Review: W.

Director Oliver Stone is a pretty strange guy. Best known for his Oscar winning film “Platoon,” Stone has created films covering world leaders from Alexander the Great to Richard Nixon, so it’s no wonder he’s taking a stab at a sitting president.

“W.” is a straight up biopic, mixing in the pieces of President George W. Bush’s decision to go to Iraq with flashbacks detailing his road to the White House. The movie steers clear of any overt political bias, keeping mostly to what is known. In fact, “W.” plays out like something of a tragedy as we watch Stone build up Bush as a decent man who makes an errant move to war.

The movie goes through every significant moment of the current president’s past, starting with his time spent at Yale University. Stone builds up his character by stressing his charm and the pressure put on him by his father, President George H.W. Bush.

There’s a little bit of everything in W’s past, including plenty of alcohol and women, but these things are drawn as demons Bush must exorcise. Stone’s tactic works extremely well and creates a character who will keep you fascinated for the entire two hours.

The strangest element of “W.” is certainly the cast of look-alikes. If you don’t know the names of each Bush staffer, it’s not too difficult to get lost the further down the line the movie goes, but there’s no mistaking the main man. Josh Brolin (“No Country for Old Men”) does an excellent job at creating the current president’s quirks and charm, using his face, arms and plenty of nicknames to match the image Bush has created for himself during his presidency. There’s no dancing in foreign countries, but Bush’s one on one contact makes him a magnetic character.

“W.” is sure to open up the discussion about Bush’s presidency, but in a balanced way it is sure to make for some interesting conversations. It doesn’t matter if you are Republican, Democrat, somewhere in between or not even on the map, “W.” is a story about a man first, and a president second.

Review: Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist

Most people have had one of those nights that start out like every other, but ends up being an Odyssey-like quest to return home. People get left behind, wrong turns get taken and not a lot of fun is had, yet these nights tend to be the most memorable. “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” is a movie about one of those nights, mixing in a dose of relationship drama for good measure.

It all starts when a popular fictional band named “Where’s Fluffy?” announces a secret show in New York City. Nick (Michael Cera, “Juno”) and his two gay bandmates head into the city for an early performance before looking for “Where’s Fluffy?”

Meanwhile, Nora (Kat Dennings, “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” “The House Bunny”) and her best friend Caroline also decide to find Fluffy, but not before Caroline gets slap happy drunk at the same bar where Nick’s band is playing. The two groups join forces in order to get the disposed damsel home and boost the confidence of the recently dumped Nick by matching him up with Nora.

“Nick and Nora” instantly feels like a future cult movie with its cast of young, relatively unknown actors, drifting plot line and humor that looks to get better over multiple viewings. Each character has the air of someone you could pass on the street or meet at a bar, and the urging on and bickering between each character feels natural.

Review: Eagle Eye

Is it just me, or is Shia LeBeouf in practically every blockbuster movie of the last few years? He was in “Indiana Jones,” “Transformers,” “I, Robot” and a bunch of lesser films like “Disturbia” and “Constantine.” Now we can tack another to LeBeouf’s résumé with “Eagle Eye,” a mid-September blockbuster that doesn’t back down in intensity.

“Eagle Eye” follows Jerry Shaw (Shia LeBeouf), a slacker whose twin brother died mysteriously while serving in the military. When he returns home from his brother’s funeral, he discovers endless amounts of military hardware meant to set him up. Jerry is contacted immediately by a stranger on the phone who tells him to run or be arrested. The stranger has an absurd amount of control over any and everything electronic, allowing Jerry to escape from authorities to accomplish an unknown task. He is thrown together with Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), whose son is being threatened by the same person, on his way across the country while being chased by authorities led by agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton).

The movie is absolutely full of action and tense moments. From the first real sequence on, the movie keeps the intensity high with car chases, foot chases and everything in between. The mystery behind who is barking the orders is interesting, but certainly not the movie’s strong suit. Still, things move forward by keeping the two lead actors in constant peril, and it works.