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| 7/9 |
| 2004/6/25-26 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:31007 Activity:very high |
6/24 Ebert on Fahrenheit 9/11:
"Fahrenheit 9/11" is a compelling, persuasive film, at odds with the
White House effort to present Bush as a strong leader. He comes
across as a shallow, inarticulate man, simplistic in speech and
inauthentic in manner.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-moore24f.html
\_ Just curious but do they call this "Fahrenheit 11/9" in
"Queen's English" speaking countries?
\_ bbc calls it exactly what we do.
\_ Ebert hates America. Boycott Ebert.
\_ Actually, 9 out of 11 movie critics on http://movies.yahoo.com love it.
\_ Exactly. 9 out of 11 liberal media critics hate America.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Fahrenheit911-1133649
\_ I *may* actually go see this, but I don't want to give MM my money,
so I'll buy a ticket to White Chicks instead and sneak into the
F911 theater.
\_ Ah, the principled conservative...
\_ No. A conservative has no interest in wasting their time
watching the propaganda of a proven liar. I wouldn't want
to see it at a free screening. It's a waste of time. The
ticket price isn't the issue.
\_ Does a conservative wasting his time posting/reading motd?
\_ Yes. It's a better use of my time than seeing Michael
Moore's propaganda. Sometimes things posted here are
actually true, context and backed by solid references.
If the motd were my only source of information on the
world I would have a more accurate picture than Michael
Moore provides.
\_ I will freely give my money to MM.
\_ Send him a check. Why are you bothering us?
\_ Why don't you want to give him your money? If you don't want to
give him money, don't see the film. If you think he's a liar (as
I believe has been shown) why would you sink to lying to see his
movie? -emarkp
\_ I agree 100% with emarkp
\_ I think people who host Fox News are proven lying scumbags.
But I still watch FNC just to keep an open mind. I tell
you, the more I watch it the lower opinion I have of
the Republican party and their media arm.
\_ Sure, but if you were a Nielsen family would you lie on
your TV diary? -emarkp
\_ We are a Nielsen family. Well, we were on Real People
back in the late 70s for being Nielsens... What was the
question? --erikred
\_ Proven lying scumbags? Perhaps youd care to share what was
said and then back that up with a reference? Proven means
you have proof.
\_ I've read both the positive and negative reviews and I'm
curious to see who I agree with, but at the same time, I do
not wish to promote this kind of "documentary" film-making
so that real documentaries like Spellbound, Home Movie, and
Fast Cheap and Out of Control don't get brushed aside. I
think MM and movies like SuperSizeMe and the critical acclaim
they are getting is the beginning of a really bad trend akin
to the horrible reality television trend we are currently
infected with. -op
\_ You mean like "The Octopus", "The Jungle", "Unsafe at any
Speed", "The American Way of Death", "Silent Spring" or
any of those other recent expose' hit pieces? Yeah, they
are really just horribly self-serving and opportunistic.
\_ I think it's hilarious that you're comparing "The
Jungle" with Super Size Me which is nothing more than
Jackass:The Movie for the liberal elite.
\_ Yeah, I think "Unsafe at any Speed" matches up
pretty well with the crap the MM produces.
\_ So split the difference. Go see a matinee after opening
weekend. That way you're not giving him much money.
-emarkp
\_ Just realized another advantage: you'll have the theater
to yourself. -emarkp
\_ He probably would anyway in most places.
\_ Here in LA on a friday night there was a lively
crowd, complete with voter registration booths,
seething hatred, and anti-Bush bumper stickers.
Santa Monica rocks. -- ilyas |
| 7/9 |
|
| www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-moore24f.html Roger Ebert FAHRENHEIT 9/11 / ***1/2 June 24, 2004 Lions Gate/IFC Films presents a documentary directed by Michael Moore. Rated R (some violent and disturbing images, and for language). x Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" is less an expose of George W Bush than a dramatization of what Moore sees as a failed and dangerous presidency. The charges in the film will not come as news to those who pay attention to politics, but Moore illustrates them with dramatic images and a relentless commentary track that essentially concludes Bush is incompetent, dishonest, failing in the war on terrorism, and has bad taste in friends. Although Moore's narration ranges from outrage to sarcasm, the most devastating passage in the film speaks for itself. That's when Bush, who was reading My Pet Goat to a classroom of Florida children, is notified of the second attack on the World Trade Center, and yet lingers with the kids for almost seven minutes before finally leaving the room. His inexplicable paralysis wasn't underlined in news reports at the time, and only Moore thought to contact the teacher in that schoolroom -- who, as it turned out, had made her own video of the visit. The expression on Bush's face as he sits there is odd indeed. Bush, here and elsewhere in the film, is characterized as a man who owes a lot to his friends, including those who helped bail him out of business ventures. Moore places particular emphasis on what he sees as a long-term friendship between the Bush family (including both presidents) and powerful Saudi Arabians. More than $14 billion in Saudi money has flowed into the coffers of Bush family enterprises, he says, and after 9/11 the White House helped expedite flights out of the country carrying, among others, members of the bin Laden family (which disowns its most famous member). Moore examines the military records released by Bush to explain his disappearance from the Texas Air National Guard, and finds that the name of another pilot has been blacked out. This pilot, he learns, was Bush's close friend James R Bath, who became Texas money manager for the billionaire bin Ladens. Another indication of the closeness of the Bushes and the Saudis: The law firm of James Baker, the secretary of State for Bush's father, was hired by the Saudis to defend them against a suit by a group of 9/11 victims and survivors, who charged that the Saudis had financed al-Qaida. To Moore, this is more evidence that Bush has an unhealthy relationship with the Saudis, and that it may have influenced his decision to go to war against Iraq at least partially on their behalf. The war itself Moore considers unjustified (no WMDs, no Hussein-bin Laden link), and he talks with American soldiers, including amputees, who complain bitterly about Bush's proposed cuts of military salaries at the same time he was sending them into a war that they (at least, the ones Moore spoke to) hated. Moore also shows American military personnel who are apparently enjoying the war; he has footage of soldiers who use torture techniques not in a prison but in the field, where they hood an Iraqi prisoner, call him "Ali Baba" and pose for videos while touching his genitals. Moore brings a fresh impact to familiar material by the way he marshals his images. We are all familiar with the controversy over the 2000 election, which was settled by the US Supreme Court. What I hadn't seen before was footage of the ratification of Bush's election by the US Congress. An election can be debated at the request of one senator and one representative; As Moore shows the challengers, one after another, we cannot help noting that they are eight black women, one Asian woman and one black man. They are all gaveled into silence by the chairman of the joint congressional session -- Vice President Al Gore. The urgency and futility of the scene reawakens old feelings for those who believe Bush is an illegitimate president. "Fahrenheit 9/11" opens on a note not unlike Moore's earlier films, such as "Roger & Me" and "Bowling for Columbine." Moore, as narrator, brings humor and sarcasm to his comments, and occasionally appears onscreen in a gadfly role. It's vintage Moore, for example, when he brings along an unsuspecting Marine recruiter as he confronts congressmen, urging them to have their children enlist in the service. And he makes good use of candid footage, including an eerie video showing Bush practicing facial expressions before going live with his address to the nation about 9/11. Apparently Bush and other members of his administration don't know what every TV reporter knows, that a satellite image can be live before they get the cue to start talking. That accounts for the quease-inducing footage of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz wetting his pocket comb in his mouth before slicking back his hair. When that doesn't do it, he spits in his hand and wipes it down. If his mother is alive, I hope for his sake she doesn't see this film. Such scenes are typical of vintage Moore, catching his subjects off guard. "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a compelling, persuasive film, at odds with the White House effort to present Bush as a strong leader. He comes across as a shallow, inarticulate man, simplistic in speech and inauthentic in manner. If the film is not quite as electrifying as Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," that may be because Moore has toned down his usual exuberance and was sobered by attacks on the factual accuracy of elements of "Columbine"; playing with larger stakes, he is more cautious here, and we get an op-ed piece, not a stand-up routine. But he remains one of the most valuable figures on the political landscape, a populist rabble-rouser, humorous and effective; the outrage and incredulity in his film are an exhilarating response to Bush's determined repetition of the same stubborn sound bites. |
| www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Fahrenheit911-1133649 -> www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Fahrenheit911-1133649/ THEATRICAL RELEASE Jun 25, 2004 (Limited) CONSENSUS Extremely one-sided in its indictment of the Bush administration, but worth watching for the humor and the debates it'll stir. SYNOPSIS One of the most controversial and provocative films of the year, FAHRENHEIT 9/11 is Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moores searing examination of the Bush administrations actions in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11. With his characteristic humor and dogged commitment to uncovering the facts, Moore considers the presidency of George W Bush and where it has led us. He looks at how and why - Bush and his inner circle avoided pursuing the Saudi connection to 9/11, despite the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis and Saudi money had funded Al Qaeda. "The movie's conclusions -- true or otherwise -- and highly emotional interviews with bereaved parents and injured soldiers will have a big impact on audiences around the world." "Moores greatest contribution to the national debate is that he pulls back the veil on the bloodshed of a war that has been sanitized for the American publics consumption." see if you don't cringe when you see Bush talk to the media about being dedicated to fighting terrorism and segue into "Now watch this drive!" "Moore has resorted to showing us stuff that The Daily Show covers all the time. Did you really need this film to tell you that war is bad?" "Though it's clearly a hate letter to Bush, it's a cleverly composed one, and it will succeed in infuriating and satisfying audiences in approximately equal measure." "The result is a scary, funny, moving and angry film is perhaps the most devastating item leveled at a sitting US President since the days of Watergate." "A sometimes sidesplitting, occasionally saddening but consistently entertaining attack on the most disastrous presidency in modern history." "Fahrenheit 9/11 isn't a cogent, revelatory expos, but a dizzying compendium of facts and opinions, wrapped up in a heartfelt, passionate, surprisingly moving package." "At a time when the film industry is turning out sugarcoated, content-free junk, Moore has given American viewers a renewed taste for raw meat." "It would be convenient to slap the film as a liberal fantasy, but what Moore has to say comes off neither as the words of a blowhard with archival access nor a partisan wag." "Moore's ability to kick off a debate -- even a vicious one -- remains priceless, as do his gifts for ridicule, for wringing laughs, shock and tears from his subjects and for shedding a spotlight on ordinary Americans." "Moore states his argument forcefully and effectively, alternating cold, factual data with emotionally wrenching -- and draining -- human episodes." |
| movies.yahoo.com Fahrenheit 9/11 Watch an exclusive clip from Michael Moore's controversial documentary that won the coveted Palm d'Or at Cannes. |