W.

[Bannister]

Holy ^^^^! What is that, Goonies reuninon?

It was from when they recorded the dvd commentary.

 

[Bannister]

I know that guy with the grey shirt and big smile isn't chunk,is it?

Yes it is.

 

[IrishJedi]

So, is anyone else going to see this tomorrow? I'm looking forward to it. I love Stone's pseudo-historical political films (JFK, NIXON, etc) and I'm sure this will at least be interesting and entertaining. I'll catch a 5:00 or so showing after work tomorrow and report back here.

 

[Darklord Dave]

The trailers look great and Brolin seems to do a great job without doing a parody. I hear it's a little too fair and balanced though and lacks teeth.

 

[IrishJedi]

The trailers look great and Brolin seems to do a great job without doing a parody. I hear it's a little too fair and balanced though and lacks teeth.

You're joking, right? That's a bad thing?

 

[IrishJedi]

Excellent, excellent movie that deserves all of the critical praise it is receiving.

As expected, Brolin is remarkable. If he doesn't get nominated for an Oscar it will be a disgrace. He literally transformed himself into GWB in the awe-inspiring tradition of Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison and Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin. Just amazing.

The rest of the cast is equally solid (including the always great James Cromwell as Bush Sr), but Brolin takes center-stage easily.

It's a character study, and a very even-handed one at that. And I think it's probably a more accurate portrayal of the man than many might expect. At the center is his relationship with his father and his own insecurities that developed from that, which lead to his bout with substance-abuse and then, in turn, being "born again" as someone with conviction bordering on stubbornness.

It's fair and completely unbiased, to the point where lefties looking for a witch hunt type film will be disappointed (sorry, Dave). Hard-line conservatives won't be too thrilled, either, as it doesn't pull any punches where Cheney, Rumsfeld and that whole crew are concerned. If this film is to be believed, that gang are the true villains of the past 8 years and Bush's biggest failure was of naivety and trust in his inner-circle. And while we'll never know the exact details of those meetings and conversations, I think Stone and his writer did a very precise and honest job of connecting all of the logical dots in how/why the War in Iraq really went down.

As an Indepedent/Moderate who was completely against the war but also doesn't think Bush is the most evil man on the planet or the dumbest man ever I found it all very compelling. And I even connected personally to the dynamic between Bush Sr and W., which hit pretty close to home for me (especially since I also have a younger brother who is obviously my father's favorite).

Highly recommended. I'll answer questions about the movie for anyone interested.

 

[Darth Caedus]

It's fair and completely unbiased, to the point where lefties looking for a witch hunt type film will be disappointed (sorry, Dave). Hard-line conservatives won't be too thrilled, either, as it doesn't pull any punches where Cheney, Rumsfeld and that whole crew are concerned. If this film is to be believed, that gang are the true villains of the past 8 years and Bush's biggest failure was of naivety and trust in his inner-circle. And while we'll never know the exact details of those meetings and conversations, I think Stone and his writer did a very precise and honest job of connecting all of the logical dots in how/why the War in Iraq really went down.

Hmmm, then I might check it out. With Oliver Stone and anybody in Hollywood, I was pretty much expecting a left-wing witch hunt for the film. Since you say it isn't, I think I might check it out. I do agree that Bush does get some pretty hard heat for stuff that probably isn't even his fault; just that of the people around him. But he's the Pres., buck stops with him. Anywho, I think I might check it out. Thanks for review.

 

[kl241]

I liked it a lot too, except for the third act. It kind of just ended and it made me think maybe it is too soon for this movie because there is no end in sight for the Iraq war and Bush is still in office, so there is no ending really. I also thought Stone hammered home too much about Bush's daddy issues, especially with the dream boxing scene. I wish he would have shown more about him being governor and maybe even running for President, show more things, rather than just repeating himself - I got that he had issues with "Poppy" in some well crafted scenes, but the problem with Stone is he just keeps drumming them in. That said, I did like the film a lot except for the last act, but is worth seeing weather you are a liberal or conservative, and Josh Brolin is amazing. I agree with IJ, he should be nominated hands down.

 

[IrishJedi]

I liked it a lot too, except for the third act. It kind of just ended and it made me think maybe it is too soon for this movie because there is no end in sight for the Iraq war and Bush is still in office, so there is no ending really. I also thought Stone hammered home too much about Bush's daddy issues, especially with the dream boxing scene. I wish he would have shown more about him being governor and maybe even running for President, show more things, rather than just repeating himself - I got that he had issues with "Poppy" in some well crafted scenes, but the problem with Stone is he just keeps drumming them in. That said, I did like the film a lot except for the last act, but is worth seeing weather you are a liberal or conservative, and Josh Brolin is amazing. I agree with IJ, he should be nominated hands down.

I actually think the last act (and particularly the last scene) was a perfect metaphor for how G.W. Bush probably feels right now. He seems to have acted in what he felt was in America's best interest and did what he thought was the right thing to do, yet he ultimately failed. Cut to the scene in the ballpark (with no ball to catch) and you're left with a distinct analogy: a dream and purpose unfulfilled... and a man almost completely alone and caught off guard by it. I personally thought that was pretty powerful stuff.

 

[kl241]

I can see your point. I would like to see the movie be remade or "Lucased out" with a special edition in 4 years or so, give it time to sit and let Bush be out of office, but I can see where you are coming from. I just wish he trimmed the redundant scenes regarding his daddy issues and focus more on running for governor, and president, show me something new. But given what time constraints they had with the film, they did a pretty good job, Brolin is worth seeing it alone.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Just saw it and thought it was a pretty good film. I have to agree that Brolin did an excellent job as did Dreyfuss and Jeffrey Wright as Powell. You can see Wright seething while this lunacy goes on around him and his frustration at not being able to do anything about it. However I got the impression that Thandie Newton thought she was doing an SNL sketch. Her Condie was merely a caricature.

And you can understand why Stone concentrated on the things he did - he was trying to get at what makes the man tick and what drove him in his decisions. I think Stone believes that the US got embroiled with the worst military decision since Vietnam simply because some guy had to prove himself to his father. So all the scenes are developed to support that thesis.

 

[wofford29]

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Stone needs to retire until he finds a new muse because his last films have been ruining his name. W is no exception. I'd say it's certified rotten rating over at rottentomatoes.com is about right. I'd give it 5 out of 10 only for Brolin's performance. A complete mess of a film that says nothing and feels more like one man's attempts at making a joke and hopping on band wagon of tired jokes as opposed to saying something. As good as Brolin is, the film feels more suitable to Will Farrell playing the lead role.

 

[LChinoz]

It was an awkwardly timed movie but it had it's good parts. Brolin was amazing. It is like Ray, not the best film, but worth seeing for the performances.