I got so absorbed in watching this trailer for Charlie Wilson's War [1] I completely forgot that the lead actor is Tom Hanks. And this is just from a two-and-a-half minute preview. Some folks are already whispering about the Oscar potential [2] for this film, which opens December 25.

The movie seems like it will smoothly skate that line between comedy and drama. It appears to be a character-driven story that also focuses on covert international politics in the 1980s. Hanks plays Texas congressman whose secret dealings in Afghanistan — assisting rebels in their war with the Soviets — have some "unforeseen and long-reaching effects," like, apparently [3] forming "the backbone of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban."

The trailer implies that the real brains behind these operations is a smart, wealthy Texas woman, Joanne Herring (played with sass by Julia Roberts). I already like this movie. To check out the trailer (which, to top everything off, features some great songs),

Source [4]