Talented Filmmakers and Actors Put Up a Grand Fight in Charlie Wilson's War

Laid bare, the political subtext of Charlie Wilson's War is not great. Now, I'm not saying the movies "offensive" or using this review to call for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to get  "canceled". I' m merely stating that the premise does hinge on halcyon ideas of political cooperation. Charlie Wilson's War occupies the Ellen Degeneres mindset of there being no difference between Democratic and Republican politicians, why can't everyone get along? After all, much like Ellen, the two lead characters of Charlie Wilson's War are rich white people who don't suffer any consequences associated with idealogy in either political party. Sorkin's take on the true story events of Operation Cyclone is an idealistic vision of the status quo, one that doesn't tamper with how things are but rather imagines what would happen if everything as it were just ran smoother.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Cuts To The Emotional Bone With Its Harrowing Performances And Camerawork

When the Hayes Code, a set of restrictions placed on what could or couldn't be depicted in American cinema in order to "protect the sanctity of the family", fell in 1964, American cinema suddenly had a golden opportunity on its hand to explore darker and more adult-oriented storytelling that had been off-limits for decades now. Studios didn't rush to make the filthiest movies they could imagine, but they did start to test the waters with what exactly they could do under the heavily reduced amount of restrictions placed on their art form. Come 1966, the Mike Nichols directorial effort Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? would help push those boundaries with a movie that wasn't afraid to talk about grim matters that would have been unspeakable had it been made in the Hayes Code era.

The Graduate Review (Classic Write-Up)

A Graduate Of Great Directing

Who doesn't worry about the future? It's such a chaotic element, as unpredictable as a hurricane, it's only natural to be worried about the possibilities that the future could bring. Now that he's graduated from college, Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), is consumed by worrying about what he'll do with his life now. From the first frames of the film, this sort of internal conflict is apparent through the recurring use of close-up shots of Ben's face that emphasize his inner turmoil as well as the similarly prominent use of Art & Garfunkel's The Sound Of Silence.