Charlie Wilson's War

I liked this movie so much I bought a copy. I can take or leave Tom Hanks, usually, or maybe it's because I only saw a couple of his earlier films - Bonfire of the Vanities, which was really a Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis vehicle, and Forrest Gump, which never worked for me. But there was serious acting in Charlie Wilson's War, truly from all the stars and names, and an extensive cast of also's and even more uncredited actors and actresses. Or don't we use actresses any more, actors includes the female variety now too?

I never realized, until I watched the film closely, and did more research, that Charlie Wilson, D-Texas, became so interested in Afghanistan initially, because he watched Dan Rather's reports from the war front. Dubbed by wags "Gunga Dan" for the attire of himself and crew as authentic rebels in the war complete with headress, and whatever they call all that garb - jerkas? It could really be said that 60 Minutes got the ball rolling on covert support for the Afghan rebels.

Make no mistake this is a great, entertaining film. You get Tom Hanks in his prime, unfettered because he's also producer, in a convincing southern drawl, Julia Roberts ditto where she's paid to act, and a fabulous performance from the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos. And why they chose a name no one could spell no matter how many times you saw it, I could swear he was an avocado all along, is beyond me. I mean there are a lot of Greek names they could have gone with.