Bowling for Columbine

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Summary: First look at "Bowling For Columbine"
Review: I just got back from seeing this film at the Toronto International Film Festival and I am stunned at how good and powerful this film is. Michael Moore attended the screening that I saw and he did a little talk before and after the film which gave it some nice perspective. It does paint an inacurate (in a good way) picture of Canada as a crime free utopia but during his talks Mr. Moore mentioned that it was done by an American, for Americans and it is meant to be a bitter pill for THEM to swallow, being a Canadian I could appreciate what he was doing despite the inacurate depiction of my home. This film gives you an odd feeling, at one time you are laughing at how funny it is, then you are on the brink of tears at the sorrow and shock you receive while watching actual Columbine High School security footage, when you see the children run and the two murderers walk in it sends shivers down your spine. This is perhaps one of Moores best works and very poiniant at a time like this.
The title itself is quite clever but a little misleading, the focus of the film is Columbine but it also covers school shootings in general as well as the state of America when it comes to gun control and even foriegn policy in regards to 09/11/01.
It opens in theatres in the states on the 11th of Oct. and Mr. Moore commented that he is pleased it opened at the TIFF first as it got a very warm reception with the mostly Canadian audience and he is concerned/interested in seeing how Americans tolerate this work.
A modern masterpiece that is highly recommended.

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Summary: If Moore didn't raise these issues ...
Review: who would? His is practically the only dissenting voice heard in America today. One of yesterday's reviewers recommended seeing Scarface instead, presumably due to its abundant use of military-style weapons and mass killing. You folks think it's all a big joke until you or someone close to you gets shot. Then we'll see how you like uncontrolled firearms. There are others who feel their rights as a citizen are violated by not being able to buy a Mac-11 unimpeded; that if we license or control weapons that you are under government control. Your ignorance of the establishment of our democracy and its long struggle to succeed is an insult to those who have worked and sacrificed to ensure it for you. You need to grow up and get educated before another one of us has to pay with our blood or life for your immaturity and ignorance. You can start by seriously evaluating the case laid down by Mr. Moore's documentary on the issue of unbridled gun violence in this country, "Bowling for Columbine".

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Summary: Biased.
Review: Beware passive viewers, this doco, although very well made, is actually a very skewed little piece indeed. Statistics can prove ANYTHING. In a university paper I once researched i proved without doubt that children who eat chocolate ice cram rather than strawberry are more likely to engage in criminal activity as teenagers. Is this true? No. Do the statistics support this? Yes. Look at the number of gun deaths in Australia compared to the U.S.A. It seems overwhelming. Now go and research the difference in population. Less amazing. Did Mike Moore ever stop to think that Australia is the mass killing capital of the world and that the Port Arthur massacre had a much bigger body count? Lazy journalism with points for passion and style.

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Summary: Justice to complexity
Review: Michael Moore has produced a brilliant film in "Bowling for Columbine," beginning to examine the question of gun violence in America. What makes me appreciate this film the most is that it does not provide empty platitudes or draw simple conclusions, simultaneously keeping the level of conversation easy to understand and approachable. Seeing Moore's work mature to this level is uplifting and encouraging, and we see it develop even further in his "Fahrenheit 9/11." He asks more questions than he answers, and does justice to the complexity of the topics (within the confines of a documentary film). Whether you agree with him or not, Moore's gift is to get us talking and to ignite the flashpoints that will catalyze this country's continued growth.

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Summary: Merciless film of Michael Moore!
Review: This film plays hard. Moore has become in the rebel voice and one of the most irreverent personalities in USA . His brave position deserves him many admirers . The dramatic documental turns around a lot of things but he emphasizes the cruelty , the insanity and the corrupt atmosphere in certain minds .
The handle camera goes from the catoon to the awful drama in just a second . The inquiring position lets to many interwiewed without much to say . He makes himself the questions and tries to find the answers . Mostly the answers simply don't exist and other you deduce for yourself . Even I don't agree in all his opinions, this documental is an important reference for the future of the story in USA.

Rating:
Summary: So much promise...
Review: I've never seen "Roger and Me", but I did enjoy Michael Moore on the much too short-lived "TV Nation". Unfortunately, in "Bowling for Columbine", Moore is at his least profound and intelligible. (Thankfully, he bounces back in "Fahrenheit 9/11").

Moore basically begins with a simple question, 'why do so many Americans get shot?' His answer is less simple, and in fact, gets bogged down in pointless tangents and disingenuousness.

For instance, what's the deal with the slavery sequence? Is he saying that Americans shoot other Americans because they're all racist? I don't know. In fact, the entire slavery cartoon sequence is glib and downright insulting.

But that pales compared to the scene where he shows the planes crashing into the World Trade Centre to the tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The scene smacks of a college film student trying to be profound. The key word here is "trying": what is Moore trying to say here? What on earth is the correlation between 9/11 and shootings? I don't know, and neither does Moore. But this footage is bound to cause people to pay attention, which makes it a cheap stunt, certainly unworthy of a decent filmmaker like Moore.

And then there's the interview with Charlton Heston, which becomes less amusing when you find out that the man was in the initial stages of Alzheimer's. And then there's the footage of Heston which Moore actually altered to fit his point better.

But even most critics will be impressed when Moore compares the US with Canada. Both countries, he tells us, have lots of guns, and yet many more Americans than Canadians die from shootings. Why? Again, he is being dishonest. In Canada, almost all privately-owned guns are hunting rifles or antiques. We don't have privately-owned handguns or semi-automatics, and we certainly don't carry conceiled weapons. Canada has less poverty and less gangs and organized crime. These aren't contraversial reasons for the difference between shootings, but a more honest filmmaker would have discussed them.

The film has promise because the question is a valid one: why do some many Americans shoot each other? Unfortunately, Moore doesn't address the real reasons: organized crime, the prohibitive drug trade, economic conditions and ghettoization. In other words, you won't find the right answer here.

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Summary: Can I get a witness?!
Review: This movie creates a sort of dilemma for me. On one hand, I agree with Michael Moore at least ninety percent of the time. On the other hand, I cannot sit through even a 30 minute sermon these days. And that's really what this was -- a sermon. A two hour sermon!

Moore is good at getting that great bit of interview. For some reason he can get into just about any place and get just about anybody to open up to him. That makes for great bits of editing. And Moore is an extremely heavy-handed editor. The whole thing always spins his way, which is great if you agree with him. Great up to a point.

Preaching to the choir is not as difficult as some people think it is. Moore should switch to documentaries. I think he would make great documentaries using his ability to get the interview he wants. As it is, he's just way over the line in the preachy department.

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Summary: FAHRENHEIT 9/11 WAS MOORE INTERESTING!
Review: I found Fahrenheit 9/11 to be much Moore
interesting, than this one! It had its
moments, but I found it a bit boring.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and Controversial
Review: Michael Moore is a genius. No one can deny that. But the fact that someone could have the willpower to create such a film so controversial and insulting is mind-boggling. The manner in which he conducts this academy award winning documentary is unbelievable. He searches for clever ways to make others look bad and goes right ahead and lashes out at the United States. Something he's clearly not afraid of doing. To embarrass the leader of the NRA to the point of humility and to find the most passionate gun holders and speak to them is bizarre.

The only thing I would say this documentary lacks is objective presentation. Not all the facts are given accurately. At one point in the film, it is given the impression that nearly every Canadian leaves their door unlocked, while the real truth is that out of the 10 doors Moore tested, only six of them were unlocked.

He does much of the same in Fahrenheit 911. This film gives us an outlook on American society that one would not like to believe but is forced to. Possibly the most powerful moment in the film is when we are given the statistics on the number of gun deaths per country a year. It is shocking to see the total in the US. Whether you support his views or not, I think everyone American should see this film.

Rating:
Summary: "A Nation of gun nuts...or are we just nuts?"
Review: Bowling for Columbine is a great masterpiece. I was hooked from the second I started it until the end. Michael Moore has a way with words and a way with filmography that just sucks you in. I had mostly wanted to see this because of all the buzz and I was happily surprised that it was wonderful. It not only showed a side of school shootings it also took on guns and gun laws in general. I was shocked and horrified that one bank actually gave a free gun with their checking account. I am thankful that was not around where I live as I would be creeped out that some of my neighbors would have a gun! There is a short little animation that was similar to south park in look and humor. I did find it funny-yet too similar to some people's lives. I thoroughly enjoyed all the interviews but especially enjoyed the one with Marilyn Manson; as he is a great person because he is one who is judged on his looks and freakish ways instead of his brain and heart. All who watch this hating him might come out surprised that he is intelligent and actually had very valid opinions. There are other interviews and guest spots that I found informational and thought provoking. I enjoyed every minute of this documentary and not one second was dull or boring.