The Bearded Trio

War Machine Starring Brad Pitt, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Michael Hall, Topher Grace, Scoot McNairy, Tilda Swinton Based on The Operators by Michael Hastings Written and Directed by  David Michod Reviewed by Paul Gibbs Out of Four s  Brad Pitt isn't the sort of actor we associate with drastic transformation. He's given a lot of very good performanes and even some excellent ones, and he's consistently engaging and compelling. But he's not an actor who disappears into different mannerisms or character voices with each role. And that's okay: for the most part I find those actors to place the technique over the soul of the performance, and I'm rarely moved by their work. Give me a Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks or George Clooney who make me think of and relate to their character as a fully-realized human being any day over a Johnny Depp who is self-concously absorbed in showing us how quirky or "versatile" he can be. But the downside is that when an ...