One more recently-seen movie: W.

Very minor spoilers below, nothing major.

Good film, one of my favorites from 2008.  Josh Brolin is terrific as Dubya, playing him from his days as a Yale fraternity pledge through his days as a failed oilman, his help with Daddy Bush's (James Cromwell) 1988 Presidential Campaign) all the way to his "Mission: Accomplished" speech at the supposed end of the Iraq War.  Brolin and Cromwell have the most screentime of everyone, but the strong cast also includes Elizabeth Banks (this year's "it" girl") as Laura Bush, Ellen Bursyn as Barbara Bush, Geoffrey Wright as Colin Powell, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, and Richard Dreyfuss, who is more than a little uncanny in his creepy portrayal of Dick Cheney.  The one weak link is Thandie Newton as Condi Rice, but fortunately she doesn't have many lines.

The angle that director Oliver Stone takes is that Dubya is always failing to living up to the expectations of his father, who considers him #2 son after Jeb.  It's an interesting approach and it does much to explain Bush's actions.  The film jumps around in time and includes a few semi-funny vignettes such as Bush choking on a pretzel, but it isn't nearly as funny as I thought it would be.  In fact, the "war room" scenarios in which Bush and Co. discuss their plans for the Middle East are quite gripping, like something from a whole 'nother movie. 

My one big gripe is that Stone should've waited until Bush's term was up.  I know he wanted it released this year a month before the election, but as a result, the film lacks closure and you can't help but want it to go on just a little bit longer.  Still, I enjoyed it immensely and would definitely see it again.  Brolin is terrific.

HS