Did you know there was an election coming up? Hard to miss it recently.

It’s a political year and the world of entertainment is taking note of it with a look back at one of the more interesting and troubled presidents of the past century, Richard Nixon.

I’m old enough to remember Nixon’s presidency. It was marred by the Vietnam war, civil unrest and a little burglary at the Watergate Hotel in Washington that has since brought the word “-gate” to be attached to any whiff of political scandal. (Watergate to Trooper-gate…plu-leeese! No more gates!)

In December director Ron Howard will be releasing one of the more anticipated films of the holiday season, a film called “Frost/Nixon.” The movie is based on the broadway play and is about the prickly relationship and series of television interviews between the disgraced President and the British interviewer that took place several years after Nixon left office. The buzz is that this is one of those movies that could get plenty of Oscar nominations.  

Perhaps because of the upcoming movie, a new edition of Oliver Stone’s “Nixon” has been re-released on DVD. I watched it recently.

Oliver Stone can be brilliant (Platoon, Wall Street, Salvador, Born on the Fourth of July) and wayyy over the top (Natural Born Killers, JFK.) Stone’s next movie is being released October 13 and I’m hearing it’s pretty out there. USA Today quotes Stone as saying it’s a comedy with Josh Brolin in the story of George W. Bush. It’s simply called “W.”

As Oliver Stone has matured he’s one director that I feel has somehow regressed. Over the past couple years many of his films have lost any sense of subtlety…he’ll whack you over the head to make his point. “Nixon” is no exception. And it’s too bad as parts of this movie are facinating.  

“Nixon” was released a couple years ago and has an all-star cast, most notably Anthony Hopkins as Nixon and Joan Allen as Pat Nixon.

Hopkins does a fine job capturing the style and feel of Nixon without resorting to doing an impression of the man. The film paints Nixon as a tragic figure, paranoid and scheming.

Some of it is over the top  such as Bob Hoskins as an openly gay J. Edgar Hoover. During the 1968 election, Hoover’s companion makes a passing statement that ”maybe somebody should shoot Robert Kennedy” and Hoskins does a broad Roger Rabbit style “why did you say that?” look implying another conspiracy theory (Stone can’t seem to get off that “JFK” vibe)

“Nixon” is interesting. But if you want to see a really good movie about Richard Nixon, I would highly recommend “All The President’s Men,” one of the best thrillers/detective stories ever produced.

And its all true.