Charlie Wilson's War

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can also watch the Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts political movie Charlie Wilson's War and the horror flick One Missed Call.

Cloverfield
With the release of Cloverfield to DVD it seems like this is one JJ Abrams chapter that has officially come to an end (well, at least until the sequel comes out, and the viral marketing campaign for that will surely precede it by about a year). Cloverfield was so overly hyped that I had some reservations going into the movie, but I was happy to report that I had been worried for nothing. It is a frightening monster movie that kept my heart racing.

This movie also earned a reputation for the shaky-cam visual style making some people feel nauseated, though if you were worried about that on the big screen, your home entertainment center will likely make for a much mellower experience. The movie follows a gaggle of 20-somethings at a going away party in New York. When the city comes under attack by a monster, what ensues is a great balance of action, relief, tender moments and "real-life" drama and humor.

As expected, this DVD is packed full of special features including commentary by director Matt Reeves, alternate endings, and the making of the film.

Two more excellent (albeit dark) films out this week, so read more

Tom Hanks headed to Paris to promote Charlie Wilson's War with director Mike Nichols on Friday. Tom is up for a Golden Globe on Sunday, but his mind is already on the fate of the Oscars. Along with George Clooney, Tom is one of the many stars who is ready to get back to work and attend the Academy Awards. He said, "The show must go on, that is one of the tenets of everything. I am a member of the board of governors of the Academy, and we definitely want to put on a great show and honor the films that have come out in the course of the year."

No word yet on whether or not the actors will have an effect on the strike negotiations, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that Tom, George and all of our other favorite celebs will be walking the red carpet for the Oscars in February.

Source

For the second lucrative weekend in a row, the National Treasure sequel Book of Secrets has taken the box office crown, raking in $35.6 million. Edging out I Am Legend for second place was Alvin and the Chipmunks, which brought in $29 million. Legend's $27 million brought it to No. 3 with Charlie Wilson's War taking in way less ($11 million) but still grabbing fourth place.

Happily, the little indie movie that could, Juno, made the list of top five movies at the box office over this final weekend of 2007! Variety points out that Juno, which took in $10 million its fourth weekend in theaters, "was up a whopping 201% from the previous weekend," and both weekends the movie played in 998 theaters. That is an awesome success, homeskillet.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

National Treasure: Book of Secrets, the sequel to Nicolas Cage's 2004 hit, scored big at the box office over the long holiday weekend, bringing in an estimated $65 million in the five-day period between Friday and Tuesday.

I Am Legend finished second, pulling in an estimated $47.5 million over the five days. Fox wouldn't estimate how much money Alvin and the Chipmunks made over the long weekend, but as of Sunday it had brought in $29 million and was in third place behind National Treasure and Legend.

Two Golden Globe nominees, Charlie Wilson's War and Sweeney Todd, battled for fourth and fifth place. Charlie Wilson brought in $14.8 million over five days, edging Sweeney Todd with $12.8 million.

Other notable numbers: P.S. I Love You finished sixth with $9.1 million. Meanwhile, Walk Hard failed to match the heights of Superbad or Knocked Up, bringing in just $5.8 million.

Next week's numbers should be interesting, as three relatively big movies — Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem, The Great Debaters, and The Water Horse — opened on Christmas Day.

Source

Note: I asked GiggleSugar to go to write up this review, and she graciously agreed. Thanks, Giggle!

Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is a Texas Congressman who drinks whisky in the morning, whose single notable legislative achievement is having been re-elected five times, and who hires only sexy young women as aides. “You can teach ‘em to type,” his secretary quotes him as saying, “but you can’t teach ‘em to grow tits.”

Yet we see him in a flash forward at the beginning of Charlie Wilson’s War receiving an unusual military honor for playing a part in helping to end the Cold War between the Soviets and the US. How do we reconcile the ne’er-do-well Charlie with the unlikely hero Charlie?

Based on a true story and adapted from a book by George Crile, Charlie Wilson’s War is a smart and fast-paced comedy written by Aaron Sorkin (West Wing) and directed by Mike Nichols that seeks not only to answer the question of Charlie’s transformation but also to explain the complicated history of the U.S.’s often covert involvement in global affairs. It does this in an engaging way by focusing on the flawed people who turn the wheels of history. The film manages a difficult balancing act: it is informative without being boring, entertaining without being trivial, and political without being partisan. To see more what I mean, read more

Last night's NYC screening of Charlie Wilson's War was a formal affair with not a whole lot of color at all on the red carpet. Tom Hanks was there with one of his costars and fellow Golden Globe nominees, Philip Seymour Hoffman, but not Julia Roberts. While their leading lady wasn't around, a breakthrough redheaded actress with a gorgeous smile (and GG acting nominee) Amy Adams looked great in her LBD. Meanwhile, always love Steve Martin — even though my disdain for fedoras is no big secret he looks kinda awesome in his. Considering the recognition that Tom, Philip and Amy are getting for their roles this year, methinks we'll be seeing a lot of them in fancy wear as award season ramps up.

To see more from the premiere including Colin Hanks, Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg and others just read more

Atonement came up big this morning when the nominations for the Golden Globe Awards were announced in Hollywood. The film snagged seven nominations — three for the acting of stars James McAvoy,
Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan and four more for Best Dramatic Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Score.

Also getting a lot of attention from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association: Charlie Wilson's War, which snagged five nominations, including Best Musical or Comedy and acting nominations for Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sweeney Todd, Michael Clayton, and No Country for Old Men were close behind with four nominations each.

In the television categories, cable series got a lot of love, including new shows Californication, Damages, and Mad Men.

I'll be back with my complete thoughts later today, but for now, you can check out all the nominees if you read more

Julia Roberts looked stunning in black on the red carpet showing off Charlie Wilson's War in LA last night. Of course, Tom Hanks was there with his wife Rita Wilson alongside the real man of the hour, Congressman Charlie Wilson himself. This movie is already among the shortlist for award season front runners, and it's definitely one of the films left this year that I can't wait to see (I'm trying hard to finish the book before the movie comes out, we'll see how that goes). I guess we'll see what happens on Thursday morning when the Golden Globe nominations are announced. So soon! Anything/anyone you're hoping gets a nod?

To see more from the premiere including Diane Sawyer, Jud Taylor, Tom, Julia, Charlie and others just read more

I got so absorbed in watching this trailer for Charlie Wilson's War 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 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 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), read more

Julia was snapped taking Phinnaeus and Hazel aboard a private jet with their nanny the other day. The kids are so cute and Hazel totally has her profile. As if the actress doesn't have her hands full already, she'll soon have another little one to take along with her on trips as well. She'll probably have to hire more help, especially with the next few films she's working on.

Her latest is Charlie Wilson's War, which is based on the book by George Crile. The film stars Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson, a fast-talking Texas congressman who manipulates the government into helping Afghan rebels fight the Soviets in the 80s. Julia plays a Texas socialite named Joanne Herring who is involved with the plan as well. Phillip Seymour Hoffman will bring his awesome acting skills to the movie too. The film doesn't come out until December, but it's just in time for Julia to be eligible for the Oscars! For more pics including Julia's husband, Danny kissing his family goodbye just read more