A hardcore liberal friend of mine (see, we can all get along) couldn't wait to see this yesterday. He gave it a "c". He said Brolin will win an Oscar (of course he will, Hollywood would love that).
This movie was terrible, just complete garbage. The dialogue was so shortened and dumbed down and the impressions were so bad that it had the feel of a high school play. Don't see this ever.
It's gotten mixed reviews from critics. I heard that the performances by Brolin as W. and Cromwell as Bush Sr. were very strong. The movie apparently works best as a personal character study between W. and his dad, as opposed to a comprehensive overview of his life/presidency. And there's no mention of 9/11.
The difficulty with 9/11 which I've read others say and I agree with, is if you try to include that it will overshadow everything. 9/11 doesn't define who Bush is, but if you don't give it the treatment it deserves in the film that's what it will do. Also, the movie's narrative is told through flashback, and it's trying to highlight specific episodes in his life and how they fit into the movie's theme (which is apparently very personal, as opposed to being some grand views about the world). If it was meant to be a detailed record of his life and presidency, 9/11 would surely be a glaring omission.
Yeah I think it would have done much better in the box office had it been released in like 2010 or 2012
Totally agree. If you are more or less a Republican sympathizer: why would you see this now? If you are more or less a Democratic sympathizer: why would you see this now? Basically, why would any American want to see even more of Bush? That's not a slam. We get over-exposed to EVERY flipping president. I think Oliver Stone stinks, as a movie maker. Blech.
It's just not a real good movie. Not a Bush-bashing fest either, really, just not a particularly good movie. In my opinion.
I haven't seen it but the trailers look funny. To those who think it's bad timing... Maybe it is, I don't know. But the crowds that have been to the play I opened this weekend (which splices the Bush/Kerry/Lehrer debate with Camus) have been pretty much universally having a great time - laughing their asses off and staying long after the show's over to talk about it. Clutch came out last night and gave it a good review in the Hangout too. I hope to see some of you out there. As Clutch says in his post, it's not partisan at all. Just funny and weird.
whoever said it doesn't even mention 9/11 got their info from someone who clearly wasn't watching the movie. no they didn't show us the famous images of the planes hitting the buildings, but did they really need to? it was absolutely a part of the plot throughout the film... they also mentioned WTC '93 as well as Oklahoma '95. in my opinion, you've got to take out politics to enjoy the film. I thought Oliver Stone did a fantastic job giving the American public a pretty sympathetic view of a man down in the dumps who gets his life together, rises to the top, and has serious issues with his father. the casting was fantastic, save for Thandie Newton's Condaleeza Rice. She was too much of a caricature, a cartoon of the real Rice. Jeffrey Wright as Powell, Brolin as Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney, and Ellen Burstyn as Barbara, also Elizabeth Banks as Laura Welch Bush shined in their roles... as far as factual information and the plot/storyline, of course they had to dumb it down so that they could feed us the history lesson of George Bush's legacy. but even the "Bushisms" that he is famous for saying over the years make their way into casual conversation, of course not exactly in the context in which he delivered those one-liner gems. i thought it was great, as well, seeing the film in Austin over the weekend, our screening room was not without some controversy, viewers heckling the film, and then each other, security had to come, good times were had by all...
The woman who played Ann Coulter in the movie was found beaten really badly in her home. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3sRmbkYztmZI0Nrt0KBPjomlK1AD93UKMM00
As per popular request lets find actors who fit the profile of current candidates. Barrack Obama - Harry Lennix John McCain - Steve Martin Joe Bidden - John Larroquette Sarah Palin - Patricia Heaton
Well, maybe some of his stuff is questionable, like Natural Born Killers or Nixon, but JFK is absolutely a top 20-30 all time movie for many different reasons beyond its premise. I'll debate that one with anyone. The rest of his movies? Platoon, 4th of July, Nixon, maybe even this one, miss the mark in a few areas. JFK is a landmark piece of filmmaking.
That sounds like the best movie review I've ever heard. I will never get tired of seeing that complete douchebag being slammed. Nobody deserves it more. A complete and total disgrace of a man....
I think the news is carrying this one as "the woman who played Coulter" even though she was an unnamed host on an imaginary talk show. she was a blonde host on a show called "Fast Ball"- it was a quick scene after the "Mission Accomplished" appearance on the aircraft carrier. most of the other clips were taken from real CNN or CSPAN broadcasts. I though the fake show was out of place. Fox probably wouldn't give them the rights...
