Synopsis:

In the early 1980s, Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) changed American history.  He was a womanizing US congressional representative from Texas who seemed to be in the minor leagues, except for the fact that he is a member of two major foreign policy and covert-ops committees. Prodded by his major conservative supporter, Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), Wilson learns about the plight of the people are suffering in the brutal Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. With the help of the maverick CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Wilson dedicates his canny political efforts to supply the Afghan mujahideen with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. Charlie embarks on a path that will ultimately teach him that while military victory can be had, there are other consequences and prices to that fight that are ignored to everyone's sorrow.

The Freak's Rating: B- : I found that Charlie Wilson's War was the most entertaining during the first two acts and began to slip a little into the third.  It slowed down to a near crawl once you reached the conclusion and went out with a whimper rather than a bang.  However, the first 2/3 of the film had an energetic style that is worth recommending the film.  Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance is phenomenal as Gust and is worth the cost of viewing the film in its entirety.  Hoffman alone causes a number of laugh out loud moments and is at his best in this role.  Hanks and Roberts are consistent in their on-screen ability, but never put on a masterful showing of talent.  The direction is tight during the energetic moments, but slips enough near the end that you wonder if you are in the same film.  Still, Hoffman's performance is worthy.

Eric's Rating: B+ : Liked it, right up my alley.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great.

Angie's Rating: C : This movie was not entertaining, and I should have known I wouldn't like it based on the fact that I hate politics in general.  It was about Charlie Wilson, a no name - lazy congressman, who uses his footholds in the political game to direct money toward pushing communist Russia out of Afghanistan in 1988.  The movie is filled with nudity, drugs, and language that rightfully depicts the senator, and I found it a depressing reminder of our political system.  Especially the end, since the government refused to put any money into rebuilding schools after they spent a billion blowing up the country.  The only reason I am giving it the C is because the acting by Tom Hanks, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams was as in most cases wonderful.  I enjoyed watching their performances, oddly enough I was annoyed by Julia Roberts in this film.  Hmmm... maybe it was her character.  I don't know, but I would say don't waste your time trying to figure it out.

The Shou's Rating: B+ : This film is an interesting one as it is a drama/comedy film, usually that combination doesn't work well but this film managed to put those two genres together to produce a good film.

The humor in this film is very smart and subtle at times difficult to pick up. Seymour and Hanks play good roles and are very funny but unfortunately Robert's character was very weak.

I gave this movie a B+ as it had a good storyline (even though it was based on actual events) and it was quite funny.
 

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