4 Razors

Charlie Wilson’s War

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Charlie Wilson’s War
  • IMDb: link

“You can teach them to type, but you can’t teach them to grow tits.”

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), a junior Congressman from a small district in Texas, did the impossible.  Not only did he spearhead the largest covert war in United States history, but he kept it a secret for years.

Wilson, a member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee and the only Congressman from a district “who doesn’t want anything,” was in an unique position to change the world while nobody was looking.

After learning about the Afghan resistance against the Soviets, and being cajoled into providing more assistance by a powerful political contributor (Julia Roberts), Wilson with the help of his friends and CIA operative Gust Avrakotots (Philip Seymour Hoffman), over the course of the decade began increasing the money, weapons, and training being put into Afghanistan and began fighting a covert war which only a scant few even knew was taking place.  And we aren’t talking a small increase here; we’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.

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A Rare Treasure

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: National Treasure
  • IMDb: link

National Treasure

National Treasure is a treasure hunting movie of the finest caliber.  With great locations, strange clues that must be deciphered intertwined into U.S. history, a race against time to find the treasure, a great cast, and peppered with action sequences but with its soul relying on the characters’ intellect rather than only their brawn, it’s all you can ask for, and a little more.  Disney has had mixed success in its live action movies, but this can be put alongside the best of the bunch.

The movie begins with John Adams Gates (Christopher Plummer) telling his grandson the story of a great treasure of King Solomon passed down through the generations and protected by the Knights Templar and Freemasons who eventually smuggle the treasure to the New World and hide it, leaving a series of clues by which it might later be uncovered.  Through mischance the Gates family has the only known clue to the treasure which he now passes on to his grandson.

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August Rush

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: August Rush
  • IMDb: link

“I believe in music the way some people believe in fairy tales.”

august-rush-posterThere are two stories here.  The first involves a young orphan (Freddie Highmore) with untapped musical talent who leaves the orphanage to “follow the music” and find his parents.  His journey leads to new friends (Leon G. Thomas III, Jamia Simone Nash), a stint as a street musician under the control of the Fagin-esque Wizard (Robin Williams, in a cowboy hat), and a trip to Juliard where his talent blossoms.

The second story (shown mostly in flashbacks) involves cellist Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) and rock band member Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).  Their chance meeting a decade before was dashed by Lyla’s father (William Sadler) separating them for years. 

Lyla’s unexpected pregnancy puts her career at risk and her father snatches up a chance accident to make her believe her son is dead.  Jumping back to the present Lyla learns the truth and with the help of a social worker (Terrence Howard) begins to search for the son she’s never met.  At the same time across the country Louis facing his own midlife crisis searches out the woman who he still loves.

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No Country for Old Men

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: No Country for Old Men
  • IMDb: link

“It’s a mess ain’t it sheriff.”
“If it ain’t it’ll do ‘til the mess gets here.”

no-country-for-old-men-poster

Brutally violent, with eloquently scripted dialogue and sumptuously cinematography No Country for Old Men has all the pieces in place for a great film, but although it’s certainly a very good film it loses much of its momentum over the course of its two-hour running time ending with more of a whimper than a bang.

The story begins when Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) discovers the remains of a drug deal gone wrong and finds $2 million in cash.  A moment of conscience leads to him being marked by both sides after the money and LLewelyn sends his wife (Kelly Macdonald) to her mother’s (Beth Grant) as he takes to the road to stay one step ahead of a hitman (Javier Bardem) who knows his name and always seems only one-step behind.

The film begins in terrific fashion and the dialogue is perfect, especially the simple scenes between Llewelyn and Carla Jean (MacDonald).  I wish she had a larger role in the film because the two work so well together.  Bardem puts in a strong performance as the mysterious sociopathic hitman (even if his introduction gets thrown off a bit by some logic problems such as the events which take place in the near-empty police station far too large for the small force).

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The Color of Money

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Color of Money
  • IMDb: link

“It’s even, but it ain’t settled.  Let’s settle it.”
 

The Color of Money

The film is a sequel to 1961’s The Hustler with Paul Newman reprising his role as “Fast” Eddie Felson.  By this time out (25 years after the original film) Eddie is the old hustler who has lost a step or two and decides to take a talented but raw pool player (Tom Cruise) under his wing and teach him the ropes of hustling.  Although the film earned itself five Oscar nominations (Newman won for his role) the film has largely been forgotten and ignored by those who feel it is one of Martin Scorsese’s lesser works, but to me it remains a nice reminder that sometimes sequels are worth seeing.

Newman is terrific, and although the film works better if you have seen the original it isn’t a necessity to enjoy the tale.  Cruise is well cast as the not too smart hot shot, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio puts in a strong supporting performance as the film’s smartest character.  You might also want to keep an eye out for some great cameos from the likes of Forest Whitaker, Iggy Pop, and several professional pool players.

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