Movie Reviews

It has been a while since I have given any movie reviews, but I was able to go see and rent a few good movies over the holidays.

Charlie Wilson's War

I really enjoy movies about politics, if they are well done. This movie was entertaining from the get go and it is a true story that I am certain nobody has heard. The story is about a middle aged politician named Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) who is can be seen as somewhat of a playboy. He is well liked by nearly everyone and spends most of his time drinking in the company of women. In the opening seen you find Wilson in the hot tub with some hollywood types and a couple of strippers, and right then you can see that he is boring from this type of activity and is looking for a way to actually make a difference. Through the help of his friends, a Houston millionaire Joanne Herring (Julie Roberts), Wilson finds a cause worth fighting for. His goal is to help Afghanistan and Pakistan beat the Russians hopefully dealing them a blow that will aid the U.S. in the cold war. Due to the fact that the U.S. cannot be seen as allies to either of these countries the major dilemna of this movie is appropriating funds to buy weapons that will help defeat the commy bastards.

Hanks is wonderful in this role, has there been a role he cannot play? He provides a likeable character that ladies love, and yet the men respect because he is a good politician. I know pork barrel political issues do not seem like interesting screen plays, but this story was very well adapted. The writer of the West Wing can be thanked for that, and he does a wonderful job of not getting too in depth with the red tape, but still shows how you can fight a war just using the beaucracy. Basically what i am saying is he writes a script about the intricacies of a CIA war, that isnt boring. Philip Seymour Hoffman, plays the role of an advisor, who sets up the different power brokers so a war like this can take place. He brings a lot of humor to his role, and is very believable. His opening seen is priceless and explains so much about his character.

This movie is good for anybody, it is fun and tells a story about the end of the Cold War, that you will never read in any history books. It is smart, funny, and the performnaces are all very good. Definately worth checking out.

Rescue Dawn

The next two movies star Christian Bale, and I have to say he is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Rescue Dawn is another true story brought to us by the much acclaimed director, Warner Herzog. The movie chronicles the story of what I believe the only man to escape and survive a Vietnamese Prison camp. Or in other words a real life John Rambo. Thankfully there is no over the top action or anything like that. This story is about survival and the will a man has to survive. Bale plays a U.S. fighter pilot named Dieter Dengler, who is shot down on his first active mission. The rest of the movie follows a small group of prisoners and the relationships they form, as well as what being help captive will do to both the mind and body. Bale is wonderful he morphed his body into this role just like he did in both the Machinist and American Pyscho. I do not know how actors can do this, but it is truly something special about the craft. This movie doesnt use any tricks or film magic to glorify Dengler. In fact it is a very straight forward movie. However the director does a great job showing the will of man, and what he will do to survive. When the movie is finished you will not be blown away, but you will glad you spent the time to watch this story unfold. Worth a rent.

3:10 to Yuma

As you probably already know I really enjoy Westerns. While I wouldn't put this movie up there with The Proposition or Unforgiven, I really did enjoy this movie. I think the thing I enjoyed most was the development of the characters and how they changed as the movie went on. One of the most rewarding thing for me to watch for in a movie is how the characters are developed. It is a very difficult thing to do. We begin this movie with Bales character having his barn burned down. He is a rancher whose livelihood is based on farming. He realizes in order to make a decent earning for his family, he will have to take a job escorting one of the most dangerous criminals to a prison. Russell Crowe plays Ben Wade, a ruthless thief, who is very dangerous with his pistols. The scenes between Crowe and Bale are very good. These two men are very good on screen and together they seemed to feed off one another. I wasnt crazy about many of the other performances mainly because a lot of the other characters are killed off before they play a big role. However Wade's second in command played by Ben Foster is definately an up and coming actor and I enjoyed him as a villain. He played a similar role in Alpha Dog and I enjoyed him in that. This movie is fairly predictable, and the story although interesting doesnt have any real twists. The only conflict comes from within the two main characters as they travel to the prison train. This movie is a remake and I would be interested in checking out the original, overall I would probably rate it a 7 or so, but if you like Westerns you would probably enjoy this movie very much.