The Cinema for 10/17/08: "W" Getting Rave Reviews, And Hated By The Right Wing

(Photo From www.nydailynews.com). Who needs to do a hit job when the man himself provides all the material to do one on himself. "W" is handled real well.

The reviews are in. From every reputable newspaper and movie critic, "W" is one of the best movies of 2008 (unless you beg to differ). And showing how good it is (or bad, from your perspective of course), the right wing hates it.

The New York Daily News' Joe Neumaier gives the movie a solid "four out of five stars", and highlights the only problems in it from his review.

Dreyfuss perfectly captures "Vice's" lumpen Mephistophelian stillness, and Jeffrey Wright makes Colin Powell's own deal with the Devil quietly shattering. James Cromwell's George H.W. Bush is bewildered and saddened by his son's missteps, Elizabeth Banks' Laura Bush checks her intelligence for politics, and Young's Rove is like a creepy alien cranium in search of a body. Less spot-on are Glenn's too-cheery Rumsfeld and Newton's enabling Rice, whose hairdo and head-bob seem right but whose voice is irritatingly shaky when it should be icy.

USA Today's Claudia Puig hits it right on the head:

Though the reasonably well-informed will not learn anything terribly new about Bush (Fahrenheit 911 covered much of the same ground), unusual anecdotes and factoids capture our attention. The film posits that Cats is W.'s favorite play. That revelation — alluded to while George worries about world affairs with Laura — doesn't provide any great insight into the man, but it is puzzling and oddly intriguing. The movie as a whole has a similar effect. Although clearly not the definitive biography of Bush, W. is absorbing and amusing to ruminate over.

The Colorado Gazette gives it an A- and says it is "a surprisingly even handed portrait."

The Chi-Tribune's Michael Phillips likes it:

When it works, though, it works because for the first time since the 1980s Stone has made a film that establishes a tone and sticks to it. Like David Hare's stage play "Stuff Happens," "W." hangs its head-shaking tragicomedy on the Iraq War and the cloudy aftermath. In the end it depicts its subject as lost, and pitiable--like Richard Nixon, but more a pawn than a dark knight.

The conservative Christian Science Monitor's review

Stone may think he's made a movie about the toxicity of the Bush presidency, but what we have instead is a cautionary tale of a decidedly lower order. As far as I can make out, the real message of "W." is: Don't vote for anybody who talks with his mouth full of food. Grade: C-

And not surprising, Jed Bush hates how his little brother is being made fun of:

But Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, criticised Stone's depiction of the father-son relationship and the perceived psychological motivation of his brother.

"The Oedipal rivalry is high-grade, unadulterated hooey," he told the Washington Times.

(Photo from nydailynews.com). Ludacris is apart of the Pain that is watching Max Payne

Oh, and for the other notable premiere this week, what the heck were Mark Wahlberg and Ludacris thinking ?

We can all agree that Mark Wahlberg is a pretty big star, right? Which means he can't be desperate for exposure, and he's probably not lacking in cash. So why, exactly, would he bother making undiluted junk like "Max Payne"?

If he's seen the final product, one can only assume he's asking himself the same question. "MP" is based on a video game, and the standard for this particular genre is not especially high. But no amount of generosity could excuse the levels of ineptitude on display here.

Enjoy (or don't enjoy) these movies this week, where you watch them at (wink, wink).

Fin.