Director Mike Nichols (Catch-22, Primary Colors) and writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) team up on Charlie Wilson's War, offering a satiric look back at a true story of how a filandering congressman (Tom Hanks), a Texas socialite (Juliet Roberts) and a downtrodden spy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) were able to mastermind a covert war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

By conspiring to ship weapons to the mujahedeen, the CIA operation provided the beginnings of an armed movement that gave rise to Osama bin Laden and the forces that brought us 9/11. This is a bit of preaching by the filmmakers, but the critical consensus holds that it is tolerable because Hanks and Roberts are so darned entertaining, and Hoffman is a force all his own, having received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role here.

Charlie Wilson's War has an 83% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Excuse while I vomit.

Okay, I'm back. For your Valentine's Day viewing with your sweetheart ... oh, here I go again ...

Okay, I think I'm okay, are two romance films, 27 Dresses and the sickenly named P.S. I Love You. Hold on ...

Whew. Of the two, 27 Dresses appears to be the least intolerable. It stars Katherine Heigl (from TV's Gray's Anatomy, and last year's sex comedy that never played in Thailand, Knocked Up). She plays a young woman who has been a bridesmaid in 27 weddings, and has that number of ugly dresses in her closet.

Will she wear a bridal gown for her 28th wedding? Who knows? She's in love with her boss (Edward Burns), but there's another guy hanging around (James Marsden) that she isn't sure she likes at all. Who will it be? Who cares?

Critics don't. They give 27 Dresses a 36% "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

More intolerable is P.S. I Love You, and just thinking about the premise makes me want to barf. But I got that out of my system already.

Hilary Swank stars as a young woman whose husband (300's Gerard Butler) meets an untimely demise, but before he died, he left behind a year's worth of letters, which he's arranged to have delivered to the woman in various ways over the course of a year. Eww. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Critics want to send these letters back, giving the film a 21% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also opening

• No Country for Old Men - This much acclaimed, profound, moving and violent contemporary American western by the Coen Brothers, based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, is screening this week in sneak previews at the Lido in Siam Square, Paragon Cineplex and The Emporium, before opening in a wide release next week.
• Valentine (Cris-Ka-Ja) - A "tom" lesbian (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) and a cross-dressing man (Chakrit Yamngam) accidentally switch bodies in a traffic collision in Phuket. Shrieking, mincing and annoying sound effects ensue, according to the previews, but perhaps this comedy offers more than meets the eye?
• Ghost-in-Law - Morakot "Aimee" Kittisara is a young woman who is married to a rich scion (Noppon Pitak-Iohpanitch), and the newlywed couple are given a huge mansion to live in by the groom's father. The bride's new money-grubbing mother-in-law (Noawarat Yuktanund), however, wants the mansion for herself. When the bride is killed in an apparent accident, she comes back as a ghost to haunt her in-laws, stretching her arms, twisting her neck around and proving impervious to the frightfully annoying screams of the living.
• Sky of Love – Another special Valentine's Day offering. In this Hong Kong romantic drama from 2003, an amateur-radio enthusiast (Ken Chu) in the present day receives a transmission from a young woman (Gigi Leung) from 1981. In Cantonese with English and Thai subtitles at House on RCA and the Lido in Siam Square.
• Jodhaa Akbar - Bollywood Thai brings another brand-new Hindi film this weekend. This lavish new Hindi-language historical romantic drama, directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, is about the great Mughal ruler of Hindustan in the 16th century, Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar (Hrithik Roshan), and his love with the fiery young Rajput Princess Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai). Showtimes are at 8pm on Friday (February 15) and Saturday and at 4pm on 7.30pm on Sunday at SF World cinema in CentralWorld.

Also showing

• See the SEA (Part 2) - The second week of films at the Bangkok Fringe Festival offers features and shorts from Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. Showtimes are 1pm, 3pm and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday at Patravadi Theatre, all different films.
• L: Change the World - This opened in Bangkok cinemas last Saturday (February 9) and is a prequel to the wildly popular Death Note films, which are based on a wildly popular manga series. From what I understand, it's a very cool story about a book, that if you write someone's name in it, they will die. The character L is an eccentric detective who tries to stop the protagonist of Death Note, Kira, who has gone mad by using the power of the book, initially to do only good. The earlier films in this series have played in Bangkok in recent years, but I missed them, and because this latest film is available in Thai-dubbed soundtrack only, I'm not too keen on seeing it. One day, maybe, I can catch up on the Death Note films via home video.