saw: charlie wilson's war
Your usual Mike Nichols affair—high-wattage cast, quality dialog, vaguely stagy mise en scène and slightly quaint politics cut with a reliable sardonicism. It's a pleasant, if slight, portrait of an interesting juncture in American diplomacy with obvious repercussions to this day. Minor quibble: did Julia Roberts acquire her steel magnolia schtick by studying Melanie Griffith in The Bonfire of the Vanities? I mean, it's not a performance that detracts from the movie by any means ... it's just a little ... regional-theater Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Know what I'm sayin'? I'll shut up now. Grade: B