Movies – Jason Bourne, Wolf of Wall Street, Charlie Wilson's War

Some quick reviews of newer movies.

Jason Bourne (2016) – I am a HUGE Jason Bourne fan.  I loved all the movies.  Until this one.  While it reunites Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass as star and director, it left out Tony Gilroy.  Gilroy wrote the scripts for the previous movies.  This one would be fine if it were a stand-alone thriller.  But as the latest in the series, it simply brought nothing new or interesting to the table.  A huge disappointment to this fan.

Rating – *** Worth A Look

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) – A based on a true story look at the out of control greed of Wall Street that led to a massive stock scandal.  If nudity and obscene language bother you, avoid this movie at all costs.  Almost 700 obscenities and 500+ of them are f-bomb variations.  Beyond that, the movie is quite good.  Scorcese directs, DiCaprio, McConnaghy, Jonah Hill and a solid supporting cast do a fine job.  The movie strikes me as being about 45 minutes too long.  Scaling back on the swearing and T&A shots would probably take care of most of that.  In the end, you kind of come away liking DiCaprio’s Belfort, which is too bad because he was a scumbag.  Nominated for a lot of awards, actually won very few.

Rating – *** Worth A Look


Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) – A Congressman from Texas with connections everywhere, pulls the strings needed to support the war in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.  Based on the true story of the bon vivant Congressman, Tom Hanks works with Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman to create a story that is both funny and deadly serious.  Short term political gain will set the stage for the worst attack on American soil in our history.  A lot fun to watch and something important to think about all rolled into one.  It might have benefited from a little more serious examination of the downside of our support of the mujahedin and our failure to properly follow up after the Soviet withdrawal.

Rating – *** Worth A Look