Settling Scores.('Persepolis,' 'Sweeney Todd,' and 'Charlie Wilson's War')(Movie review)

The new Mike Nichols film, "Charlie Wilson's War," is ninety-seven minutes long. Into that time, it packs political machination, helicopter gunships, single-malt whiskey, Las Vegas, Islamabad, naked butts, and eight years of war. The film, adapted from George Crile's book, doesn't always work, but it sure offers value for money. One reason for this economy is that Nichols has paired up for the first time with Aaron Sorkin, late of "The West Wing," whose scripts operate on the principle that there is no affair of state, however tangled or burdensome, that cannot be breezed through at a brisk dramatic pace. That breeze is enviable (you feel it in an idealist like Capra, as ...