Charlie Wilson’s War well worth a look
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- December
- 31
The last movie I saw was Alvin and The Chipmunks, which I attended with my 7-year-old niece and 200 other kids hopped up on Swedish Fish and M&Ms.
In desperate search of more adult fare, I caught Charlie Wilson’s War tonight.
This was a no-brainer $10.00. How can you go wrong with a movie written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman? Well, you can’t.
Sorkin had a big swing and a miss with Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip. But he’s still one of those writers I have undying faith in. The fast-paced, ice-pick sharp dialogue that made West Wing so great is present here. He had a lot to work with. Charlie Wilson was a liberal Texas congressman who convinced Congress to fund a covert war against the USSR in Afganistan back in the 1980s. That’s the basis of the film.
Hanks looks like he’s having a blast portraying the boozy skirt-chaser. It’s not a character as memorable as Forrest Gump, Jim Lovell or Cpt. John Miller, but it’s the best Hanks has been since Road to Perdition. Roberts lights up a small role as an eccentric Texas donor and Hoffman steals every scene he’s in (if you haven’t seen Before The Devil Knows Your Dead, make it a point) as a rogue CIA agent.
The supporting cast is strong, led by star-to-be Amy Adams. This is that rare film that relies on its script instead of special effects. Actual political satire, imagine. Plus there wasn’t one screaming kid.
I’m not always down with the Coen Brothers but I do want to see No Country For Old Men. My list also includes Juno. Any other suggestions?
Already saw I Am Legend (Fresh Prince, good as always, great visuals, too many zombies) and Walk Hard (a solid double by Judd Apatow, the same joke over and over but always funny).
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Peter Abraham
There Will Be Blood….
that’s all I can say
You saw I Am Legend, right? I’d also recommend Atonement (heavy, but good), Awake (requires serious suspension of disbelief, but entertaining) and P.S. I Love You (both a tearjerker and a romantic comedy, if that makes any sense).
No Country For Old Men was brilliant, a movie unlike any other before it. It captivates from the opening scene till the end. It blurs the idea of good and evil. Just a great film worth your time.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is hysterical. Wife and I could not stop laughing and quoting it all night.
Plan is to see Juno and eventually There Will Be Blood which is the new PT Anderson film.
Ah yeah, I Am Legend, I saw that too… that was a real heartbreaker to watch, one of my issues was the trailer gave away far too much. Will Smith really gives you his everything with the role.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml2Ae2SIXac
Jay,
Gotta disagree on No Country. Can’t quite explain why without spoilers, but the twist in the middle made it seem like the second half was a completely different movie.
Also, I didn’t see much blurring of good and evil. There was evil and more evil versus complete ineffectiveness.
The beginning of the movie and the characters were pretty cool. Also, it really nailed the vast nothingness of west Texas.
Juno, Charlie Wilson’s War and No Country For Old Men were all fantastic.
Go see “No Country,” Pete. I’m a pretty big Coen bros. fan, though I can empathize with those who get a little annoyed by their inimitable quirkiness. But this is probably their most conventional movie in some time, very minimalist, suspenseful, and ominous. Also, lest anyone forget (because he’s acted in so many forgettable films throughout his career), Tommy Lee Jones has some serious chops.
Had high hopes for “Juno” too, but…meh.
I describe the movie best as “Everything bad happens in Texas”
I’d agree with that Jay.
I too loved Juno.
lol Juno was pretty damn funny but got too serious for me at the end.
rent Sunshine in January (i believe out in second week of next month), nice scifi movie (scientists try to reignite the Sun, its an ordeal to do so, probably parallels what Cashman is doing with the Yankees minor leagues). Into the Wild is great, really something how the main character just wanted to live apart from society and the consequences that occur because of it. I find it took guts to have that life, interesting group of people he encounters along the way. Beowulf is fantastic, nice adult animated movie, finally a good violent computer generated movie, see it in 3-D IMAX if you can. It’s a great new take on that the legendary Beowulf poem, its got women, swords, vikings, dragons and other creatures. There is no way they could have filmed this story with real people.
no country’s a must-see. juno isn’t bad at all, ellen page is fantastic. there will be blood is well worth the admission price for day lewis alone. walk hard was much funnier than i expected it to be.
charlie wilson’s war? really? hoffman was great, sure. and i guess you can’t beat a movie with the moral, “there are two sides to every issue, except when it comes to killing communists. that’s 100% right no matter how you slice it.” seriously, they examined both sides of every political issue the film touched on (and by “examined,” i mean leveled us with platitudes and cliches) except for when it came to “killing russians.” nobody batted an eye at that one, because commies are all bloodthirsty animals, right? the movie was enjoyable, i guess, but you and i differ severely on this one, pete.
youve got the list down, short of There Will Be Blood….epic.
No Country is a three timer for me and Juno will be added to the trifecta list quite soon.
i just watched robocop for the first time in years, i forgot how insane and over the top it was.
my arm is killing me from the new tattoos and my wife is writing a paper, i am burning the late night oil with her. if anyone is awake you can say hi on AIM… jaydestro
I was a big fan of robocop at the time it came out (hey, I was young).
Speaking of which, what were some favorite movies of your youth? Must be ones you saw initially in the theater (meaning you were old enough to see them when they were released).
My list: Footloose, Blade Runner, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark (can’t stand that one now, but I loved it at the time), the Terminator, Aliens.
Too bad Charlie Wilson’s War is a rewrite of history that will replace what actually happened.
Charlie Wilsons War was a great movie i even saw it a second time i liked it so much. Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman were great together.
One recommendation would be Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street. Now i am not a big fan of musicals or opera but some friends were going so i tagged along and i loved the movie Johnny Dep was amazing as was the rest of the cast. might want to check that movie out
No Country for Old Men is a good movie, I don’t think its Oscar material. They did a good job with the character development of the villain, a man who has no remorse or value of human life. But the rest of the characters weren’t as well established. They had a chance to make a few of the roles more memorable but fell a little short.
This year’s Oscar winner will be There Will Be Blood. Daniel Day Lewis will also win Best Actor. See it now.
Saw ‘Legend’ and ‘Charlie Wilson’ and both were well worth your time and money. I also wasted my time on National Treasure 2…. dont bother
I feel as if I’m the only one who didn’t like No Country for Old Men. It just had so little substance. There are many reasons why I didn’t like it, and I don’t really feel like going into them all now. I feel as if I must have missed something, as everyone loves it so much. I almost feel stupid having not liked it, but I can’t really bring myself to change my mind.
sweeny todd’s a good recommendation. burton and depp usually make a pretty reliable team.
youth movie favorites
back to the future trilogy
star wars trilogy
goodfellas
full metal jacket
breakfast club
army of darkness
rocky 1 2 and 3
Whoever said “There Will Be Blood”....
I second that. Cant wait to see that this week. PT Anderson is the man.
Juno was awesome. In the Wild (directed by Sean Penn) is amazing also. Anybody who misses that one is doing themselves a disservice.
Also, for the other insomniacs in here. A&E is playing Jesus Camp at 2am (in 8 minutes). Interesting film.
achilles,
i thought no country was about a number of things, not the least of which being the inevitability of death – not knowing how, when or why you’re going to go. i’m not saying you didn’t get it, but i certainly didn’t find it to be lacking in substance.
Achilles – I sort of agree with you. I did like the film but it did not meet my expectations. No Country For Old Men is worth seeing but dont expect it to be a classic. I really dont understand the critical acclaim its getting so far. Good movie. Not great. I dont think the Coens will ever top Lebowski.
There is also the other Philip Seymour Hoffman film this year, The Savages, with Laura Linney.
Top 10 for 2007 (so far)
10. In the Shadow of the Moon
9. Michael Clayton
8. Into the Wild
7. The Lives of Others
6. Juno
5. Atonement
4. 3:10 to Yuma
3. No Country for Old Men
2. Gone Baby Gone
1. Once
Almost Made-its:
Zodiac
Eastern Promises
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Orphanage
Hot Fuzz
Superbad
King of Kong
Stardust
Away from Her
Still Need to See: Diving Bell and the Butterfly, There Will be Blood, Starting Out in the Evening, I’m Not There
Just my thoughts…
Once just came out on DVD, Yuma is 1/8…
robix, is it any good? I assume it is but whats your take?
Lives of Others was a 2006 release, it won Best Foreign Picture.
peter you sound like you may have some inner movie critiic in you.I know the movie and you were on point KUDOS to you.
Funny, no “Pete why are you talking about movies, this is a Yankees blog” posts? Guess that only applies to football.
Anyway, I am Legend was awful. The first 45 mins or so are OK, but I really had hopes that finally there would be a movie with an ending as darkly appropriate as the book, and it completely diverged about halfway through, and not in a good way.
I felt as though I Am Legend was a very powerful movie. I actually saw it twice, and that’s a pretty rare thing for me. It had a lot going on though that, if watched a second time, can be understood a little better and you pick up on some other more subtle parts of the plot.
I recommend Sweeney Todd if you haven’t seen it. I went in there not expecting much (I’m a guy, it’s a musical, insert gendered stereotype here) but it was a lot of fun. Great stuff if you can enjoy some dark humor.
Also, I just saw Eastern Promises the other night. Solid flick indeed, but a little too short. It could’ve used a bit more substance, developing a couple of other things with the story, but still, it’s well worth a look.
yabks
GRRRRRRRRR-
how is Charlie Wilson revisionism?
Claire-
you’re kidding me, “Footloose”???
kasey-
thank you for sticking up for the communist. Joe Stalin get a bad rap in today’s press.
Sweeney Todd was much better than i’d expected It’s great if you enjoy Depp you’ll love it
Coen bros question.
people always rave about “The Big L.”
I thought “Fargo” was silly; the first 20 minutes of “Raising Arizona,” but then it fell apart.
do you have any other favs: “Blood Simple”/”Miller’s Crossing” for example ?
Who are the top 5 prospects that are still in the minors (meaning not Joba,Kennedy,etc.)
Pete, you can become a good film reviewer if you ever get tired of covering baseball and sports!
check out the website I linked to. I think you would like it. It is John Sickels’ top 20 prospects. He’s the guy who used to do minors news for ESPN.
I’m not seeing a movie with Julia Roberts in it.
Here is another one.
Man, it’s a little over 2 hours till new years and all I want is some baseball news. How pathetic?
Thanks I see that the yankees are loaded with RHP prospects when are they going to go full into getting left handed pitchers and Inf. that are not 1st basemen I hope they do that next year. Jeter will play some other position in about 3-4 years who do we got to replace him. And Pettitte is gonna retire if not after this year 3-4 years tops we need to get players to replace these guys and we need more leftys in the bullpen
Spoiler alert: I know this will ruin the surprise, but Lupica doesn’t like Clemens or his lawyer and wants you to know that.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/12/31/2007-12-31_when_vacation_ends_roger_clemens_fight_t.html
“We know how lawyered up Clemens is, lawyered up with a Texan named Rusty Hardin, who is already turning this into a show, and has quickly become the darling of the New York Times. McNamee is now lawyered up, with a real good New York defamation lawyer named Richard Emery.”
Lupica gets away with things mere mortal writers can’t, gets away with things like using the same two-word descriptive (lawyered up) without hyphens, gets away with using it three times within a two sentence paragraph. Hard to believe I live in a time when I can read a master like Mikey for free on the Internet, the Internet invented by Al Gore.
And what’s this slap at the NY Times over Hardin, who, Loopy writes, “has quickly become the darling of the New York Times.” I guess Loopy is just too, too cool, too cynical and world weary to be taken in by lawyers. But wait, Loopy describes Hardin’s lawyer as “a real good New York defamation lawyer named Richard Emery.” Doesn’t that sound like the same kind of drooly, open-mouthed fawning for which Mikey took the Old Grey Lady to task? And doesn’t that arguably make Emery the darling of the NY Daily News?
Mikey needs to come clean. Is Emery an advisor of his, giving him free legal advice on how much he can write about Rocket and get away with? Will Emery be feeding Mikey all the Anti-Rocket stuff he can cram into a column?
And if, as Mikey observes, this has become a “show,” that can hardly be laid at Hardin’s feet. This became a show thanks to a willfully blind commissioner and his lawyer, Mitchell, who decided to spare owners and GMs much deserved vilification and who chose instead to name a “sample” of players with heaps of righteous indignation usually reserved for corrupt and greedy politicians who took gobs of money from Big Tobacco.
The Show, dear Mikey, started a long time ago.
The Yankees are interesting in that the 2 best young players (Cano and Wang) were never ranked very highly. They both burst on the scene below most people’s radar.
Charlie Wilson!
A skirt-chasing-Liberal?
Frankly, I think I know someone like that (wink, wink)! Now, if he was a Yankee it would be “the beginning a beautiful friendship.”
Here’s a short interview with the real-life Charlie Wilson
http://tinyurl.com/2ddry5
Runs 2:43
Cheers!
I actually was involved in some of Charlie Wilson’s activities back in the ‘80s. He was not highly regarded in the community. Like the one time he tried to cut the budget of the Defense Intelligence Agency, because the Defense Attache in Afghanistan refused to allow his girlfriend to ride in the C-12 (by regulation). In real life he was a first-class jerk.
Thurman-
The way I remember it, it was a C-130. Anyways, Charlie had a great sense of humor.
kasey must not think the 80 to 100 million people communism killed in the 20th century are worth mourning.
Jim Clark, wake up, a political philosophy did not kill those people, the Soviets did. Are you saying that it was all roses and ice cream under the Czars. The Russians have always slaughtered and enslaved their people, what politics they were under at the time is irrelevant. Read history. Communism killed people, what joke. Swallow some more propaganda while you’re at it. Ask yourself why we do business with China and not with Cuba? How come Vietnam is a successful communism state? Wake up. I am not a communist, but a philosophy can’t kill people, the Russians would have done what they did under any form of government.
Also, he didn’t stick up for communist, he said the movie was one sided when it came to killing them, stop being such reactionaries and think.
is this a movie blog or a yankees blog?
Juno was a solid movie and the girl in the lead role was great with a top-notch supporting cast.
One minor quibble: the dialogue of the 16 year-old Juno was too spot-on and precious.
RangerRob, great post, guilty as charged
Juno was great…a must see
dr. acula-
love that last line in the video of your link where charlie wilson says that the only thing he regrets is that the us abandoned afghanistan allowing bin laden to thrive. asked if he anticipated 9/11, mitchell said no.
that’s a little whoopsie, i’d say.
while an entertaining movie and the real charlie mitchell a likable rogue, i have a feeling that the movie doesn’t begin to tell the whole story.
dan rather almost lost his job over possible fake footage of the afghanistan war so different stories of the real war in afghanistan is nothing new.for anyone interested in digging a little deeper:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,958731,00.html
movies like this are entertaining and interesting and may be snapshots of what happened, but they don’t begin to tell the whole truth.
kind of like the mitchell report.
Grant-
I’ll meet you at Appomattox Court House, best of seven, kay?
I completely agree about Charlie Wilson’s War. I just caught it on Saturday and although I don’t think its supposed to be a comedy, I found myself laughing all the way through it. The dialogue is so witty and incisive, a total joy to listen to. And I am starting to realize what a fantastic actor Philip Seymour Hoffmann is. That scene between him and his boss at the CIA (the guy from “Mad Men”) is priceless. Aside from the historical accuracy (about which I know very little) this is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, very well cast and expertly written.
Lee – Sir, I shall accept your wager
The first half of “Walk Hard” was pretty brutal, but it picked up steam towards the end. Loved how it hit every stage of 60’s and 70’s rock star drug excess along the way.
Haven’t seen “No Country…” Dying to see “There Will Be Blood.”
Best movie I saw in 2007 had to be “Ratatouille,” though. Just brilliant. Best love letter towards food I’ve ever seen.
pete:
Sweeney Todd. Just make sure you don’t bring the kids. Also you might want to eat a couple hours before seeing the movie.
Just saying…
I’m admittedly waiting until all the vacationing folks go back to work, and then plan to have a big movie binge in hopefully blissfully uncrowded theaters. I can’t wait for There Will Be Blood and Sweeney Todd. I feel kind of obligated to see No Country. Same with Juno. I was a lot higher on that but the hype machine around it has begun to wear me down.
I did see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and can’t recommend that enough. I know this is going to sound like the biggest movie critic cliche in the world, but it reminds you that a filmmaker can construct stunning visuals with just a beautifully composed shot, not millions of dollars worth of CGI effects. And I’ve enjoyed plenty of CGI heavy movies.
Very good movie. Julia Roberts still is hot in her own way in this movie. Philip Seymour Hoffman is hilarious. Hoffman is a very diverse actor and is right up there with Depp in my book. If you really want to see a really funny part by Hoffman rent Punch-Drunk Love that stars Adam Sandler. It Sandler’s very first serious roll.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272338/
Tom Hanks is great as usual in CWW. I think Hoffman can win an Academy Award for best supporting actor.
I absolutely was not a fan of “No Country”. I agree, it lacked substance, left me unfulfilled and the character development was lacking. The Villain was fantastic, however. It just didn’t do it for me and it had nothing to do with the directors.
Atonement was great, the best movie I have seen in the theatres this year. It starts off slow (the first hour) then becomes a completely different movie and packs a powerful punch.
Looking to see Juno.
love the apollo 13 reference
the book “Charlie Wilson’s War” is completely unreliable. the problem is that for whatever reason, the author’s goal is not to tell history, but to portray Charlie Wilson and his co-conspirators as heroes. To this end, the author omits & selects information, to the point where you don’t know when to believe the book and when not to. It’s too bad, as I’m sure some percentage of the book is accurate.
Here’s one example – this type of thing pervades the book: Here’s a typical example: on pp. 352-353 (hardcover edition), the book describes how a member of Pakistani intelligence, Brigadier General Mohammad Yousaf, supposedly demanded that U.S. funds be used to purchase a certain type of weapon that the CIA considered useless. To work around this, Gust Avrakotos (a CIA agent who conspired with Wilson) follows the advice of another member of Pakistani intelligence, which is to buy some ”.303 ammunition” from a certain Pakistani arms manufacturer at an above-market-value price – in other words, the book is saying that General Yousaf’s interest is to corruptly steer business to a friendly manufacturer.
However, “Charlie Wilson’s War” omits a critical fact: General Yousaf, in his memoirs “The Bear Trap”, cites this purchase of .303 ammunition as an example of the corruption of the CIA’s arms supply effort! In Yousaf’s book, which was published about a decade before “Charlie Wilson’s War”, Yousaf said a 30 million-round purchase of .303 ammunition came from discarded Pakistani arms stock, was purchssed at an inflated price, and was useless.
On p. 335, the author indicates he has read Yousaf’s memoirs, meaning that the author conceals this information from the reader! As a reader, I’d expect an honest author to make me aware of the different versions of this tale, and of course I’d expect the author to delve into the details and give me as much information as is available to determine the truth. It’s huge in determining who’s corrupt and who’s not, who’s inept and who’s not.
Lars and the Real Girl is worth a look. Think of is as a modern-day version of the classic Jimmy Stewart movie, Harvey. ‘Cept there’s a blowup doll instead of a rabbit.
But both are about belief and the power of kindness.
No country for old men was one of the best movies I have ever seen!!
I am currently reading No Country for old men. Fascinating story but the authors style takes some adjustment. He sometimes writes thoughts vice dialog and at times, it is difficult to determine who is speaking. I am very interested in seeing the movie after reading the book.
Re the Coen brothers; I really enjoyed Oh Brother, where art thou.
interesting post by “randy l” on Dan Rather possibly faking footage. Rather’s got a history – when JFK was assassinated, he broadcast a complete distortion of what happened, claiming that JFK’s head was moving forward after being shot, rather than backwards. Which, as anyone who has seen the footage knows, is completely false; but back in 1963, the footage was unavailable to people, who were thus reliant on official & media explanations. As always, good luck with that!
anyway, as it happens, Rather was shown the famous Zapruder film of the assassination, and then went on CBS and emphasized JFK’s head was going forward, and somehow neglected to mention that his head actually went backwards.
the movement of JFK’s head of course was crucial in selling the ‘crazed lone gunman” theory to the public, since Oswald would have been firing from behind. Unless you believe in the magic bullet theory; if you believe in magic bullets (& magic gyro balls), I have a Pakistani gov’t theory about Bhutto’s assassination that I’d like to sell you.
I wouldn’t claim Rather was lying or was duped in some way. However, he’s never satisfactorily accounted for this, so he’s not exactly Woodward & Bernstein in my book.
here’s a link to Rather’s description, in case you think this is a “tin foil hat” thing:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/JFK/rather4.wav
No Country and The Savages are dark. If you’re in the mood for such, be my guest. Juno is full of light, witty dialogue , great soundtrack. Funny and cute. Bucket list has great acting, two of the best all-time in Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I’m Not There, if you like Bob Dylan, captures the 60’s and , of course the music is great.
I enjoyed Charlie Wilson’s War, but the film lost its way once the political maneuvering aspects were done. The end of the movie did not have the same pace or impact as the first 3/4 or so and, frankly, the war in Afghanistan is the most fascinating part of the whole thing. Why did they skimp on that part of all parts?
Agreed on Hoffman though. It will be a crime if he misses Best Supporting Actor.
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead…Best movie of the bunch, Hoffman will get a best actor nomination. Ethan Hawke is excellent. Unlike the others, the story holds up from start to finish.
Hey Dr. Acula,
Where are the new photos you promised us last week?
Karma,
The category was movies you loved when young and dumb.
Peter:
Tom Hank’s three best roles in order go as follow:
1. Andrew Beckett: Philadelphia
2. Jimmy Dugan: A League of Their Own
3. Forrest Gump: Forrest Gump.
1 and 2 can certainly be argued their spots in the order. That is all.
I’m sure Charlie Wilson’s war is very entertaining, but viewers should know that it is historically inaccurate. Wilson efforts (which paralleled those that began in the Carter Administration under the short-sighted NSA Brzezinski) was to arm the Islamic jihadists—
the most intransigent foes of the Soviets in Afghanistan—precisely becuase they would never compromise in a negotiated settlement and would bleed the Soviets. In fact, the Brezinski actions preceded the Soviet invasion (the groups attacked the pro-Soviet Afghan government)and accepted the likelihood it would drag the Soviets in to the country to aid their beleagured allies. This all worked, but the long-term consequence was the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the destruction of the country. Both Tom Hanks and the producers didn’t want to go there and so they changed the original and historically faithful screenplay to make it seem as if we backed moderate or more secular anti-Soviet forces. All this can be read in the prize-winning book by Steve Coll called Ghost Wars.Loved Juno. Didn’t love Sweeney Todd (and I always love a good musical)...cant wait to see Charlie Wilson’s War- huge west wing fan!
The first 20 minutes of Juno is basically unwatchable. The dialogue is so cutsey, “indie” and forced that I nearly walked out of the theater. Thankfully, the film settles down a bit and the performances carry it. Good, but nowhere near great, imo. Probably the most overrated movie of the year.
And Juno with a pipe is another annoying affectation that was there for no other reason than to be hip and precious.
The best movie I saw recently was “I’m Not There”, the Bob Dylan bio. Also, my kids really liked “Enchanted” and “The Golden Compass” (I thought the latter was a bit weak compared to the book, but I would expect the next 2 movies in the trilogy to be better).
I actually admired The Kite Runner.
It’s a little treacly but the portion of the story set in Afghanistan makes it worth the price of admission.
OH BEST FILM, I’VE SEEN THUS FAR THIS AUTUMN-WINTER WAS
THERE WILL BE BLOOD.
Sheer genius.
Sweeney Todd was awesome.
i’m so out of it when it comes to moves. always a handful of movies everyone is talking about that i’ve never heard of. after reading this thread “sweeney todd” and “there will be blood” fit that bill. never heard of either til now.
i’ve been extremely tired of Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks for a while now. Hanks is overrated, IMO.