Fahrenheit 9/11

“from the Augusta Metropolitan Spirit ---

Fahrenheit 9/11 (R) – Michael Moore continues his work to expose the wrongdoings of the political right and financial elite in the follow up to his controversial 2003 Oscar acceptance speech, which was for the Best Documentary Award he received for Bowling for Columbine. Unlike Roger & Me or Bowling for Columbine, which merely hinted at right-wing conspiracy, Moore’s latest documentary takes dead aim at George W. Bush and his handling of the events surrounding the 9/11 crisis. Moore puts the magnifying glass on the relationship between the Bush family and the Saudi elite, and how Moore believes Bush and his administration’s actions to be motivated not by the interests of the American public, but instead by big oil money and foreign investments. Cast: Michael Moore, George Bush (archived appearance).

Note: Fahrenheit 9/11 is not showing in Augusta at the time of press. It is showing at in Columbia, S.C. at the Columbiana Grande 14 theatre, and in various locations in Atlanta, Greenville, S.C. and Spartanburg, S.C. Please visit www.f911tix.com for full listings.


So.... As Predicted not three days ago.... If I want to see this film in a theatre, I'll have to depart this little fascist enclave and drive to Columbia.”

“Opens Friday!”

“I'm still waiting for the Michael Mooreass weight loss book and the Michael Mooreass Mach Turbo Razors to come out.

Sometime between now and my death.”

“Not within 70 miles of here, b'god!!

With a population of 200,000+ and six theatre complexes with 8 screens Or More, you'd think there might be ONE screen....”

“What a bunch of chicken#&%!$s.”

“"I think anyone who sees this movie will come out en masse to make sure John Kerry is elected president this November," Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said after the premiere. "Credit to Michael Moore for taking the time to put this together."”

“Lila Lipscomb is the military mom from Flint, Michigan, whose story makes for the most powerful scenes in Fahrenheit 9/11. When she first appears in the film, she's proud of her daughter's service in the first Gulf war and her son's service with the Marines in the current Iraq war. But after her son is killed in Karbala, Lipscomb begins to question why he was sent to fight there in the first place, eventually traveling to Washington where, standing in front of the White House, she says, "I finally have a place to put all my pain and anger."

After the premiere Moore invited Lipscomb down to the front of the theater to speak. She told a story of how, when she arrived at the premiere earlier that day, she saw a rainbow over the theater -- which, she said, "was God saying that this was my affirmation that I'm supposed to be here." Her voice cracking, she went on, "As Billy Graham once said, courage is contagious. ... And I just thank God that Michael Moore is the one that is courageous enough to stand up so that I could be courageous."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/24/opinion/main625985.shtml”

“Speaking of Michael Morreass, I think I'll take a huge dump. I'll let you know how it turns out.........or maybe you can go see his fictional movie and get the same image.”

“My guess is that your mouth is watering to see this movie, Tilt. Have fun at your little love-fest.

Here's a nice review by a guy who used to write for The Nation:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/”

“""I think anyone who sees this movie will come out en masse to make sure John Kerry is elected president this November," Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said after the premiere......"

I wouldn't doubt a bump on the Dem side after this movie comes out; an out right Exodus, now that's just silly.

All of the guns are getting pulled out.

The push is on! Clinton's book, this movie.......>!”

“My guess is that your mouth is watering to see this movie, Tilt.

Of course. Tilt is an uncritical partisan wingnut, guilty of most of the sins he accuses the Right of. It's pathetic, really.”

“I plan to see it this weekend. I hope I'll be able to get a ticket.

Thank you Loew's Cinemas for not knuckling under to the efforts of the right wing to stifle freedom of expression. You've earned a loyal customer.”

“I wonder how Ray Bradbury's copyright infringement case will impact the movie?

Prolly just drive more sales.”

“Showing in Rochester, MN... and if you know Roch, you know the Middle East contigent likes to do their doctoring at Mayo. FWIW”

“The ultra liberal ultra critical Washington City Paper gave it a "Ho Hum" review. It also reviews "The Hunting of a President" in regards to the GOP & Clinton.

Average Temperature
By Mark Jenkins
Fahrenheit 9/11

Directed by Michael Moore

The Hunting of the President

Directed by Harry Thomason

and Nickolas Perry

When he revealed his hope that the Cannes-anointed Fahrenheit 9/11 might help defeat—or, rather, redefeat—George W. Bush, Michael Moore suggested that he has far grander ambitions for his latest broadside than he did for its predecessors. Even before the film opened, however, the writer-director had accomplished something remarkable: He made the first political documentary to achieve the prerelease buzz of a summer blockbuster. Like most overhyped movies, Fahrenheit 9/11 has its moments yet is something of a letdown. But you have to see it anyway—if only so you won’t be left out of any movie conversations between now and Spider-Man 2.

Fahrenheit 9/11 isn’t exactly George & Me, but it does proceed in the first person, with occasional cameos by its auteur. The opening act quickly depicts the battle for Florida’s 2000 electoral votes, a debacle narrated by a mock-incredulous Moore: “Was it a dream?” he muses, before sketching Bush’s laid-back opening months as president, during which he was on vacation a reported 42 percent of the time. Only then do the credits roll, intercut with footage of Dubya and his leading advisers preparing for TV appearances. The Bush administration is ready for its close-up, and Osama bin Laden is about to provide the motivation.

Well, not quite ready. Fahrenheit 9/11 shows—though not in real time—the seven minutes that George W. sat in a Florida elementary-school classroom after learning that two jetliners had hit the World Trade Center. He doesn’t look stunned, just aimless, apparently lost without a handler to tell him what to do. Moore, however, speculates that the president was wondering how to defend his family’s extensive dealings with the Saudi aristocracy. At that moment, such a line of thought seems unlikely, but Moore’s conjecture does set up a summary of the warm interrelationships between the big-money men of Houston and Riyadh’s petroleum oligarchies. These connections suggest why, when U.S. airspace was locked down after the Sept. 11 attacks, 142 Saudis—some of them with the surname bin Laden—were allowed to fly home.

This section of the film will probably be the most surprising to those who haven’t read extensively about the Bush family. Moore reveals, for example, that when the White House released some of the president’s National Guard records in 2004, it blacked out the name of one of Dubya’s buddies: James R. Bath. It turns out that Bath grew up to be the bin Ladens’ Texas money manager, and the likely source of Saudi petrodollars to prop up George W.’s failing oil-exploration firms. These days, the Bushes call Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar “Bandar Bush” and the Saudis own an estimated 7 percent of the U.S. economy. Moore acknowledges that much of this information came from Craig Unger, the author of House of Bush, House of Saud (and the former editor of Washington Newsworks, a long-gone local alt weekly). In fact, Unger gets more onscreen time than any other journalistic source.

From the Bush-Saud connection, Moore travels to Afghanistan, homeland security, the Patriot Act, Iraq, and—of course—his economically challenged hometown of Flint, Mich. The film cools down as it switches from conspiracy theory to human interest, following a woman who used to believe that the military was a boon to blue-collar kids in high-unemployment areas. Although Moore can’t help but periodically interject gags, jokey clips, and ironic song snippets, what he’s doing here is basically the same thing as twaddle-driven mainstream TV networks: fogging the bigger picture with sentiment.

Moore is at a disadvantage, of course, in making a film in which many of the issues are still breaking news. (There’s only the vaguest mention, for example, of the torture, rape, and murder of Iraqis, Afghans, and others by U.S. troops and contractors.) The director draws intriguing lines between a lot of characters and topics, but only in pencil. He certainly hasn’t put it all together for the voters he hopes to sway. Indeed, Moore himself hasn’t even decided whether Dubya is an evil genius or a bumbling fool—although the film clips strongly suggest the latter. The movie will surely amplify some people’s doubts about Bush, but it probably wouldn’t have much effect if his reputation weren’t already sliding. Fahrenheit 9/11 intends to be a killer blow to Bush 43’s presidency, but it’s really just a well-deserved kick in the shins.

A breathless cinematic abridgement of Joe Conason and Gene Lyons’ book, The Hunting of the President will likely be overshadowed not only by Moore’s film but also by Bill Clinton’s new autobiography. This is less than tragic, since writer-directors Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry’s polemical documentary is less than exemplary. Still, the Morgan Freeman–narrated film is a provocative introduction to one of the great scandals in American political history: not that Clinton was a slut, but that a good-sized—if not vast—right-wing conspiracy spent more than $60 million in taxpayers’ money to prove it.

Veteran TV producer Thomason is a longtime Clinton pal, and he was involved in one of the murky but seemingly minor infamies of the 42nd president’s administration, the White House–travel–office mess. That passing furor goes unmentioned in The Hunting of the President, as do several other tawdry incidents. The film is only 89 minutes long, however, and can be excused for focusing on the main event: the well-bankrolled effort to magnify a few petty Arkansas improprieties (and some parochial resentments) into a sequel to the Watergate scandal, this time with a Democratic president humiliated and overthrown.

It didn’t quite work, in large part because Whitewater itself seems to have amounted to nothing more than a bad investment idea badly administered by Clinton crony James McDougal—here characterized by ex-wife Susan McDougal as a charming manic-depressive. Susan McDougal, who went to jail rather than testify against Clinton, emerges as the film’s heroine. She describes the threatening tactics of special prosecutor Kenneth Starr’s minions as well as the abuse she endured in prison, where she was forced to wear a red outfit identifying her as someone who had murdered her own children. Her most hilarious anecdote recalls how the prosecutors decided that she must be in love with Clinton and thus would be happy to eliminate the competition by implicating his wife.

More of the hunted president’s defenders, including former Clinton White House insiders Sidney Blumenthal, Paul Begala, and James Carville, analyze the overzealous tactics and the mainstream press’s unethical (and just plain incompetent) piling-on. They’re less compelling, however, when interpreting the widespread hostility toward Clinton. Did the Washington establishment really loathe Clinton because—as Blumenthal asserts—it considered him “white trash”? And what exactly was up with such bizarre Arkansas Clinton-phobes as Everett Ham, a member of the shadowy and perhaps utterly insignificant Alliance for the Rebirth of an Independent America, and Larry Case and Larry Nichols, who stage-managed the Gennifer Flowers sexual accusations?

Thomason and Perry allot very little time to Flowers or, remarkably, Monica Lewinsky, emphasizing instead Paula Jones—the only one of the three who may not actually have had sex with President Bill. The documentary also excludes most of Clinton’s prominent detractors. (The directors have explained—though not in the film—that most of them declined to appear.) We’re left with David Brock, the former right-wing attack dog who has since repudiated his anti-Clinton work, and Jerry Falwell, who turns up to deny that he ever personally accused Clinton of committing any crimes. (He merely helped finance The Clinton Chronicles, a movie that charged the president with collusion in drug smuggling and murder.)

An increasingly common but disturbing practice in contemporary documentaries is the use of historical footage that appears relevant but is never identified. Thomason and Perry take this technique several missteps further, interjecting clips from old newsreels and vintage Hollywood flicks. (So does Moore, of course, but the strategy better suits his mostly jocular tone.) When Clinton’s gubernatorial chief of staff, Betsey Wright, notes that her boss attracted lots of groupies, for example, there’s a quick cut to screaming Beatlemaniacs. If this were just a movie about a guy who got in trouble for lying about blowjobs, such stunts would be legit. But they’re a little too flippant if The Hunting of the President really does, as it claims, recount a chapter in an ongoing scheme to subvert American democracy that includes redistricting in Texas, a recall in California, and, of course, those contested Florida electoral votes that led directly to Fahrenheit 9/11.CP”

“I strongly recommend that all of you go see the movie, regardless of your political stance. Only then, can you decide for yourself if it has merit.”

“I really like Moore, but one of my biggest pet peeves is an over-hyped movie. Tends to keep me away.”

“This thread is some how empty. I was reading through it and expecting the strat/Novak team rebuttle.

How times have changed.....!”

“Strat and Bortz are joined at the unhip!”

“Saw the movie today. Very good. Enlightening and educational. Drags slightly toward the end but the first half kicks ass.”

“Speaking of ass, I gotta go take another dump.”

“I saw it this afternoon at a full house. Many, many, many, many very pissed off people veaving the theatre. I'll be registering voters at one of Cleveland's largest theatre's tonight, and it just so happens there will be some protestors against the movie there as well, with the paper and TV stations.

This should be interesting.”

“Bear i saw no one pissed off at film. I heard some people applaud. Ultra you may need more fiber in your diet”

“...or less”

“So I arrive at the theatre right around when the 3:00 showing was letting out. There was a large group of people that had assembled outside the complex, just standing around, talking about the movie. I stood in the middle of the crowd, and said in a loud voice "If anybody wants to register to vote, do it here!". Immediately, 5 people approached me to register. A few more signed up for the next hour, as the rest of the Young Democrats slowly trickled in to do the same. During this time, the assistant manager had been outside, where we were working, several times and said nothing. We had gained permission to do this from both the Manager at the location, and corporate (Cinemark). There was also a news crew there.

I had been BSing with the set-up guy with the news crew, for he was a union president that I'd recognized from prior meetings. The reporter was in her car, waiting for crowds to come out. None of the group I was with was wearing anything related to democrats, kerry, or anti-GWB. A half hour before the 5:10 showing let out, the manager came out, in front of the news crew, and asked us to leave the premesis. She said that we no longer had permission to be on the property.

My colleagues left, but of course, I stayed to argue (even as two squad cars rolled into the parking area). I thought that if the reporter would get out of the car and turn the camera on, they'd let us stay. According to the manager, the company didn't want to get involved in the politics of the movie. I stated that we were there to register anybody who wanted to register to vote, and that nobody asked what party people belonged to or who people may be voting for. Then I asked why it was OK that a news crew was there if they didn't want to be involved in the politics. I mentioned that the crew was thier to interview people who were departing from Fahrenheit 911, which was a political film, and that we were registering people to vote from every movie playing. She stated that the crews were talking to people after they left. I stated "bull#&%!$", so were we, but I guess you don't get publicity from asking people to register to vote. By now the cops were walking up to us, and the stupid reporter remained in her car.

When the cops arrived, I asked if there was a law disallowing people to register others to vote on private property. One of the cops said he didn't know, and then the manager immediately responded that my actions were unwelcome, and that if I didn't leave, she would consider me tresspassing. The newsreporter filed her nails. The cops looked at me like, "don't make us arrest you", so I left, vowing to write to the paper, and tell everybody I knew about the dumba$$es at Cinemark, and the "news" reporters at our local FOX News affiliate.

We all (about 30 folks) went to the movie at the theatre for the 6:55 showing. It was sold out. After the flick, we saw a huge line outside the theatre with hundreds of people waiting to buy tickets. (It should be noted that the movie was showing on only 1 screen, in a complex that had over 30 screens. "White Girls" was given 2 screens, as well as the crappy "Cronicles of Riddick") I proceeded to tell as many people as possible in the line how Cinemark banned us from registering people to vote. Some people left, most people couldn't believe it, and nobody jeered at me.

Big companies suck, but the movie was great.”

“LOL, like most republicans, that peckerhead is so full of #&%!$ he's constantly having to take a dump.



Movie critics, however, have been more favorable. As of midday Friday, the film had garnered 81 percent positive reviews (out of 100 surveyed), according to the review compilation site Rottentomatoes.com.

The Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert gave "Fahrenheit" 3-1/2 stars; so did USA Today's Claudia Puig, who wrote, "No moviegoer will be bored. The documentary's scathing attack on the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's presidency is informative, provocative, frightening, compelling, funny, manipulative and, most of all, entertaining."”

“From the local Fox station, you say?

<sheesh>



Looks like I'll be taking that hour+ drive to the theatre in Columbia next week....”

“I love law enforcement officers. They are our friends. Most are ex-military and republican. I should know, I'm one of them.

We love to see stupid people get arrested. You were smart to leave.

8)”

“Mixed reviews here. Mostly negative, which is surprising because Lexington is ultra liberal. The second showing was nowhere near sold out. Pretty much just another movie.”

“I don't think Buddha really said anything bad about LEOs.”

“Never said he did.”

“This little film is a non issue. If anyone thinks it’s the unbiased truth, they are kidding themselves. He can cut, edit and twist video to say whatever he wants. He has every right to make the film just like I have every right to not see it…and fart in his general direction.”

“"It turns out to be a really brilliant piece of work, and a film that members of all political parties should see without fail."
-Fox News

I thought Fox was a part of the vast rightwing media (heehee)?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122678,00.html”

“Looks like the reviews are kind to the movie.


I don't go the the movies all the often; I refuse to pay for the junk that comes out of H-Wood.

Between this movie, Spiderman 2 and the Christian spoof movie (Saved?), I'll be a veritible regular!”

“My friend saw this last night, and he told me it's a good movie. He said the movie made the US and Bush look bad. So...so far, no personal idea. I wish I will see it soon.”

“It made $8,000,000 on Friday. I have a feeling it will top out around $40,000,000 which is unbelievable for a documentary, and awsome for any movie. That also means it will be seen by roughly 5,000,000 people.”

“Well if someone working for Fox likes it, then it must be a terrible movie. Thanks for the warning Nigal.

(j/k)”

“also from Fox:

"Clarke took issue with some elements of filmmaker Michael Moore's new documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," which depicts how the Bush administration allowed Saudi nationals and members of Usama bin Laden's (search) family to leave the United States days after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Clarke said he thought the Saudi government was "perfectly justified" in wanting its citizens to leave the United States out of fears of "vigilantism" by Americans.

The Saudis were not allowed to leave until the FBI cleared them of posing any danger and having knowledge of Usama bin Laden's whereabouts, Clarke said."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,123840,00.html”

“moore only told what fit all of the #&%!$ass hype around this one dimensional piece of crap some call a "documentary".”

“I still get the feeling that without powerful friends and family the people on that charter flight could easily be cooling their heels at Guantánamo.”

“moore only told what fit all of the #&%!$ass hype around this one dimensional piece of crap some call a "documentary"."
man
08:53:10 AM
06/27/04


Riiiight, and Dubya only told us the crap that fits his agenda for invading and occupying Iraq.

The movie is harmless. People are dying in Iraq because of Dubya.”

“Americans waiting for organ transplants were left to die, while our government made sure the members of a Taliban type government that supports terrorism got out of the country safely.”

“buddha, are those numbers supposed to be impressive? good marketing has nothing to do with accuracy. documentary.....hahahahahahahahahaha. documentaries document the entire facts. not half stories to make some trumped up falacies look true. yeah, bush and his admin are criminal, but moore's fairy tale is also.


some of you folks are all but comical. if you weren't so pathetically grasping for things that make bush the idiot look bad, you would be funny. quit letting others do your thinking for you. moore is an ass. if you need him to tell everyone else how you feel about bush the idiot, you are mentally worse off than you realize.

baaa, baaa, baaa. this site is filled with sheep that regurgitate whatever they can find to make their point. get a clue and start thinking for yourselves. i've been here for 2 days and i can see there is more hot air than anything else. maybe you should stick to talking about backpacking, if you know anything about that either.”

“Clarke, the darling of the left, was the person who organized and approved the 'flight of the Arabs.'”

“i've been here = i've barely been here”

“Interesting that people who haven't seen the film can be so sure of what's in it.”

“Interesting that liberals who have seen the film believe everything that is in it.”

“Of course I’m humbled to be in the presence of a superior intellect. With all due respect, when did you see the film baume? What parts are fallacy and fairy tale? Or, as I think ped is suggesting, are you “letting others do your thinking for you”?”

“bacpac is right, we can't believe about half the film because it contains direct quotes from GWB and his administration. Thanks for pointing that out bacpac!”

“"I will say to countries in the Middle East, don't you dare hold us hostile."

- George W. Bush”