Oliver Stone's Decider biopic "W," starring Josh Brolin

i've never been much of a stone fan but i liked it a lot. wonderful performances throughout — james cromwell especially — and surprisingly moving.

the only downer for me was that stone skipped the entire period between 1999 and 2002. leaving florida and 9/11 out of the bush story just seems wrong.

there is indeed a "go fuck yourself" but it went by so fast i couldn't tell whether it was from powell or cheney.

Powell

what a chore of a movie

long as fuck, not really gripping in any places

made me want a sandwich really bad though

Cheney says something about Iraq "fucking with us."

One historical inaccuracy I noticed: In a scene that was supposed to be set in 1990, W. complains to Bush Sr. that Bud Selig jerked him around about becoming baseball commissioner before deciding to take the position permanently himself. In 1990 the commissioner of baseball was Fay Vincent; Selig didn't replace him until two years later (as "acting commissioner") and did not become permanent until 1998.

congrats you have found the plot hole!

Hoberman asks, who cares?

Hoberman also shows his inattention to detail by saying W choked on a potato chip. The pretzel makers of America are now furious at him.

this was great. Thandie Newton's Condi was constant roflz

i really hated Thandie Newton's Rice. either Stone had her just play her as broadly as possible or Newton's not capable of anything better.

Shakey Armond Collier!

Does she get to say "I beleeeeve the name of the report was..."

couple minor things:

1) Armond's wrong about the corncob shot, its Dubya's host who steps on it, not Dubya. (Why this shot is in there at all is kinda inexplicable).
2) The exclusion of 9/11 is interesting. Partly because its absence directly implies that 9/11 had nothing to do with Dubya's motivations in office, and partly because maybe Stone didn't want to retread that ground...?

the Powell/Cheney exchange ref'd above is Cheney disappointedly telling Powell "you could've been president!" and Powell responds "fuck you."

remembering oliver stone's crazy conspiracy theorizing upon the occasion of 9/11, as reported in the new yorker, maybe he thinks it's safest to stay the fuck away from it.

it would've meant filming Nicholas Cage's firefighter embracing Josh Brolin on WTC wreckage.

i thought it was laura who stepped on the corncob! i figured it was just a 'wacky' way of introducing her.

is "stepping on the corncob" a frottage reference?

this movie has no plot

Welcome to the last eight years.

lol thats what it shouldve been called - i kept trying to imagine how baffling the movie wouldve been if youd never heard of george w bush

i was SHOCKED at how bad jeffrey wrights powell was - dude is usually so sweet

The real Powell did kill some people, you know.

i was SHOCKED at how bad jeffrey wrights powell was - dude is usually so sweet

:(

? What was wrong with the Powell performance?

Saying it has no plot is OTM though. The story is taken for granted and is framed as a light-handed, dual flashback series of vignettes. All the scenes are really short. here's no dramatic arc, no climax. I laughed my ass off though.

it was just that he didnt sound or act at all like colin powell

i thought it was laura who stepped on the corncob!

I don't think so - the shot immediately prior is of the hostess collaring George and walking through the backyard, then it cuts to a woman's sandal crushing the corncob, then back up to George seeing Laura.

I also enjoyed the preponderance of scenes involving people eating.

After watching Taxi to the Dark Side this weekend, I think it'll be a while before I can laugh at this presidency.

brolins bush is pretty hilarious

watching the cabinet meetings about the war is pretty harrowing.

brolin was great

totally left out the passive aggressive dick aspect of his persona tho

watching the cabinet meetings about the war is pretty harrowing.

I guess I have an outsized capacity for black humor then cuz when Cheney whipped out his Middle East Empire powerpoint presentation I was lolling hardcore

i was AMAZED at the size of josh brolins head

favorite moment: Dubya patting his dad on the shoulder saying "good President, good President" like you would to a dog after Poppy loses re-election

also earlier advising him to not think too much cause it just screws you up

I admit I was a little disappointed that Stone didn't go all the way with the Dubya-sees-God moment when he collapses during the jog. But it woulda been a little too comedic/over-the-top to have some silly Charlton Heston figure coming out of the clouds, I guess....

i went with a group of about six last night who were split down the middle w/r/t its merits. very much flawed - the Rice character & a couple of others were like mediocre SNL parodies. of course the daddy issues were beat to death. a lot of Bush's public verbal gaffes and infamous malaprops were clumsily reprised in the film's staff meetings - which themselves were equal parts lols & ;_;... but yeah the plot, as it were, was kind of threadbare.

Even so, i was definitely in the camp that ultimately enjoyed it. Dreyfus & Cromwell were great, as was whoever played Rumsfeld's daft ass. And I gotta say Brolin did a pretty surefooted job of evoking Dubya. Better than Travolta's "clinton" in Primary Colors, imho. one thing everyone agreed on is that it was just really, really sad. Too soon?

wo many xposts

yeah Wright's Powell was kind of weak.

I loved how all Rummy's lines were impenetrable pseudo-philosophical gibberish

and yeah for all the laughs it was pretty sad. ending shot was fantastic.

as was whoever played Rumsfeld's daft ass

The great Scott Glenn.

How was Karl Rove?

weirdly small, but good.

isn't it the dude from the non-phillip seymour hoffman Capote movie?

Yes.

i liked wright! i thought the scene where he's argued into supporting the war was great. and fuck you dick

every scene involving sports in this was so fucked up