An Afghan trilogy

This week, Mrs. bee has gone to fulfill grandmom duties with the newest member of our extended family, and I'm again enjoying having the house to myself and being able to devote almost every minute of the week to doing strictly things I want to do. As usual when the cat's away, this mouse plays by watching some of those movies on DVD that have stacked up, waiting to be seen.

The president has been talking recently about the pressing need to get the war in Afghanistan under control, so it turns out the first three movies on this week's viewing list were timely choices: Afghanistan figures prominently in all three. Kind of an Afghanistan trilogy, so to speak.

First up: The Kite Runner, based on a best-selling novel. A first-rate film that deals with the issue of redemption, one of my favored themes. On my rating scale, this picture earns about a 9.5 and is therefore highly recommended. Like the best movies, The Kite Runner shows us people, places, and things we might never see or understand otherwise, and honors simple human decency. I've been fortunate to see The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Atonement, and The Visitor recently, and The Kite Runner is the equal of those three.

Next up: Lions For Lambs. Nowhere near The Kite Runner in terms of excellence, but worth seeing if you're a fan of Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise. For people who followed the progress of the Bush-Cheney-Rove war on terror with a critical eye, Lions For Lambs provides a refresher course on things that pissed them off about American politics, 2002-2008.

Finally, a movie I originally thought I wouldn't like much: Charlie Wilson's War. Despite my low expectations, I realized a movie with Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman couldn't be all bad. In fact, this movie surpassed my expectations despite the presence of Julia Roberts, whose popularity tops the list of Things I'll Never Understand. Mike Nichols has directed some great American films; while Charlie Wilson's War isn't among them, it's not far off the mark. Loosely based on actual events, the movie reveals how the government works in reality, as opposed to what we were taught in public school. The DVD special features are also worth seeing for the remarks by the real people played by Tom and Julia in the movie, with photographs of the CIA agent played by Hoffman.

The Kite Runner is a must-see. Charlie Wilson's War is a must-see if you keep up with history and politics. Lions For Lambs is worth seeing if you're a fan of its stars or a liberal Democrat.