Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War-720P

Charlie Wilson's War-480P

Charlie Wilson's War-720P

Charlie Wilson's War-480P

Mike Nichols in finest form. I was not a fan of "Closer", so it's refreshing to see him again right back on top with this comedy set in the darkest of circumstances. Just one slip in tone could have wrecked this compelling picture but Nichols and his very strong A-list cast never put a foot wrong in this biopic of a deeply flawed but utterly compelling Congressman. Philip Seymour Hoffman as usual is scintillating and brilliant - here playing a damaged but ultra-smart CIA manipulator, and it is in the exchanges between Hanks and Hoffman's characters where the comedy soars. Rarely is movie humour laugh-out loud and also smart... This hits the spot time after time with a biting satirical edge that makes you both laugh and weep at the state of the world (often simultaneously). One other major plus is the length of the picture. The film is based on George Crile's fat book of the same title. The temptation for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (his claim to fame is "The West Wing") must have been to make a fat movie, but what we get is a breath-taking 90 odd minutes of great story with sweeping implications. This film deserves to be seen and to be recognized for finding an extraordinary balance between the darkest of dark subject matter and the lightness of touch of it's sparkling witty script - even if it does flunk the obvious link between the help that Herring and Wilson provide and the ultimate consequences (9/11).

Russians never dropped children's toys filled with explosives over Afghanistan, that never happened!!! Who did invention of that?? Hollywood portrays Russian army as horrible, dreadful troops of evil! That is disgusting!! United States President Jimmy Carter had accepted the view that "Soviet aggression" could not be viewed as an isolated event of limited geographical importance but had to be contested as a potential threat to the Persian Gulf region. The uncertain scope of the final objective of Moscow in its sudden southward plunge made the American stake in an independent Pakistan all the more important. A great deal of damage was done to the civilian children population by land mines.

Told in flashback, the film opens in 1989 with Charlie being given award for his role in the defeat of Communism. I must admit my heart sank as at the thought of have to endure yet another earnest, somewhat boring and overlong life story. How wrong was I, because that short scene is as close as the film ever gets to boring. The film is full of entertaining & amusing set ups and cracking dialogue in some of the most unexpected places. The next scene after the Awards ceremony is Charlie in a Hot-Tub with some naked women and a guy trying to get him to invest in a TV programme. Another rather amusing scene is about 3 quarters into the film comprises Charlie, a group of his rather sexy Secretaries, Phillip Seymour Hoffmans CIA Man and a bottle of Whisky. As to dialogue what about this for a line, "The Senator says, He can teach us to type but can't teach us to grow Tits.". OK, School-boyish I know but the film is laced with great lines. As to performances well Phillip Seymour Hoffman as usual steals every scene he's in. Hanks is OK but surprisingly to me anyway was Julia Roberts who is very good in the role of a rather eccentric Texas Oil Millionairess. Charlie Wilson's War is one of the best non Musician Bio-pics in a long while as well as being that rare thing a film that entertains, amuses as well as informs all in equal measure.

Charlie Wilson's War_720p(480P)

source: Charlie Wilson's War

The movie is pretty much okay on technical level and the acting is good. It shows, however, the real nature of American stupidity when it comes to politics. The proverb that the "Enemy of my enemy is my friend" is basically wrong. You may help your enemy to fight his enemy, but you will never become his friend when it comes to Islamic countries. At the best you will become "the useful idiot". You can see it in documentaries: The Americans are proud to help "freedom" in the Afghanistan, but the Afghan leaders actually had no idea who was helping them. It was irrelevant to them who would supply them the weapons and explicitly told they gave no damn about Americans, because "it was their own (Afghan) blood that will be spilled" and "they gave us just some money". Absolutely no respect, absolutely no gratitude. The Americans were the same enemy as the Russians. They were both decadent infidels. The American help actually lead to disruption of the country, increased the production of drugs, lead from communistic dictatorship to the theocratic dictatorship, provided the safe ground for Islamic terrorists and finally destabilized the region including the Pakistan. In the tactical level the "help" was a success. But it was the same success as was the success of Enron or Worldcom - short time success followed by the catastrophic collapse. From the long term point of view it would be better to keep Russians in Afghanistan to repair the infrastructure from their own pocket and let them bleed slowly. The Russians could not afford long time "help" for financial reasons - the same reasons that Americans cannot afford to "stay and help" in Iraq and Afghanistan. The movie was created as a celebration of the success, but more or less it should be presented as a warning. Al-Qaeda is the creation of Charlie Wilson. When you ask who did 9/11 - Charlie did it! Your enemy may defeat another enemy of yours, but in the end he will remain to be your enemy. He will be just better armed and trained than ever.