Charlie Wilson's War
Aaron Sorkin strikes again - if you liked The West Wing or The American President then you'll be into this movie. Based on the true story of how in the US helped lead the Afghans to liberation from the invading Russians in the 1980's (oh the irony), Charlie Wilson's War is alarmingly timely and filled with the smart ass comments and witty banter Sokin is now so well known for. Tom Hanks does a great job of making you forget you're watching Tom Hanks in his role as Texas Senator Charles Wilson, a man passing his time in the Senate via booze and women until, at the request of his deep-pocketed lady love Joanne Herring (played by an over-the-top Julia Roberts) he takes an interest in the plight of Afghan people fighting the invading Russian army. Wilson teams with with a motley crew from within the CIA including the always wonderful Philip Seymour Hoffman and proceeds to lead the US efforts in support of Afghan liberation....
Call this one "American History Lite", but this is a movie that delivers a potentially eye-opening history lesson that's
sugar-coated enough for the masses to swallow
Juno
This one is worthy of all of the hype and buzz its gotten....I can't say much other than I love love loved this little movie and everyone should go see it. And Ellen Page rocks (and my personal fave Jen Garner does a great job being very un-Jen-Garner! Finally!).
Atonement
UHHHGGGG I will likely never atone for dragging Mike to see this one....luckily I disliked it as much as he did so at least we suffered together. This was a major disappointment - I mean, I like a good period piece as much as the next gal (I really do!) but honestly this one was just over-the-top I was just thankful I had a box of Milk Duds to enjoy since pulling caramel out of my teeth at least helped me pass the time....It was beautifully shot, no doubt, and Kiera Knightly in that emerald green dress is simply stunning (desperatley in need of a sandwich, but still stunning). But the movies draaaags, is completely mellow-dramatic, and also painful in the fact that it seems that any film not shot in a straight-forward manner is deemed worthy of tremendous accolades...note to all those critics out there that loved this one: a story told out of sequence does not a fantastic film necessarily make.
Skip it. (And then see Juno again)
