« Introduction to David's Movie Blog | Main | Different Looks, All of them good. »
December 02, 2007
Cold War, Hot Movie
A movie movie caught my eye last week, and I got a great vibe from it. Upon seeing the preview for Charlie Wilson’s War, I had three thoughts: Star power, star power, star power. Who in the Hollywood thought it would be a good idea to put Tom Hanks, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Julia Roberts in the same picture? Answer: Mike Nichols, who hasn’t directed on the silver screen since 2004. Don’t let this lapse in time fool you though; Nichols has a respectable rottnetomatoes.com rating, and an award/nomination list longer than my arm.
The big names speak for themselves. Tom Hanks is, and always has been a Hollywood golden boy, and as far as I’m concerned, can do no wrong. Even though I was only mildly entertained with his performance in his last movie, the Da Vinci Code, I blame the screenwriters for that. The character Hanks is an impeccably smooth congressman, whose motives are less than innocent. This dark protagonist is the perfect role for Hanks per “The Road to Perdition”
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is still thriving off of his Capote Oscar hype. He’s made magic on screen since that buzz began (The Savages, Before the Devil Knows you’re Dead). From what I’ve seen, his character provides a comic relief of sorts by being a man with an inept man in a place of power in this latest film, Charlie Wilsons War. Hoffman has proven himself a great source of comedic relief since his early career (as Dusty in Twister), and I think he will most definitely add charm to this high-potential flick.
Julia Roberts. ‘Nuff said.
America’s Sweetheart, and one of America’s Golden boys will combine with an up-and-comer for a fantastic political thriller about American involvement in the Afghan-Soviet War. Now, that being said, I can’t guarantee a box office smash. The film has had some screening woes to say the least. Very little (other than the trailer) have been released on this film, leaving critics (and potential Oscar Buzz) in the dark. This last week has been one of the final weeks for early screenings before the Oscar race begins, but still nothing from director Mike Nichols. Does this spell trouble?
Probably not. I think this movie is going to be a classic, regardless of how many people come out opening weekend.
Read me Later,
Leap
Posted by dlheart at December 2, 2007 02:45 PM