Nixon

Oliver Stone is no stranger to controversy. He made World Trade Center when the wounds of 9/11 were still healing, W. was released when George W. Bush's term was ending and JFK ventured into one of the biggest conspiracy theories in history.

Nixon isn't any different. As the title implies, it focuses on disgraced president Richard Nixon. It chronicles the many events of his life, from his childhood to his campaigns to his public disgrace following Watergate. Anthony Hopkins portrays Nixon not as a man of power, a pariah or a martyr, but as a man with visible flaws.

One of Hopkins' more vulnerable moments is towards the end after the weight of Watergate comes crashing down on him. His defenses have been broken down, his allies now his enemies, and now he is far from being the man that he was earlier. Just for a brief moment we sympathize for a man who lied to his nation.

Nixon is a very good movie that has its principal actors playing their parts well, though I would probably love it had Stone made it just a little shorter. (Three plus hours? No way.) Still, it's quite good.

My Rating: ****1/2

JFK

Knowing Oliver Stone, he never shies away from controversial subjects. Glorification of violence (Natural Born Killers), the lies of a disgraced President (Nixon), the Vietnam War (Platoon)...you name it, chances are he's covered it.

Three years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) starts an investigation of what really happened that November day in 1963. He uncovers facts that don't match with what the FBI said and a conspiracy that may go deeper than he could have ever imagined.

Oh God, where to start with this one? The opening credits make you feel as though you're watching a documentary, but you soon realize that JFK is a documentary-style movie. Costner gives a career best performance as Garrison (ironic considering that in Bull Durham Costner said, "I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone"). Gary Oldman's work as Lee Harvey Oswald continues to make me wonder how the hell he doesn't have any Oscar nominations to his name. Tommy Lee Jones was also good, though I wouldn't dub his performance worthy of an Oscar nod. Along with Costner, Oldman and Jones, JFK has a star-studded cast that's well-acted. Even though some of the facts have been altered for Stone's liking, most of the facts presented in JFK are true. JFK really has you wondering about the honesty of of the US government.

My Rating: *****

Wall Street

Why do some dirctors think it's a good idea to make sequels of movies that don't even need them? Unless they're in desperate need of a hit, it's just not worth it. I'm saying this in response to the eventual release of the Wall Street sequel.

Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a young stockbroker who longs to advise the ruthless Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). But once he is Gekko's advisor, he soon realizes how ruthless Gekko really is.

Wall Street actually reminded me of an earlier movie, Sweet Smell of Success. The plots are similar: one of the most prolific names in New York City, known for making and breaking reputations, takes a young protege, who's willing to sacrifice his reputation to maintain the other's, under his wing. Here, Fox represents Sidney Falco and Gekko represents J.J. Hunsecker.

Man, no wonder Douglas got the Oscar, espeically from the "greed is good" speech. It's definitely an essential performance. It feels like a symbolic movie, considering the condition the stock market has been in.

My Rating: ****1/2