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December 2, 2008 11:42:45 AM CST

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Charlie Wilson's War a Winner

Posted Dec 21, 07 10:45 AM CST in Gossip,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Charlie Wilson's War, the darkly comedic true story of the largest and most successful covert operation in US history, leaves critics mostly charmed. The Mike Nichols project featuring Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts "is that rare Hollywood commodity these days," writes Variety's Todd McCarthy, "a smart, sophisticated entertainment for grownups."

Nichols "succeeds in spinning an entertaining yarn," says The Onion A.V. Club's Nathan Rabin, "but the cautionary aspects feel fatally undernourished." Robert Wilonsky of the Village Voice sums up the dilemma, writing, "Dark and funny and mean and sexy, damned near pitch-black-perfect considering that at the end of this boozy comedy you wind up with, oh, Osama bin Laden."

Sources Metacritic, Variety, The Onion (A.V. Club), Village Voice

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In this photo provided by Universal Pictures, actors Phillip Seymour Hoffman, left, Tom Hanks and Amy Adams attend a special screening of "Charlie Wilson's War" Sunday, Dec. 16, 2007 in New York. (AP...   (Associated Press)
This image released by Universal Studios shows a scene from "Charlie Wilson's War" with Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson, left and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos. (AP Photo/Universal Studios,...   (Associated Press)
This image released by Universal Studios shows a scene from "Charlie Wilson's War" with Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring. (AP Photo/Universal Studios, Francois Duhamel)   (Associated Press)
(L-R) Writer Aaron Sorkin, director Mike Nichols, and Universal Pictures' executive VP Dylan Clark arrive at the Universal Pictures' premiere of 'Charlie Wilson's War' held at CityWalk Cinemas on December...   (Getty Images)
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movie • movie review • Julia Roberts • Philip Seymour Hoffman • Tom Hanks • Mike Nichols • Aaron Sorkin


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