HEFE'S REVIEW OF:
CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007)

OPENING THOUGHTS

    This had two things going against it from the start, the first was that this was a political movie, a genre that is notoriously boring, and the second has to do with a little known horse-mouthed actress you may know as Julia Roberts. But there were also two very good reasons to see this movie as well. They were Tom Hanks, who chooses his roles very carefully, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. So really this could go either way... kind of like G Baby...

ACTING

    TOM HANKS was great in this movie, he was far better than George Clooney was in Michael Clayton, and that cat got an Oscar nomination. Of course I can't be too hard on the Academy when we nominated Glen Hansard for the Best Actor Giggle, but to be fair I had not had the chance to see this movie or I would have nominated it in several categories. Tom Hanks was playing a comedy role again for the first time I think since Ladykillers. I really liked his character, but I have to admit the scene where he was in a hot tub with a bunch of naked chicks felt awkward to me. I guess I just never really thought of Tom Hanks in that way, I think it was  similar to how I would have felt if I saw my Dad doing that sort of thing. I just wouldn't be able to enjoy the titties the same way I normally would because I knew he was right there. Tom Hanks is my father.
    PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN was butt-fucking fantastic in this film. His character was completely kick-ass and he was as ruthless and entertaining as he was in Mission: Impossible 3, only he was a good guy. I seriously could have watched him play that character all day long stopping only to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, go to work, and go to sleep.
    JULIA ROBERTS was disgusting in this movie, it's as if everything that I hate about Julia Roberts was magnified for this role. She was supposed to be this retired beauty queen in this film and I absolutely hated the way she played the character. It was like watching someone who overacts on stage, and takes no notice of the fact that she sucks... or has a horse mouth.

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    MIKE NICHOLS did a good job with the pacing of this movie. It never slowed down, and never accepted the fact that by all accounts this should have been a boring movie for members of Congress to masturbate themselves to sleep at night to. The only thing I would have changed was starting the movie with a flash-forward, it is kind of a weak choice in my opinion, however I do like the quote at the end of the film. I think it summed everything up nicely and was probably like a surprising load in the face for people who thought this film was doing nothing but stroking the ego of the good ol' USA. But much of that credit goes to Aaron Sorkin as well.
    AARON SORKIN who penned the West Wing wrote this film as well. What I really liked about this film is that everyone of the so-called heroes was flawed and not really ashamed about it. There was not a sense that the film was glossing over the facts in effort to make everyone seem more noble. I also liked the dialogue, it was quickly paced, words were volleyed back and forth like so many balls... tennis balls... Anyway, I never once found myself bored and I think I walked away from this film with a little more knowledge about how Afghanistan became what it is today then I had before, and learning is never a bad thing. Unless you are learning what a "dirty sanchez" is against your will.

THE VERDICT

    Overall this was a great movie, which couldn't even be derailed by the fact that Mrs. Ed (get it?) sucked donkey balls in this film. If I had seen this film when I was putting out nominations for The Golden Giggles, I would have given a nod to Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Aaron Sorkin. This is a great nearly perfect film which really managed to take a subject that could have been dreary and made it exciting and fun. Congratulations.
 
 

RATING: B +

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