Charlie Wilson's War

I saw it the other day and really enjoyed it. The chemistry between Hoffman and Hanks along with some excellent dialogue are the main attractions of the film.
 
The clip on Jonathan Ross of Ken Stott's comedy Israeli accent was not a good advertisement. I'm a fan of Aaron Sorkin but this doesn't look like his best work - from the reviews it sounRAB like he's fudged the whole issue of the actual consequences of US interference in Afghanistan. But I still want to see the film.
 
Just got back from the cinema - brilliant film!!!
The interaction between Tom Hanks & Philip Seymour Hoffmann is superb and I didn't ever think I'd find myself cheering onthe Mujahideen!
 
saw it and its just average i thought (may have been nominated for loaRAB of GGs but it won none).

tom hanks just doesnt convince as a bawdy type, PSH is good, but the script never really sparkles and it was a mistake to stop the story when they did - ie just when it was about to all go wrong and show how they basically ended up arming what became the taliban. typical hollywood rewriting of history (in this case by not showing the full story)
 
went to see this film last night...

Its saving point is that it is based on fact although that is probably also its downfall in that if you were making it up, you would make it more interesting:D

Then when you start to think that, you sort of correct yourself and think - well it is what really happened - so what can i expect.

I understand that the texan lady who started it all off had her lawyers vet/edit/cut many parts of the film as she felt her portrayal was less than suitable/realistic for a devot christian such as herself and apparently there has also been criticism of their actions because it is claimed that that is what got the rebels armed in the first place- that may account for some of the 'gaps'.

There are also a number of continuity mistakes which annoy me at the best of times:p

It was also a very short film compared to the epic length films that have become the 'norm' these days........
 
I went to see it last night. I think that the trailer was a bit misrepresentative, it came across that it would be a more comedic look at this war but it was pretty serious most of the way through. Wasn't hugely impressed either, only when Philip Seymour Hoffman was on screen did i really enjoy it.
 
I really enjoyed it. I know what people mean about it ending too soon and not really giving the right impression about how the US involvement in the war effort then lack of involvement after resulted in the eventual rise of the Taleban and the world-wide Islamic terrorist network - maybe that will be the sequel!?

Actually I felt the end worked - the US just dropped the holw thing leaving those involved with an increadible sense of loss and a job half done. I agree that Hanks wasn't the best choice for the lead role - he doesn't quite pull off the playboy congressman thing, but in the end I thought it was a good film and just about the right length.
 
Felt like a feature length West Wing episode with added A list stars to me. Enjoyable but it didn't quite have as much fizz as it promised.
If you want to see Hoffman's best performance this year catch Before The Devil Knows You're Dead.
 
Good film, Hanks and Hoffman were great, but i personally felt that Julia Roberts was miscast, and quite frankly i thought her acting was sub-standard at best.

It has a "unique" style of humour (the first 15 mins were pretty much wall to wall "jokes" that just didn't seem funny, and felt forced imo), but once you are used to the style it is quite enjoyable.
 
I thought the quote at the end from Charlie Wilson himself nicely brought the film together. If you have a sense of what is going to happen next I don't think you need telling (which anyone on this planet would have with the topic!). In fact I hate films that are too explicit.

Wilson was right though, we do always f*** things up in the end. Human nature.
 
Good film. I must say Philip Seymour Hoffman is truly excellent in this movie, his acting alone is worth the entrance fee at the cinema. Honourable mention to Amy Adams who seems to take on very contrasting roles every time I see her.

I felt they glossed over a few issues, the DRA being a big one. I wasn't keen on Julia Roberts, her acting was hilariously bad.

Overall .. 7.5/10
 
Back
Top