I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...
I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...
I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#1
Posted: 10/17/08 at 3:49pmHas anyone seen it yet? It will either be one of the best movies ever or one of the worst. It seems like one of the campiest films made in recent memory.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#2
Posted: 10/17/08 at 3:52pmread the reviews. It's not supposed to be campy at all.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#2
Posted: 10/17/08 at 3:58pmTaz, that's when it can really be funny!
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#3
Posted: 10/18/08 at 3:11am
Yeah it's pretty terrible. But that doesn't mean it's not funny at times, albeit unintentionally.
I honestly felt embarassed for everyone involved, aside from Josh Brolin. Brolin's performance is excellent.
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#5
Posted: 10/18/08 at 10:15am
Saw it last night. Pretty lame movie all around. Stone tries to evoke sympathy for Bush by portraying him as a Misunderstood Black Sheep, who only wants Daddy's Love. There's even a dream sequence set in the Oval Office, Bush Jr. fighting with Bush Sr. Pure amateur hour easy Freud nonsense. It is like some ghastly remake of EAST OF EDEN. The movie shows W. wrestling with all kinds of feelings, and it just doesn't wash. Bush? Having feelings? Yeah, right.
Stone kind of made this work in NIXON, showing the shivering guilt-ridden boy behind the monster, in part because it was in some level true. NIXON also had Anthony Hopkins to put the movie over, while W. makes do with Josh Brolin. Lesser actors for lesser stories, I guess.
Brolin's performance as Bush is in keeping with the film's conception of Bush as genial misunderstood boob. The rest of the cast is uneven. Thandie Newton settles for a cartoonish sub SNL parody of Condi Rice, while the sublime Jeffrey Wright does his considerable best to put over Stone's version of Colin Powell as noble compromiser. His performance is so interesting that it made me wish Stone had shown Powell wrestling with his alleged conscience before finally capitulating to the Bush Doctrine. Maybe it will be on the DVD. RIchard Dreyfuss is a splendid Dick Cheney
If you want to see a sympathetic portrayal of a man completely undeserving of anything even remotely deserving sympathy, by all means see W.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#6
Posted: 10/18/08 at 10:20amMy dad saw it yesterday, and he told me it was a "monumentally unimportant film."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#7
Posted: 10/18/08 at 10:31amWell said on your dad's part.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#8
Posted: 10/18/08 at 10:47am
"Bush? Having feelings? Yeah, right."
One of the stupidest remarks ever. Disagree with the man all you want, it doesn't change the fact he is a HUMAN BEING.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#9
Posted: 10/18/08 at 10:59am
EverythingisRent, actions speak louder than words.
Look at Bush and how he dealt with Katrina.
Bush cares for only his oil buddies. Only people who think Bush has feelings are the brain dead people who would vote for him a third time.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#10
Posted: 10/18/08 at 11:00am
You think THAT's one of the stupidest remarks ever? Really?
Stupider than...
"he sees America as so imperfect that he's pallin' around with terrorists"
"Acorn will destroy the very fabric of Democracy"
"I wish the media would take a great look at congress and find out if they are pro-America or anti-America"
And that's just from the last couple days. And I could go on.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#11
Posted: 10/18/08 at 1:17pm
I saw it last night. I left the theater feeling more sorry for Colin Powell instead of Bush. Dreyfuss's portrayal or Cheney was intense. I wanted to punch him.
I'd say it's worth seeing but was made too quickly and too soon for us to get a clear look at Bush 43's presidency.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#12
Posted: 10/18/08 at 1:25pm
"GET OUT OF MY LIFE!" - Bush Jr. to Bush Sr.
Everyone was pretty much doing their characters from other movies. Richard Dreyfuss was doing his Rove-character from SILVER CITY, Ellen Burstyn was the mother from REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (I half expected W. to steal her TV for drug money), and James Cromwell was doing the police chief from LA CONFIDENTIAL.
This whole movie was a very bad idea, but not so much that it isn't a hilarious and interesting failure.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#13
Posted: 10/18/08 at 1:34pm
And another thing...
The movie doesn't show 9/11, the recount, or the Katrina aftermath but does show the pretzel-choking incident. Twice!
Seriously, it's one of the hoariest melodramas ever made but with the Bush figures.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#14
Posted: 10/18/08 at 1:34pm
EIRent, nobody ever said that George W. Bush isn't a human being. There's nothing in my post to suggest that he isn't.
For the record: George W. Bush is a human being. So is Dick Cheney. So is Condi Rice, DIck Rumsfeld, etc. They're all human beings.
So was Jeffrey Dahmer. So was Jack The Ripper, so was Saddam Hussein for that matter. Being human doesn't mean that they aren't also evil lying selfish psychotic sociopaths.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#15
Posted: 10/18/08 at 2:09pmI was looking forward to reading what people here had to say about the movie. I had planned to go to the 1st showing this afternoon. After reading a bunch of reviews, your thoughts and what is and is not included in the film, I decided to pass. I just got Iron Man from Netflix so I think I will pop that in!
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#16
Posted: 10/18/08 at 2:33pm
"So was Jeffrey Dahmer. So was Jack The Ripper, so was Saddam Hussein for that matter. "
you're actually comparing Bush to these people? Wow. You guys really are AMAZING.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#17
Posted: 10/18/08 at 3:02pm
No, they are saying human beings are capable of terrible things,something you seem to overlook when it comes to George Bush.Like I said before, anyone who can excuse Bush's action and then feed us the old,'He is a human being' crap really needs to turn off Fox and get out more. Richard Nixon was also a human being. So was Ken Lay. So were these Wall Street crooks who stole millions as the economy tanked. Bush is a human being who did God awful things and will go down as this countries worst President ever. MANY were saying this in 2000 and they said it again in 2004.
Bush has feelings but only towards those he likes. Common strangers, people who did not vote for him, and many others mean nothing to him.He is a spoiled rich kid who can not understand the American People and will NEVER have to worry about paying bills or losing their money. Its no wonder this economy is the way it is.The man doesn't even know how much a first class stamp costs or what gas prices are.
Anyone who can not see this is a lost cause.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#18
Posted: 10/18/08 at 8:03pm
Wow. The reviews here are really surprising. Most of the reviews that I've read have been mixed to positive. Roger Ebert gave it 4 out of 4 stars. The NY Daily News gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The Chicago Tribune, The NY Post and USA Today gave it 3 out of 4 stars, and the New York Times and L.A. Times, while not raves were far from pans. Maybe the reedited and expanded director's cut will fare better on DVD.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#19
Posted: 10/18/08 at 8:12pmJeffrey Wright is one of the finest actors around. It may be worth it to see it for him.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#20
Posted: 10/18/08 at 8:34pm
i saw it today... i think the phrase "monumentally unimportant" is a perfect way to describe it. I thought the actors were all great, I thought Josh Brolin was really excellent. But the film felt like it had no purpose... no... direction. it was just snapshots of his life with no real sense of direction. i dunno. i was very unimpressed.
reviews have not been very kind to the film, so i shouldnt have been surprised.
Updated On: 10/19/08 at 08:34 PM
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#21
Posted: 10/18/08 at 10:44pm
I'm sure that Josh Brolin will be nominated for Best Actor come Oscar time for "W." And, he'll probably get a supporting nod for "Milk," as well.
I'm wondering if this film was heavily edited during production. I would have thought that there would have been more about his drinking and the 2000 Election when he was selected to be the President.
But, I think that Stone captured the point of the story.......he just could never get his father's approval.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/2/05
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#22
Posted: 10/18/08 at 11:12pmI was planning on seeing this movie tomorrow and now I'm having second thoughts.
re: I'm seeing W. later this afternoon...#23
Posted: 10/19/08 at 12:44amthe whole movie was about him just trying to win George Sr's approval. I thought it was pretty lame the more I think about it. I dunno... it felt so disjointed. And the camera work was so shaky I actually felt a bit sick at one point. eh. wasnt worth the price of admission. but josh brolin was excellent in the role.
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