Tagline: “When the world wasn’t looking, he changed it forever.â€
Translation: Tom Hanks + Julia Roberts + Philip Seymour Hoffman + Afghanistan = Oscars
The Verdict: Aaron Sorkin and Mike Nichols finally pop the cork on their liquor-drenched all-star orgy version of the birth of the Afghanistan disaster, complete with belly dancers and hot tubs! Stick lampshades on our heads and tickle our bellies with RPGs! But, guys, if you’re gonna throw a giant Washington kegger, you can’t ruin the vibe with a wack soundtrack: Nice job starting off with the Scissor Sisters, but Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower,†followed by Don McClean’s “American Pie?†Really? You seriously cue “Chevy to the levee†at the moment mujahideen rain fire on an innocent village? And you leave it jangling for a full third of the trailer? Did we miss something? Doesn’t this film takes place in the eighties and not some Golden Oldies version of the sixties or during some open-mike night at an awful coffee shop? Man, these tunes are a total buzz kill. Party’s over. We’re going home. (Though it’s great to see Hanks recycling the southern accent he used in Ladykillers.) —Logan Hill