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This Week's PCR Movie Review |
"Fair Game"
Movie review by: Movies are rated 0 to 4 stars
|
MOVIE REVIEW "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I" by Mike Smith "Fair Game" by Mike Smith | ||
RETRORAMA The Lost Drive-In: Nature Runs Amuck! by ED Tucker | ||
THE ASIAN APERTURE USF Japanese Picnic by Jason Fetters | ||
MIKE'S RANT Don't Grope Me Bro! .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... Mike's Record Shelf by Mike Smith | ||
In Kuala Lampur, an attractive woman is attempting to meet with a powerful
leader of the country. She is questioned about her background and, when
she reveals she is from Toronto, is peppered with questions about the Maple
Leafs. She handles them easily. Mission accomplished.
October 7, 2001. As our government begins its War in Afghanistan, the
same lady is questioned at C.I.A. headquarters about a shipment of aluminum
tubes that have been seized in Iraq. An aide to the White House is convinced
that the Iraqi government will use the tubes to make nuclear weapons. The
agency feels differently. Among the agents in disagreement is the same
attractive woman we met in Kuala Lampur, Valerie Plame (Watts), a covert
agent for the C.I.A. She and her superiors can’t understand why no one in the
White House will believe them when they explain that Iraq has NO nuclear
program. At least not at first.
Told in a gripping, almost documentary style (a favorite of director
Liman, who also served as his own director of photography and camera operator), “
Fair Game” is a smart film that certainly makes you wonder about how our
government works. Upon rumor that Iraq has bought 500,000 pounds of yellow
cake uranium from a small African country, Plame’s husband, Joe Wilson (a
former ambassador to Gabon and not the congressman who yelled “You Lie” at
President Obama) is asked to travel to the Dark Continent and see if the
rumors are true. They’re not. However, when President George W. Bush makes
a claim at the United Nations that Iraq has Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Wilson writes an op-ed article which upsets a lot of people at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue. Upset enough so that when Joe opens his Sunday paper he is
surprised to see that Valerie’s name and real occupation are splashed across
the front page. Who said paybacks aren’t hell?
Last week I lamented the fact that even though “Unstoppable” was
advertised as being “based on a true story” it was hardly true. No need to
complain with “Fair Game.” The story is well known but, thanks to the use of
historical footage and news broadcasts (I love hearing Bush comment on all
things “nucular”), the film exposes secrets heretofore unknown. How secret?
In the credits the names of certain officials are redacted! Though Watts
receives top billing (and is excellent) the star here is Penn, who plays
Wilson. It’s hard to believe that Jeff Spicoli from “Fast Times at
Ridgemont High” is now a two-time Oscar winning actor. Penn portrays Wilson as a
man who enjoyed the spotlight, no matter the cost to himself and his
family. Both actors excel here playing a couple whose schedules don’t match and
who communicate mainly through Post-It notes. David Andrews is perfectly
slimy as Vice Presidential aide Scooter Libby and I have to admit it’s
rather ironic to see Penn, as Wilson, rail at the Fox News Channel, when in
reality that outlet has been rather unkind to Penn and his political views.
A thriller that keeps you guessing at each turn, on a scale of zero to
five stars I give “Fair Game”
To comment on this or any other PCR article, please visit The Message Board. This week's movie review of "Fair Game" is ©2010 by Michael A. Smith. All graphics this page are creations of Nolan B. Canova, ©2010, all rights reserved. All contents of "Nolan's Pop Culture Review" are ©2010 by Nolan B. Canova.