Charlie Wilson's War

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rolotomasi99
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Post by rolotomasi99 »

Sabin wrote:Can't possibly imagine audiences enjoying it.
in two weeks it has made close to $35 million, and will probably end up with around $50 million by its third week. not exactly setting the boxoffice on fire, but it is certainly doing better than any of the other middle east films this year.
the big thing going for it is how light and breezy it is. i know this is certainly annoying some people who were expecting the next DR. STRANGELOVE, but it is apparently exactly what people want right now from their political films.
as far as oscar is concerned, this film plays really, really well on dvd. this movie could make a surprise appearance among best picture nominees. this film, more than MICHAEL CLAYTON or AMERICAN GANGSTER, could be the lone mainstream hollywood film in the best pic line-up. it will be interesting to see what the guilds have to say.
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Post by flipp525 »

Mister Tee wrote:What's missing is the bigger picture. The chillingly ironic longterm ramifications of Wilson's patriotism – his programmes essentially formed the backbone for today's Al Qaeda – are only hinted at as the film draws to a close. Indeed, you wish Nichols had been less warm to his character here: while a 97-minute running time is welcome in an awards season full of bloated prestige titles, this is one story which could have used more detail, context and, yes, perhaps even gravitas.

While I agree that the longterm ramifications of Charlie Wilson and Joanne Herring's actions were unexplored, the framework of the film didn't support some sort of "flash-forward" into the future of the two towers falling and Afghans running rampant against us with our own weapons. All you needed was the hint, really. Honestly, I don't see how anyone with half a brain and a soupçon of awareness of current events could've walked away thinking this.

The film very obviously points out (mostly via Philip Seymour Hoffman's Zen joke) that while arming the Afghans had immediately advantageous results, it would be shortsighted of us to ignore future repercussions. It was actually so obvious, I was embarrassed at how ham-handed and "I told you so!" (with fingers shaking furiously in our direction) the film became at the end.

The film wasn't going for chilling irony, as desired by the reviewer below, I didn't think it quite needed to go there at the end.

On a totally unrelated note, Emily Blunt was fucking hot! Nice cleavage, girl!




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Post by Sabin »

Tee, it's Sabin. His tastes and the Academy's diverge significantly.

Oh sure, and you're right to say that. However...

What's missing is the bigger picture. The chillingly ironic longterm ramifications of Wilson's patriotism – his programmes essentially formed the backbone for today's Al Qaeda – are only hinted at as the film draws to a close. Indeed, you wish Nichols had been less warm to his character here: while a 97-minute running time is welcome in an awards season full of bloated prestige titles, this is one story which could have used more detail, context and, yes, perhaps even gravitas.


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Post by Mister Tee »

Hollywood Reporter.

Charlie Wilson's War
Bottom Line: A sharp political satire based on real-life events.By Kirk Honeycutt
Nov 28, 2007

Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts scheme to end the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
"Charlie Wilson's War" is the anti-"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." In Frank Capra's political fable, a naive and idealistic man gets appointed to fill a Senate seat, runs into corruption and hardball politics but perseveres through sheer goodness. In this film, directed by Mike Nichols in one of his most satirical moods and scripted by Hollywood's most politically astute writer Aaron Sorkin, a womanizing, alcoholic, easily tempted bachelor gets elected in a Texas district that doesn't care what he does as long as he brings home the bacon. He parties through several terms but uses his influence-peddling skills to fund a clandestine overseas operation that, the movie insists, helps bring down the Evil Empire of the Soviet Union.

This outrageous tale of 1980s-era good corruption, apparently largely true and all the more outrageous for that, might be the perfect antidote to today's shrill political scene with Republicans and Democrats staking out intractable positions and accomplishing little. Viewers of nearly all political stripes can get behind Charlie Wilson of Texas' 2nd District, who solves problems with the common sense and sweet talking absent from today's Beltway scene. The film's demographics skew over 25, but the boxoffice reception looks promising.

Tom Hanks, the star and producer, doesn't suggest a big, booming Texan with larger-than-life appetites, but he nails the wit and political savvy of this sheep in wolves' clothing. Julia Roberts, as Joanne Herring -- one of the wealthiest woman in Texas, Charlie's occasional lover and avid anti-communist -- has always known how to play Southern women who can snatch apples away from snakes. It's actually a small role but a red-hot coil from which all the action springs. As the third member of a intrepid triumvirate, Philip Seymour Hoffman makes a striking contrast to the loquacious Southerners as a hot-tempered, blue-collar CIA agent on the Afghanistan desk who knows all the shady international characters who can help get the Soviets out of that country.

"Charlie Wilson's War" is political drama played as comedy and true life as satire. Sorkin's script comes loaded with computable comic lines. One of the best happens when Charlie departs an audience with Pakistani President Zia ul-Haq (Om Puri) and mutters to exec assistant Bonnie (a sweetly savvy Amy Adams), "I was told I had character flaws by a guy who hung his predecessor in a military coup."
It seems that back in 1980, the congressman, on the verge of a drug investigation, is summoned by Joanne to a fundraiser back home, where she implores him to join her cause: ridding Afghanistan from the cruel Soviet occupation, a cause Official Washington can't embrace because funding the insurgents, the Mujahideen, would bring international scrutiny. Washington in those days preferred their wars to be cold rather than hot.

A few whiskeys and her sexual charm more than win Charlie's promise to visit President Zia. And Zia shames him into visiting the refugee camps and hospitals on the Pakistan border, which overwhelm his sense of compassion and desire to help the underdog. He hooks up with Greek-American CIA spook Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), whose long years overseas means he knows the best arms advisor in the Pentagon -- who happens to be a 29-year-old chess champion -- the bests dealer in Russian arms -- who happens to be Israeli -- and can get the Israeli to sit down with Arab middlemen in Cairo, where Charlie can supply the best American bellydancer. Everyone has his talent.

Because of his appointment to the House's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Charlie eventually increases spending on covert operations in Afghanistan from $5 million to $1 billion annually and the Red Army after nine years decamps. All this is told with the lightning speed of a sitcom, which breezes by the tedious chores of arm-twisting, horse-trading, endless phone calls and the like. The film undoubtedly gives too much credit to Charlie and ignores all other geopolitical factors, but the heart of the story, based on a book by the late, award-winning journalist George Crile, rings true. The real world often operates like fiction, and in this case it's a comedy.

Nichols presides over top Hollywood professionals who produce a slick version of the '80s political landscape as Charlie globe-trots from one action zone to another. There isn't a lot of depth beneath the surface with this approach, but just enough to convey that Charlie possesses a better foreign policy mind than just about anyone in the State Department or Pentagon. Even when he is first seen in a Las Vegas hot tub sipping whiskey with strippers and a Hollywood "producer," Charlie is more interested in what Dan Rather is saying on TV.
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Post by Mister Tee »

I wasn't making any comment on Sabin's view at all; simply characterizing McCarthy's take.

And here's Screen Daily.

Charlie Wilson's War
Mike Goodridge in Los Angeles
29 Nov 2007 09:10


Dir: Mike Nichols. US. 2007. 97 mins.

In a year when big-name Hollywood talent has plunged headlong into films about war, terrorism and politics, Charlie Wilson's War is both refreshing and disappointing. Refreshing, because it tells its story with such brisk narrative skill and wit. Disappointing, because it assiduously avoids taking its subject matter into the more ambiguous territory which might risk alienating a wide moviegoing audience.

Industry-gazers who thought it was the film to beat at the Academy Awards – a so-called "important" film – will be surprised. Directed by Mike Nichols, written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, Charlie Wilson's War is principally a pleasant comedy. Like other films in the Nichols cannon, Primary Colours and Working Girl for example, it is broad and unsatirical, taking jabs at its protagonists but too polite by far.

The achievement of Nichols, Sorkin and their star and producer Hanks is to deliver a film about politics, a true story no less, that could make some serious money, at least at the domestic box office. It will score more on the level of Dave or An American President than flops like Primary Colours or All The King's Men. Certainly after the failure of star-heavy films like In The Valley Of Elah , Rendition and Lions For Lambs, it is destined to be the feelgood political hit of 2007.

International audiences are likely to feel confused by a story which is only subtly ironic in its portrayal of US interference in international affairs. Its somewhat exuberant depiction of Washington DC double-dealing and its dubious foreign policy is hardly likely to win over sceptical foreigners, even with such big stars on board.

Based on the book by George Crile, Charlie Wilson's War is the remarkable story of Wilson, the hard-drinking, womanising Texas congressman (played by Hanks) whose deep feelings of patriotism and anti-communism led him to spearhead the covert US government involvement in the support, arming and training of ill-equipped Afghani forces against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan throughout the 80s.

The film opens as Wilson is invited to invest in a TV series (" Dallas in Washington ") while sitting in a hot-tub in Las Vegas surrounded by hookers snorting cocaine.

But Wilson, we soon witness, is not just a hedonist and layabout but a man passionate about the US cause in the face of the Soviet threat who sits on the influential Defence Appropriations Subcommittee which controlled funding for covert operations in places like Afghanistan. When his virulently anti-Red ex-lover, Texas multi-millionairess Joanne Herring (Roberts) suggests he goes to Pakistan to meet with President Zia (Om Puri), witness the mayhem first hand and bring his influence to bear on government funding to arm the Mujahideen, he single-handedly works to increase the budget for the covert war from $5m to $1bn.

Assisting him is unconventional CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (a wonderfully gruff performance by Hoffman), a working class man of no social skills but extreme intelligence, who helps Wilson mobilise a joint nation task force involving bizarrely Israel as well as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to amass untraceable weapons and smuggle them into Afghanistan.

The tone here is comedic from the start. This is Nichols at his most playful and Sorkin at his most comfortable, drawing affectionate portraits of Washington politicos while never aspiring to the detached satire of The Candidate or Bulworth.

Wilson, for example, as played by Hanks, is half-buffoon, half-patriot, and never less than likeable, even though he keeps a Hefner-esque staff of busty office girls, asks for a whisky while on an official visit to Pakistan and casually beds the daughter (Blunt) of a loyal constituent. The film refuses to paint Wilson as anything other than a flawed, naïve man doing what he thought was right at the time.

What's missing is the bigger picture. The chillingly ironic longterm ramifications of Wilson's patriotism – his programmes essentially formed the backbone for today's Al Qaeda – are only hinted at as the film draws to a close. Indeed, you wish Nichols had been less warm to his character here: while a 97-minute running time is welcome in an awards season full of bloated prestige titles, this is one story which could have used more detail, context and, yes, perhaps even gravitas.
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Post by OscarGuy »

Tee, it's Sabin. His tastes and the Academy's diverge significantly.
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Post by Mister Tee »

Well, Variety bought it.


Charlie Wilson's War
By TODD MCCARTHY
Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts star in 'Charlie Wilson's War'

More than one option(Person) Charles Kent Wilson
(Person) Charlie Wilson
More than one option(Person) Julia Roberts
Voice, Song Performer, Executive Producer
(Person) Julia Roberts

A Universal release presented in association with Relativity Media and Participant Prods. of a Playtone production. Produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman. Executive producers, Celia Costas, Ryan Kavanaugh, Jeff Skoll. Co-producer, Mike Haley. Directed by Mike Nichols. Screenplay, Aaron Sorkin, based on the book by George Crile.

Charlie Wilson - Tom Hanks
Joanne Herring - Julia Roberts
Gust Avrakotos - Philip Seymour Hoffman
Bonnie Bach - Amy Adams
Doc Long - Ned Beatty
Jane Liddle - Emily Blunt
President Zia - Om Puri
Zvi - Ken Stott
Cravely - John Slattery
Harold Holt - Denis O'Hare
Crystal Lee - Jud Tylor
Larry Liddle - Peter Gerety
Paul Brown - Brian Markinson
Mike Vickers - Christopher Denham
Belly Dancer - Tracy Phillips
Charlie's Angels - Wynn Everett, Mary Bonner Baker, Rachel Nichols, Shiri Appleby

"Charlie Wilson's War" is that rare Hollywood commodity these days: a smart, sophisticated entertainment for grownups. Based on the late George Crile's sensational bestseller about how an unlikely trio of influential and colorful characters conspired to generate covert financial and weapons support for the Afghan Mujahideen to defeat the Russians in the 1980s -- and armed America's future enemies in the process -- Mike Nichols' film is snappy, amusing and ruefully ironic. But not even the stellar talent on both sides of the camera may be enough to make these qualities alluring to general audiences or those much under 40, making B.O. prospects a mid-range thing.
Crile's 2003 book unfolded the full story of exploits little noticed when they happened, a story that once more proves truth can be stranger than fiction, and in this case far more outrageous. Charlie Wilson was a liberal Democratic congressman from East Texas known as "Good Time Charlie" for his swinging-bachelor lifestyle. He had women everywhere (including, as the book points out, the present director's current wife, Diane Sawyer) and was a big-time boozer, but also possessed a strong knowledge of history and a keen interest in foreign affairs.

Although the narrative begins with Charlie (Tom Hanks) in a Las Vegas hot tub with three naked ladies and another guy -- and soon has them all doing coke in a limo -- Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who knows a thing or three about Washington, D.C., generally play down Charlie's more licentious and easily caricatured aspects in favor of his bright, inquisitive and resourceful traits. Charlie is the first to admit his faults, but his most salient talent is as a master operator who can talk to and get along with anyone. Hanks, who in certain ways does not ideally match up with Charlie's cocky personality and looks, persuasively puts across the crucial smoothness and charm.

Igniting Charlie's passion for helping the Afghans in the wake of the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion is Houston socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a beauteous and connected power broker who uses her intimacy with Charlie to convince him to do what Congress is unwilling to do: End the Cold War by helping the ragtag Afghan holdouts defeat the Russkies.

Joanne arranges for Charlie to meet Pakistan's President Zia (a sternly wry Om Puri) in Islamabad, where, despite his faux pas of asking for booze during his audience with a fundamentalist Muslim leader, the ball starts rolling, and the suffering Charlie witnesses during a visit to an Afghan refugee camp turns the fire in his belly to full flame.

There are many stages leading to the point where this good old boy is able to up his government's unpublicized funding of the anti-Soviet jihad from $5 million to $1 billion per year. But the main objective is getting the Mujahideen weapons to shoot down fearsome Russian helicopter gunships, and, in this endeavor, Charlie receives critical help from maverick CIA op Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

If the movie just glides along amusingly at first while dispensing obligatory exposition, it starts firing on all cylinders once Hoffman shows up. Decked out with a pouffy '80s hairdo, moustache, protruding gut and ever-present smokes, Hoffman's Gust moves into a room, plants himself there like an unmovable oak and lets loose with a barrage of delicious verbiage that is equal parts exceptional expertise and withering invective. This reps yet another indelible performance from the amazing Hoffman; whenever he's on, the picture vibrates with conspiratorial electricity.

Knowing Israel has a limitless stash of Soviet-made weapons (and the CIA may not supply U.S.-made weapons to the Afghans), Gust arranges an unthinkable deal between the Jewish state and Islamic Pakistan, a deal furthered when Charlie brings his own Texas belly dancer to perform for officials in Cairo.

While battling drug charges at home that threaten to send him to prison (a federal case pointedly led by one Rudolph Giuliani), Charlie uses his position on the Defense Appropriation Subcommittee to maneuver cash and kindle support for his cause. When Stinger missiles finally find their way to the Afghan rebels, the tide turns, leading to the Soviet retreat in 1989.

Given the density of the story, the hefty number of characters and the governmental arcania involved -- Crile took well over 500 pages to lay it all out -- it's impressive how Nichols and Sorkin have compressed the essentials down to a trim 94 minutes (sans final credits scroll). This is the kind of big Hollywood movie on a big subject with big stars that one would expect to clock in at two hours and 20 minutes. That happens to be what Nichols' previous political comedy, "Primary Colors," ran, so it's possible he learned from that outing, which would likely have benefited from similar brevity.

The pacing of "Charlie's Wilson's War" is exceptional. The material provides much to think about and discuss afterward, but Nichols doesn't pause for reflection while it's all unfolding onscreen. The tempo and balancing act achieved by the director and editors John Bloom and Antonia Van Drimmelen are virtual perfection.

Some 37 years later, there are interesting echoes here from Nichols' film version of "Catch-22" relating to illicit activity by those in government service, absurd juxtapositions, unimaginable eventualities and unofficial history. At the same time, given Nichols' roots in comic theater, it's no surprise that the funniest scene in the film is straight out of French (or Broadway) farce, as Gust is repeatedly asked to absent himself from Charlie's office as the congressman deals with other crises.

While one could have expected most filmmakers, even these, to hammer home the story's dark contemporary irony, it's handled lightly, with a beautiful line of dialogue about how the ball you've set in motion can keep bouncing even after you've lost interest in it. There's no epilogue, only a framing device that seems to sincerely honor Charlie's efforts to a surprising degree.

But it's a film that adores character, something everyone here has in spades in one way or another. The book's Joanne Herring comes off as hugely charming and sexually manipulative, whereas Roberts effectively plays her as almost single-mindedly cunning and Machiavellian. Amy Adams, a star since last weekend in the wake of "Enchanted," is perkily energetic as Charlie's adoring assistant; Ned Beatty has the old pro politician act down pat as a key recruit to Charlie's cause; and Ken Stott gets off some wonderful lines and reactions as a crucial Israeli arms connection.

Craft contributions, notably Stephen Goldblatt's lustrous lensing, Victor Kempster's versatile production design and Albert Wolsky's evocative period costuming, are first-rate.
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Post by Sabin »

Before the reviews start to come out, I'll just launch into my own review...

It's out. It's done. Can't possibly imagine audiences enjoying it. Can't possibly imagining Oscar voters going for it. Totally weightless & thoughtless and when it literally verges on the state of quagmire in the end when the Afghans are armed and waiting...the film only recognizes the fact that Congress decided not to do anything further. Aaron Sorkin is a talented writer but his greatest flaw has always been his apathetic jaded liberalism which has rendered him far too jaded to take a stance on anything beyond status quo fist-shaking. 'Charlie Wilson's War' doesn't end, it fades out. And the final third is problematic, the scenes with the Afghans more parodic than I'm really used to in my dimestore satire.

Before the final act, I was enjoying its Sorkin-esque discussions and the savory moments. This was a 2 1/2 hour tragedy that didn't end up happening so there's no real movie at all. I promise you, the damn thing's done. I can't even in all good faith give it the escapist *** I was thinking it earned in the first hour or so, and I am probably alone in finding this damn thing worthy of labeling escapism.

Tom Hanks is fine but, as in 'Road to Perdition', he skirts scandal at every turn and only implies amoral shindiggery. Julia Roberts is totally miscast and unpleasant, one of the worst performances I've seen her give. I know Susan Sarandon was free those two weeks of filming, and Charlie's crush on her is totally undeveloped and woefully unreciprocated. Most of the supporting cast is relegated to faces...

...and then there's Philip Seymour Hoffman who I think will win the Oscar. Gust Avacadoes (for real) is a part of legends, a fast & shit-talking, oft-passed over smart aleck who believes in nothing more than his own ability to do the job better than the guy who got the job he wanted; his opening scene is hysterical, and his follow-up scene with Hanks is even better. I"m not the biggest P.S. Hoffman fan but this is supporting work as life support. He gets all the good lines, buries himself under unsightly mustache and sunglasses, and while the thing's a cake walk, it is in the best possible way. I can't imagine him not winning some awards for this and he might give Javier Bardem a run for his money, if not a mad dash to the finish line.

The movie's pleasant until it's irrelevant and quite frankly, that's not enough. Disappointing when not fun, but really a stretch to begin with. 'C.W.'sW.' is D.O.A.. Promise.
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