jor
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response 1 of 323:
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Jun 23 15:17 UTC 2004 |
More horrible than any horror film!!
I am shreiking in horror!
Evidently there is a remake of
Manchurian Candidate about to be
released. I am so horrified,
that I need to play a soothing
game of solitaire.
Starring Terrible Meryl Streep
(screams in horror) as . .
'Angela Lansbury'! (faints)
Maybe Jon Voight will save it.
Or maybe monkeys will fly out of his
ears. With The Gulf War as a stunt double
for the Korean War. From the dude who
brought us Silence of the Cramps.
Wait, IMDB has made some mistake,
it's not filed under genre = horror.
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richard
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response 3 of 323:
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Jun 24 04:57 UTC 2004 |
FAHRENHEIT 9/11-- This is the incendiary new documentary from Oscar
winning writer/director and Flint, Michigan resident Michael Moore.
This movie is a scathing indictment of George W. Bush and his
administration. It starts with the 2000 election debacle and then
shows 9/11/2001, with the planes hitting the World Trade Center. As
the first plane crashes into the WTC, we see unedited footage of what
Bush was doing at that exact moment. He was reading a children's book
at a kindegarten class in Florida. An aide comes in and whispers in
his book, "we're under attack" Bush doesn't do or say anything, just
goes on nonchalanlantly reading his book. Then seven minutes later,
he's still reading his book, and the second plane hits, and still he
does nothing.
Moore goes into extensive detail about the relationship between the
Bush family and the Saudis and the Bin Ladens. We see George HW Bush
(Bush the Sr.) in the weeks before the attacks, in Texas meeting with
Bin Laden family members who were investors in Texas oil stocks. We
find out that when Bush released the records of his service (or lack
thereof) in the Reserves in Alabama, the official documents released
had some names marked through. Of course Moore got hold of the
unmarked documents, and we find out that they had marked through the
name of the other person who was in the Reserves with Bush and got a
medical leave at the same time. A man who is an old friend of Bush and
later became one of the Bin Laden's money men in the U.S. The
implication being made is that we attacked Iraq to divert attention
from Afghanistan, because the Saudis and the Bin Ladens and the Taliban
are all heavily invested in the U.S. and in the oil industry. In fact,
it is claimed that the Saudis have some $800 billion dollars invested
in U.S. industries, meaning they basically own 1/7th of the U.S.
Moore's argument seems to be that Bush and co. knew we were
bloodthirsty after 9/11 and wanted to hang someone, but he wanted to
spare Bin Laden and not expose the Saudi connections, so we went after
Saddam Hussein instead.
It goes on and on. Moore absolutely roasts Bush. Members of Congress
aren't spared either. Moore goes to Capital Hill and finds out from a
Congressman that most legislators don't read the bills they vote on,
because they don't have time. Then he gets a full copy of the Patriot
Act, and drives around the Capital in an ice cream truck, holding a
megaphone, and reading it out loud.
The most moving parts of the movie come when Moore goes back to Flint,
Michigan and follows Marine recruiters as they walk around shopping
mall parking lots trying to recruit kids, giving them a hard sell to
join the service. Then we get to meet a mother in Flint whose son was
killed in Iraq, and she doesn't know why or for what good reason. Her
plight is compared to the plight of members of Congress. Moore goes
back to the Hill and finds that of all the members of Congress, only
one has or had a child serving in Iraq. Moore then chases different
Congressman down in his man on the street style and demands to know if
they'd send THEIR kids to Iraq. We then see Bush, who also never
served overseas, giving a speech to some of his fatcat donors,
saying "you are my base" The implication being that Bush represents
the elite and the money, and that they are always going to be most
concerned about maintaining their status and their money, and that in
the end regular folk-- like this woman and her family in Flint-- are
the ones paying the real costs.
That only scratches the surface of this film. It is an amazing
work. "Fahrenheit 9/11" won the grand prize at the Cannes Film
Festival, and when I saw it today, it got big applause at the end.
Moore is a propogandist of the highest order, and I don't doubt that
there are arguments for some of the appalling facts he puts forth. But
the cumulative effect of the movie is really REALLY powerful.
I think every American should see Fahrenheit 9/11, regardless of one's
political views. It opens nationally on Friday. (***** five stars out
of five)
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mcnally
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response 4 of 323:
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Jun 24 06:57 UTC 2004 |
re #3: I'm pretty sure Michael Moore is a *former* Flint resident.
I think he lives in NYC now.
I won't deny that many of his antics are entertaining but he shouldn't
be mistaken for a serious political commentator -- I'm uncomfortable
enough with the notion that people consider his films documentaries.
Occasionally he scores a good point, often one that nobody else in
the media seems to be making, and is worth checking in on now and again
for just this reason, but for the most part I think he's a master of
cheap shots, duplicitous justapositions, and the "post hoc, ergo propter
hoc" logical fallacy. When it comes right down to it he's not any more
interested in nuance, balance, or honest argument than Ann Coulter is,
he's just starting from a more palatable political perspective.
If you think I've painted an unfairly harsh portrait of Michael Moore,
well, just keep in mind next time you're watching one of his films that
the most dangerous arguments are the ones you *want* to believe.
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