W. Review - Read Variety's Analysis Of The Movie W.

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W. Might Not Ruin What's Left of Oliver Stone's Career
Published 10/7/2008 by drew at Jossip
... But in a twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan, the first reviews are in, and it looks like W isn't the usual heavy-handed Stone affair that people were afraid of. In fact, it could have done with some more liberal interpretation: ...

W Poised to Hit Zeitgeist, But Will It?
Published 10/7/2008 by Variety.com * at Thompson On Hollywood
... The movie is utterly plausible, well-acted by a top-notch ensemble (except for a too-broad Thandy Newton as Condoleeza Rice) and surprisingly balanced, compassionate and even-handed. Somehow the film lacks the urgency of its own making. Here's Todd McCarthy's review. ...

Variety reviews W.
Published 10/7/2008 by Ryan Adams at Awards Daily 2008
... Todd McCarthy delivers the first mainstream review. “…considering Stone’s reputation and Bush’s vast unpopularity, a relatively even-handed, restrained treatment of recent politics. For a film that could have been either a scorching satire or an outright tragedy, “W.” is, if anything, overly conventional, especially stylistically. The picture possesses dramatic and entertainment value, but beyond serious filmgoers curious about how Stone deals with all this president’s men and women, it’s questionable how ...

Josh Brolin Lauded, Film Not So Much as 'W.' Reviews Trickle In [Hail To The Chief]
Published 10/7/2008 by STV at Defamer
... "For the most part, Stone and his actors meet the basic requirements of pulling off this quick-draw portrait of still-evolving history. ... Dominating are borderline distorted closeups, especially of Brolin, along with shadowy lighting and generally lackluster lensing. Some of the song choices are downright sophomoric in their too-obvious irony." — Todd McCarthy, Variety ...

First Reviews Indicate Oliver Stone’s ‘W.’ Only Marginally Better Than Actual Bush Presidency
Published 10/7/2008 at Vulture
... comedy spectacular W., loosely based on the life of much-admired president George W. Bush. So how is it? Not that great! According to Variety's Todd McCarthy, the film "is unable to achieve any aims higher than as a sort of engaging pop-history pageant and amateur, if not inapt, psychological evaluation," and "feels like a rough draft of a film it might behoove him to remake in 10 or 15 years." "It's a gutsy movie but not necessarily a good one," assesses ...

Early Buzz Report: Oliver Stone’s W.
Published 10/8/2008 by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com) at /Film
... Variety’s Todd McCarthy writes: “Oliver Stone’s unusual and inescapably interesting “W.” feels like a rough draft of a film it might behoove him to remake in 10 or 15 years.” … ““W.” is, if anything, overly conventional, especially stylistically. The picture possesses dramatic and entertainment value, but beyond serious filmgoers curious about how Stone deals with all this president’s men and women, it’s questionable how wide a public will pony up to immerse itself in a story that still lacks an ending.” ...

Meet Dubya, the President of the United States
Published 10/8/2008 at RopeofSilicon.com
... (10/17) and in the opening moments when Brolin says, "I play the character of W.," and then he continues with a sly grin on his face, "Who's the President of the United States currently ." I think that smile really sets the tone for what to expect from the film. Early reviews continue to come in from Variety , ...

Early Reviews Of ‘W’ Are About As Winning As This Administrations Current Approval Rating
Published 10/8/2008 by Nick Plowman at Fataculture
... for the film, which is a bit sad, cause we kinda loved the satire and absurdity of the script and were/are looking forward to this. You’d hope the polarizing Stone would deliver a film that people would either love or hate, but reviews are pretty tepid and lukewarm across the board which is even sometimes worse (lord knows it gets to be hard to write a review of a film that’s not terrible, but not good). Variety and the Hollywood Reporter are mostly on the fence. The formers Todd McCarthy says , “For a film that could have been either a scorching satire or an outright ...

First Reviews of 'W.' Trickle In
Published 10/9/2008 by Eugene Novikov at Cinematical
... Blog: "[Josh] Brolin should be nominated for the Oscar. We'll see whether the crowd around Best Actor is too big for him to crack, but it is a letter perfect performance that looks much, much easier than most critics and audiences, I think, will understand . . . . The only downside is that the movie doesn't offer the massive supporting cast a lot of big awards-style moments. They are just really, really good. And that really should be enough." Variety's Todd McCarthy is a bit more mixed than Poland, but concedes that W. "offers a ...

Bush Goes to the Box Office
Published 10/14/2008 at Yahoo! Buzz Log
... . An early review in Variety agrees, calling it a "relatively even-handed, restrained treatment of recent politics." White House Press Secretary Dana Perino isn't buying it, telling ...