"W."

My favorite movie reviewer, Kenneth Turan of the LA Times, sez Oliver Stone's "W." might actually be worth seeing.

"W." MAY sound like the story of the initial that rocked the world, but it turns out to be the tale of a mouse that roared. Director Oliver Stone and writer Stanley Weiser's unexpected take on the life and times of our 43rd president will surprise a lot of people, especially those not used to seeing the words "Oliver Stone" and "carefully modulated" in the same sentence.

Yes, "W." is definitely satiric in intent and execution, and it has no love for the actions and policies of the man who has led, as the film's advertising puts it, "a life misunderestimated." But those yearning for a red meat entree, a kind of "Natural Born Killers" meets "JFK," will be disappointed. There is a restraint about "W." that is both pleasing and effective. There are reasons to smile in this film, but not nearly as many as you'd think. Instead the message is that what has happened to this country is no laughing matter.