http://my.hsj.org/Portals/2/logos/__TFMF_rfrlwoic0ewogdrz2qepwue5_19c48dd4-327e-4b70-ad2b-2d0bd19c1e63_0___Selected.jpg en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:42:26 GMT 15 By Mary Handley
Oliver Stone is one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. He has done fabulous movies such as Platoon, a frightening and very real look into the war in Vietnam, JFK, an analysis on the tragic assassination of John Kennedy and Nixon, a portrait of the deeply flawed man who would be the first president to resign from office. Now he aims to portray one of the most infamous and controversial presidents in our lifetime: George W. Bush. W. begins with Bush in an empty baseball field. Cheers can bee heard slowly growing in volume from nowhere, and as they escalate, Bush (Josh Bro lin) slowly raises his arms as if in triumph. Among the cheering a large voice can be heard introducing him as the 43rd president of the United States. The next scene is a disturbing picture of young men waist deep in tubs full of ice with funnels full of alcohol in their mouths, attempting to recite all the names they know of in the fraternity that is hazing them. As Bush is being smacked by the paddle and force fed by Jack Daniels, he somehow manages to say every single brother’s name in the fraternity, and therefore passes the hazing. Another scene has Bush presiding over a heated debate with his top advisers, people like Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), and Colin Powel (Jeffery Wright) among others, about whether or not to enter into a war with Iran. These first couple of scenes set us up or a look into the life of George W. Bush. What I like about this movie right off the bat was how likeable Bush was played out to be. He had this “aw shucks” way about him that was so disarming, even when he was messing up he looked amiable, like those sour and and sweet gummy bears that turn your tongue the first time you bite into them, but then add their sweet flavor, Josh Brolin did a very nice job depicting this character. But, it wasn’t so much the actor that brought out this likeability I found in Bush, it was the way Oliver Stone painted his portrait. Stone tried as best as he could to remain as unbiased as possible and I think he did a good job. This movie wasn’t meant to rag on Bush, it was simply to examine how he manage to come from being an alcoholic troublemaker to becoming the president of the United States. That being said, I would give this movie an awesome rating of four out of five stars. Anit Bush’s will love it, but Bush lovers might not like it so much. ]]> Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:41:57 GMT