supporting contributions from Jake Weber as easygoing smartaleck Barry Plotkin, Kurt Fuller as the weary Ed Clabes, Vicki Lewis as tough bodybuilding buff Tina Leary, Matt Ross as the high strung Ron Hewitt, and Jerry Grayson as gruff superior Leo Morton. Gale Tattersall's crisp widescreen cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. Anne Dudley's harmonic score does the tuneful trick. Not a complete success, but still worth a watch for those seeking something out of the ordinary.

Nick Falzone (John Cusack) is a hot shot air traffic controller at the New York TRACON. It's a high pressure environment. Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) is the cool threatening veteran controller who joins the crew. He has an unstable past. Nick finds himself competing against Russell in every aspect. Nick is supposedly happily married to his wife Connie (Cate Blanchett) with a couple of kids but he ends up cheating with Russell's hot young wife Mary (Angelina Jolie).

It's a nice inside look at a high pressure but little seen part of the world. It has its darker tones but it's not really a dark comedy. It seems to need some more wacky off-centered characters. It needs some broader humor and some more interesting style. Thornton is good as the slightly crazy menace. The cast is generally a good bunch. The movie just needs a sharper bite.