HOT: Charlie Wilson's War

As I said before, there weren't too many Tom Hanks' films that I haven't seen before. But, this happens to be one of them.

Charlie Wilson (Hanks) is a representative for the United States in Charlie Wilson's War. He happens to be much more interested in partying and meeting women than he does at actually being a representative, though.

A friend (and sleeping partner) Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) encourages Wilson to get more involved in the Afghanistan-Soviet fight, and Wilson visits an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan.

Together, with rogue-CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) they are able to get Afghanistan the weapons they need and take the $5 million dollar anti-communism budget and expand it to $500 million.

Wilson becomes a hero, but in the end he worries about what his actions may have on the U.S.-Afghan relationship in the future.

Sort of fitting now, I guess.

Anyway, that is just a quick recap - a lot happens in a movie that really only has a small premise. But, I did enjoy it.

I actually enjoyed Hoffman more than Hanks in the film. I wasn't really thrilled with Hanks' Southern accent, but it wasn't the worst I have heard. Again, Roberts is not my favorite - and I wasn't too thrilled with her in this film.

Overall, not an amazing film, but enjoyable - for at least one watch.

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LWITM: Twister

Every so often, when I have no other things to write about, I look into older-type films for a high quality cast. Not just those at the top billing, but diving a little deeper to see actors, who at the time weren't as well known, but now have become a little more well known.

I have done a pair of these in the past with Can't Hardly Wait and Remember the Titans.

This time, however, the casting is not quite up to par as those I have done before it, but still a lot of actors that are known (just not maybe as well known).

So, for the third LWITM (Look Who's In That Movie) I have selected Twister.

The movies top actors at the time were Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.

Hunt was riding pretty high with the success of her television show Mad About You. She has been pretty under the radar since then, with just a few top-tier movies since the end of Mad About You.

Paxton, however, has continued making large-scale movies, albeit in usually a secondary role. But, he has also hit it big with his Showtime hit Big Love.

Diving a little deeper I have found the following actors in Twister some of which I didn't even realize were there.

• Cary Elwes: In the film plays Dr. Jonas Miller, a rival storm chaser who is 'in it for the money' according to Paxton's character. Elwes was known pretty well before Twister as Westley in The Princess Bride and Robin of Locksley in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. But, he hadn't exactly been getting A-list material until a film entitled Saw hit it big.
• Jami Gertz: Gertz was Paxton's future bride, Dr. Melissa Reeves, until she realizes that Paxton still has the hots for his former brider, Hunt. Gertz's biggest role before Twister was as Star in The Lost Boys. She had a pretty successful show called Still Standing for a few years, and has been pretty quiet the past two years.
• Alan Ruck: 'Rabbit' Nurick, a fellow storm chaser on Hunt's team. Ruck will always be known as Cameron Frye from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He has also been a star on the hit show Spin City as Stuart. Since then, he has been pretty busy with smaller roles in movies and guest spots on tv shows.
• Joey Slotnick: Joey, also a storm chaser. Although not particularly well-known his face certainly is. He has had a recurring role on the television series Nip/Tuck and has kept busy with bit parts and guest spots on tv shows.
• Jeremy Davies: Laurence, yet another storm chaser. Davies had a big part in the movie Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks. He has been pretty busy with movies since then, but has really made a name for himself again this past year with his portrayel as Daniel Faraday on the hit show Lost.
• Anthony Rapp: Rapp played Tony. You may recognize Rapp as Tony from Dazed & Confused. He also had a role in Road Trip and has become rather large again with success of the broadway show and movie Rent.
• Abraham Benrubi: Berubi played Bubba. Not a really recognizable name, but his face and rather large body easily make him recognizable. For years Benrubi played Jerry Markovic on the hit show ER. He has also played Dennis in Without a Paddle and most recently been on the show Men in Trees.
• Jake Busey: Busey was a mobile lab tech in the film. Best known for being Gary Busey's son, Jake has been pretty busy as well in both film and television.
• Alexa Vega: Vega played a young Helen Hunt in the opening sequence of the film. Vega has grown up pretty well on camera, as she starred in the trilogy Spy Kids and has remained in films pretty consistently ever since.

The biggest name, however, to come out of the Twister film is Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman played Dustin Davis, a pretty out there hippie, who loved the rush of storm chasing. He probably had the funniest character in the film, channeling his inner-Jack Black (before Black became Black). Since, Twister, Hoffman has become an A-list actor with such films as Charlie Wilson's War, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead and Mission Impossible III. Not to mention an Oscar winning performance in the movie Capote.

So, there you have it, my third film in a string of "Look Who's In That Movie", not as big as some of those high school/college movies have become, but still a lot of well-known actors - including one being thrown into Oscar winning roles.

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