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Mr Lojban - 2008-05-13 12:39:00
I seriously thought you were talking about potato chips.
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Paula - 2008-05-13 14:31:26
In which case, of course, I'd be on the opposite side. I could eat potato chips at every meal.
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MacGregor - 2008-05-13 14:43:27
Charlie Wilson was kind of a tool. Did they portray that in the film? He had absolutely no idea who he was involved with there.
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Paula - 2008-05-13 15:14:44
I only know what I saw in the film, and a little bit of web research, but apparently Wilson knew enough to warn the gov't that you couldn't just help the people of Afganistan fight the Russians, and then pull out without any follow-through.
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Eric - 2008-05-13 18:16:24
I really liked Charlie Wilson's War. It was very smartly written, and some of the Hoffman scenes were fantastic. Very easy to see why he was nominated-ie: the scene where he is yelling at his boss, and the scene where he first meets Charlie and keeps going in and out of his office. I used to time those at work and place myself into the theatre whenever those played because they were really funny. My only real problems with the movie was Julia Roberts (whose role was thankfully small) and the ending which seemed a bit abrupt. I expected some more to happen, I guess.
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Bina - 2008-05-13 23:30:13
They played this movie as kind of a joke, and it was entertaining and all, but given the gravity of events and the repurcussions they had on my country and Afghanistan, it is kind of insulting... For example, once the Americans were done using Zia, the CIA had him and ten of his generals (and the American ambassador) blown up on a C130 flight so that he couldn't talk about what he knew... the unused weapons fell into the hands of all the people who are creating so much trouble in both countries today... oh, and whatever wasn't used was stored in an aramement camp a little ways of Islamabad and then sabotaged so that rockets were blowing up and landing in people's houses etc, killing I don't know how many people. I recommend the book Charlie Wilson's War, by George Crile, as it is very honest, retaining the humor but keeping it more cutting, rather than the farcical way it's portrayed in this movie.
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Bina - 2008-05-13 23:33:19
They played this movie as kind of a joke, and it was entertaining and all, but given the gravity of events and the repurcussions they had on my country and Afghanistan, it is kind of insulting... For example, once the Americans were done using Zia, the CIA had him and ten of his generals (and the American ambassador) blown up on a C130 flight so that he couldn't talk about what he knew... the unused weapons fell into the hands of all the people who are creating so much trouble in both countries today... oh, and whatever wasn't used was stored in an aramement camp a little ways of Islamabad and then sabotaged so that rockets were blowing up and landing in people's houses etc, killing I don't know how many people. I recommend the book Charlie Wilson's War, by George Crile, as it is very honest, retaining the humor but keeping it more cutting, rather than the farcical way it's portrayed in this movie. Personal anecdote: The US Ambassador came to speak at my school's graduation in 1988 and I remember how upsetting it was to learn that he'd died hardly two months later. And a close relative of mine was a minister under Zia during the mid-80s... It was such a love affair between the US and Pakistan in those days, you wouldn't believe it, given the state of affairs between our two countries now.
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Paula - 2008-05-14 00:31:29
Yeah, the movie is unusually banter-y, with a screenplay written (adapted from Crile's book) by TV writer Aaron Sorkin, but I think the sum total of it is a sobering message about actions and long-range consequences. If it is played for laughs, it is gallows humor.
(Eric, I agree that Julia Roberts wasn't great here, but I'm not sure who else could pull off "Southern former beauty queen who's still got a way with the boys.")
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MacGregor - 2008-05-14 08:34:48
I'm going to have to Netflix the movie. I've held off because I was told by a few people that it played off like a comedy and that Charlie Wilson was portrayed as a visionary. I think the kindest way to put it is that he was a grotesque clown and a blunderer and despite what may or may not have been good intentions on his own, he was used by Republican, Democrats, neo-fascists, racists and big oil alike. Along with Charlie Wilson's War I'd recommend the book Ghost Wars which is a history of the conflict from way back and how it continues.
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Paula - 2008-05-14 09:02:43
It does play like a comedy, but Charlie Wilson is depicted as quite flawed. But if you already know the story, and you already know that you're probably going to be irritated by the movie, then I think you can save your Netlix cred for something more up your alley. I wasn't trying to portray this as the greatest cinematic achievement of our times, i just said "I enjoyed it."
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