So have you seen the film yet? What was your impression of it? Here was mine:
MM did not appear as much in this film as his others. I would say that you see him for a total of around 5-10 minutes out of the two hours. The majority of the footage is archival(2/3's?) with the rest being interviews(1/3?). I went in with a clear mind and tried to focus on critically "tearing" the film apart as a pro-Bush supporter would. It was a difficult task to do.
The negatives. When MM was explaining the Saudi and Bin Laden connections and the flights they took to leave the country, it did appear at first that they were able to fly immediately after 9/11, that day almost. But, it was stated right after that they were able to leave between the 13th through the 24th?? This was the only major negative I could find in the film. I felt mislead a little, but if you listen to the narration and look at the documentation on the screen, MM states the facts honestly. Any other negatives? Nothing springs to mind right now. I will have to see it again to have it soak in a little more.
The film guarantees laughs throughout the two hours, mainly at the expense of GWB. In fact, it is footage of GWB that makes himself look and act like a redneck hillbilly from Texas. GWB's supporting cast administration is also given their shot at improvisational comedy. Singing, sucking on a comb, etc.
If anything, this film will anger you over the "big business" schemes. Carlyle and Halliburton are well represented. MM expertly tied many of these companies together and showed the connections to the Saudi royals.
The so-called Iraqi abuses that MM filmed before the pictures were released were not the same abuses as you might think. The only footage of US soldiers "abusing" Iraqis were of them putting on hoods and taking pictures of them. One Iraqi(couldn't tell if he was already dead) was being "touched" by a soldier referencing his "hard-on." That was it. No dogs, no strip downs, no shaving, no sexual games.
The film probably earned it's R rating due to one particular soldier being interviewed(drops the F-bomb about 4 times referring to a song) along with a few shots of Iraqi citizens after being bombed or shot.
Lila Lipscomb from Flint, MI was the real tear-jerker in the film. I won't go into her details, but I guarantee you will shed a tear or two. If you don't, you must have had your tearducts surgically removed.
Overall, I would give it an 'A' on an A-F grading scale. The documentation presented and archival footage shown is the surging backbone of this film which will keep it going through November. If the anti-Moore critics happen to find something wrong with this film, I will be very surprised. I kept trying to find things myself but could not. You will agree, the achived footage is too powerful to criticize or pick apart. No matter what your political leanings are, this is a must-see film. Towards the end, MM quotes from Orwell's 1984 which sums everything up quite nicely. Once you hear the quote, everything presented in the film comes together as if it were a prophecy by Orwell.
