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alex-306's rating
I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 at Phipps Mall in the affluent Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, GA, and I will say for the record:
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 attracted the most racially integrated audience I've ever seen at an Atlanta movie theater, as well as the most age-diverse audience.
2. The audience was completely in tune with what Michael Moore was trying to do. When he wanted you to be mad, people were mad. When he wanted you to be upset, people were upset, and when he wanted you laugh, people laughed. And boy, did they laugh.
3. The audience cheered (loudly) upon the film's conclusion.
Truly a satisfying moment, to feel part of a community of people, if only for two hours, who recognized that the emperor indeed has no clothes.
Is Michael Moore manipulative? Of course- he's an editorial documentarian. Does he sometimes assume too much from too little information? Of course- he's a human being. That's what human beings do. Now, you may say, yes, it may be human nature to infer too much from too little information, but as a responsible artist, Michael Moore should get his ducks firmly in a row before trying to manipulate his audience. That being said, we have libel in slander laws in this country. If Michael Moore is so far off base, where are the lawsuits and defamation of character charges? Why won't Bush or his camp respond to any of the specific allegations of Fahrenheit 9/11? Why is that, in fact, they state an unwillingness even to see the film, and yet feel qualified to have a valid opinion of it? Now who's inferring too much from too little?
What is absolutely undeniable is that a) war is horrible, b) the United States of America went to war with Iraq for spurious reasons, c) we have been conspicuously unsuccessful in capturing Osama bin Laden, in part because bin Laden has no relationship whatsoever with Iraq, d) there have been many people who have benefited financially from the war, and those people have a long and in many cases sordid relationship with the Bush family, and e) Bush has used the 9/11 attacks as a way to advance an agenda that is completely unrelated to the attacks themselves, and to infringe on our civil rights. Any attempt to dissect Michael Moore's arguments fall flat when these basic facts are irrefutable.
Fahrenheit 9/11 is ultimately a highly entertaining and justifiably scathing review of the Presidency of George W. Bush, embarrassment to himself, our great nation, and, for that matter, to the entire human race. Please help vote this buffoon out of office before he can discredit our country further.
1. Fahrenheit 9/11 attracted the most racially integrated audience I've ever seen at an Atlanta movie theater, as well as the most age-diverse audience.
2. The audience was completely in tune with what Michael Moore was trying to do. When he wanted you to be mad, people were mad. When he wanted you to be upset, people were upset, and when he wanted you laugh, people laughed. And boy, did they laugh.
3. The audience cheered (loudly) upon the film's conclusion.
Truly a satisfying moment, to feel part of a community of people, if only for two hours, who recognized that the emperor indeed has no clothes.
Is Michael Moore manipulative? Of course- he's an editorial documentarian. Does he sometimes assume too much from too little information? Of course- he's a human being. That's what human beings do. Now, you may say, yes, it may be human nature to infer too much from too little information, but as a responsible artist, Michael Moore should get his ducks firmly in a row before trying to manipulate his audience. That being said, we have libel in slander laws in this country. If Michael Moore is so far off base, where are the lawsuits and defamation of character charges? Why won't Bush or his camp respond to any of the specific allegations of Fahrenheit 9/11? Why is that, in fact, they state an unwillingness even to see the film, and yet feel qualified to have a valid opinion of it? Now who's inferring too much from too little?
What is absolutely undeniable is that a) war is horrible, b) the United States of America went to war with Iraq for spurious reasons, c) we have been conspicuously unsuccessful in capturing Osama bin Laden, in part because bin Laden has no relationship whatsoever with Iraq, d) there have been many people who have benefited financially from the war, and those people have a long and in many cases sordid relationship with the Bush family, and e) Bush has used the 9/11 attacks as a way to advance an agenda that is completely unrelated to the attacks themselves, and to infringe on our civil rights. Any attempt to dissect Michael Moore's arguments fall flat when these basic facts are irrefutable.
Fahrenheit 9/11 is ultimately a highly entertaining and justifiably scathing review of the Presidency of George W. Bush, embarrassment to himself, our great nation, and, for that matter, to the entire human race. Please help vote this buffoon out of office before he can discredit our country further.
I fancy myself as having an iron stomach, but had a very difficult time keeping my eyes open and not vomiting while watching this film. Can I acknowledge that, within the morass of the physical barbarism and sexual perversion, lies a cautionary tale? Absolutely. Certainly, Pasolini has taken aristocratic frivolity and authoritarian entitlement to their most horrific extreme. However, I could read A Tale of Two Cities and gotten that without having to watch the consumption of fecal matter. In short, I would argue that Salo' is effective but superfluous.
Of course, many people watch this film out of morbid curiosity due to its reputation of being, as Criterion puts it, "perhaps the most disturbing and disgusting film ever made." If you haven't seen Salo', I will say that I'll give Criterion the "disgusting" part of their claim. That said, I was more disturbed Todd Solondz's Happiness, which, though graphic, does not show on film some of the darkest behavior committed by its principals. A comparison between Happiness and Salo' reveals that what is understood but left to the imagination is often-times more disturbing than what is explicitly stated or shown. The same point might be made of Schindler's list vs. Life is Beautiful.
In summary, if you want to see the most disgusting film ever made, fork over the twenty bucks to buy a bootleg DVD on eBay and knock yourself out. Just don't expect to uncover some profound truth that might otherwise be attained through less unpleasant experiences.
5/10
Of course, many people watch this film out of morbid curiosity due to its reputation of being, as Criterion puts it, "perhaps the most disturbing and disgusting film ever made." If you haven't seen Salo', I will say that I'll give Criterion the "disgusting" part of their claim. That said, I was more disturbed Todd Solondz's Happiness, which, though graphic, does not show on film some of the darkest behavior committed by its principals. A comparison between Happiness and Salo' reveals that what is understood but left to the imagination is often-times more disturbing than what is explicitly stated or shown. The same point might be made of Schindler's list vs. Life is Beautiful.
In summary, if you want to see the most disgusting film ever made, fork over the twenty bucks to buy a bootleg DVD on eBay and knock yourself out. Just don't expect to uncover some profound truth that might otherwise be attained through less unpleasant experiences.
5/10
Let me preface this by saying that I was a fan of the first Matrix movie. The special effects blew my mind, and the philosophical content of the story was compelling. All told, there had never been an action film quite like it, and I was more than willing to endure the headache of seeing a blockbuster movie the day it came out.
Wow, was I ever disappointed.
For anyone who said this was an exciting movie: were you watching the same film I was??? Rarely has anything less exciting been imprinted onto celuloid. After about 90 minutes, I was checking my watch every five.
Firstly, the plot is incredibly half baked, and the philisophical content of Reloaded was lame. The first Matrix film was an allegory for contemporary existence, in which we struggle for individual identity and real freedom, as opposed to the mere illusion of the same. With Reloaded, they flip-flop and, instead of addressing the control our social orders have on us, there's a thoroughly uninteresting discussion of predeterminism. The "ending" (if you can call it that) flip-flops a second time, but not in any way that gives you much hope for the third installment.
Secondly, the effects in this movie were NOT that special. The CGI was heavy-handed, all of those slow-mo, speed up effects were enormously overused, and everything has the feeling of "look what we can do." It's as if the directors got together and said, "Okay let's make a movie in which most of the scenes tell the story, and then we'll just throw some perfunctory scenes in for the special effects geeks out there." Arguably, the Lord of the Rings series blows out of the water anything in Reloaded. We're talking superior by an order of magnitude.
In sum, Matrix Reloaded was a mind-boggling waste of my time and money. Why not stay home, actually spend time with your children, make love to your romantic counterpart, walk your dog, listen to your favorite album, or watch the NBA playoffs instead?
3/10
Wow, was I ever disappointed.
For anyone who said this was an exciting movie: were you watching the same film I was??? Rarely has anything less exciting been imprinted onto celuloid. After about 90 minutes, I was checking my watch every five.
Firstly, the plot is incredibly half baked, and the philisophical content of Reloaded was lame. The first Matrix film was an allegory for contemporary existence, in which we struggle for individual identity and real freedom, as opposed to the mere illusion of the same. With Reloaded, they flip-flop and, instead of addressing the control our social orders have on us, there's a thoroughly uninteresting discussion of predeterminism. The "ending" (if you can call it that) flip-flops a second time, but not in any way that gives you much hope for the third installment.
Secondly, the effects in this movie were NOT that special. The CGI was heavy-handed, all of those slow-mo, speed up effects were enormously overused, and everything has the feeling of "look what we can do." It's as if the directors got together and said, "Okay let's make a movie in which most of the scenes tell the story, and then we'll just throw some perfunctory scenes in for the special effects geeks out there." Arguably, the Lord of the Rings series blows out of the water anything in Reloaded. We're talking superior by an order of magnitude.
In sum, Matrix Reloaded was a mind-boggling waste of my time and money. Why not stay home, actually spend time with your children, make love to your romantic counterpart, walk your dog, listen to your favorite album, or watch the NBA playoffs instead?
3/10