Rating: 
Summary: ELECTION ALERT!!!
Review: Still on the fence about who to vote for this November? Wondering if we really were lied to about Iraq? Memory failing about whether Bush and Co. really did tell us that all hell would break loose if we didn't go get that crazed maniac Saddam who was on the brink of starting WWIII with his arsenal of death ? Well look no further than USA The Movie.
Yes, I agree that Saddam was/is a crazed maniac but that's not the issue here. We all know the arguments on both sides. USA The Movie itself isn't even a real anti-Bush movie, its scope is much bigger but this extra-creative film lays it out in Bush's own voice. Yes, he really did say that we were basically "all gonna die" (I'm paraphrasing) if we didn't disarm Saddam. He scared the crap out of us on purpose to achieve his own political ends. Or maybe he really believed it but that could be worse.
Whatever the truth was in Bush's head--here we are now with thousands of civilians dead, hundreds of our soldiers dead and thousands wounded, Saddam on trial like a whacked, out of work Hollywood producer and no apocalyptic arsenal to be found.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? This completely one-of -a-kind piece of filmmaking puts some completely different thoughts, voices and visuals together side by side and makes you feel like you don't know which way is up until the final moments when you realize that you've been taken on a cinematic ride. It's a really, really good movie and so thought-provoking that you actually feel stunned and somewhat fuzzy at the end. Like you drank too many straight tequila's when you promised yourself you'd just have one. When your mind clears you wake up to the realization that you better VOTE yourself into a better world and keep working after that to clean up your act.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it.
Review: Thank God that there are films out there that don't follow the same old Hollywood crap formula. I think the digital revolution and the DVD revolution is actually making it possible for more interesting work to get out there even if you have to dig harder to find it. I love it when a film takes its time to draw you in deeper and deeper into its inner emotional reaches. It really was like taking a trip through the soul of America and that soul is disturbed and confused. What really blew my mind was the way they used Martin Luther King's speeches about Vietnam and references to his assassination in a way that hit me hard. I found myself choked up every time i heard his voice. I've heard him speak before, of course, but the way they used the speeches here made me feel like I understood his message in a way I'd never thought about. What can you say about a movie that has heavy statistics about war, oppression and a plea for compassion at the end of it where a credits crawl would usually be? In fact, there's no credits at all in the film. You have to access them by selecting them in the features. Somehow that made me think a lot. All in all I can't say enough about this DVD. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: I Found Something Really Good
Review: There's lots of movies and TV shows that mix real life and fiction these days but most of them are boring and don't have any creativity. They're all geared to some stupid, dumbed down "average" audience member. It gets seriously frustrating. This movie does something different, which is one of the main reasons I liked it so much. It used truth and fiction in a way that I haven't seen mixed together before. You're following the main character "Jim" (James Kirk--I still wonder if that was his real name or some kind of popular culture reference), as he travels through Post September 11 America but what he's always listening to on his radio is news that goes back and forth in a different order of time than the way things actually happened. By the time he gets to Ground Zero, after visiting the Flight 93 crash site and the partly wrecked Pentagon, Jim's already going a little crazy from all the things he's seen and the contradictions he's heard. Then comes Bush's speech that led us into war , but it comes while Jim is seeing what is left of the Two Towers. So the film has true events and people and places but it plays with time. You end up watching this weird and surreal world we've ended up in since the Turn Of The Century but with a completely different rhythm than we lived it. What I also thought was great was the way that music is used in the film. It is very low key but it touches something emotionally so that sometimes you're not even sure why you're feeling the way you are feeling. Fahrenheit 9/11 will be the big blockbuster film that deals with all these things this year-- kind of a Rock Superstar playing stadiums, but USA The Movie is more like a great acoustic band playing a club where you actually get to see the performers up close. You're going to want to experience both.
Rating:
Summary: Wake up !
Review: This fictional drive through reality is really a wake up call to all of us who have decided, consciously or unconsiously, to ignore the seriousness of the state of our violent world - and how apathy has gotten us to this point.
USA The Movie formerly titled America Off Line, begs you to really look at yourself and asks you to do more than just feel. And this is what makes it such a unique experience.
This is not your typical movie. They didn't even run credits at the end. I watched the film many weeks ago but it's still with me all the time. The images and the speeches were that powerful.
Some of the characters we meet made me so angry I wanted to scream and some really opened my eyes in a profound way.
One scene in particular brought me to tears because it was so real. I don't want to spoil it so I'll just mention that it includes a taxi driver with wisdom, heart and a message so simple everyone should hear it. The main character is a strange but real man who seems lost like the rest of us after the horror of September 11. We are brought along as passengers on this journey as he travels through America, exchanging vehicles as he passes through different phases of awareness. On this journey, we can hear the car radio feed us speeches and poems and opinions from past and current political figures and from people like you and me. I found this to be a very effective technique because you have to pay such close attention to what is being said, as opposed to what is being shown. Very non-Hollywood. The protagonist goes from denial to disillusionment and most of this you can tell by looking into his eyes. Eventually he becomes as destructive to himself as the world is in general.
This is the never ending cycle of violence. Many of the scenes are shot in a way that feels and looks like a dream. At the same time you're struck with the harsh contrast of the reality of the subject matter. Which to me makes beautiful sense since many of us run around in a productive daze not unlike a dream, choosing to deny what is really going on, and what has been going on for a very long time now. The point of this film comes across very clearly, very early on.
It solidified my belief that each of us urgently needs to examine the amount of responsibility we have as individuals to each other. There are too many casualties of war and violence. So many babies that deserve to live die every day because the 'adults' in charge don't know how to properly communicate with eachother. It's heart-rending and I've always felt it but watching this film sort of woke me from my dream and now I'm doing more than just feeling.
Rating:
Summary: Why do we have war?
Review: This film made me really think about why we are at war. Even though with the hand over of power (supposedly) we are not technically at war anymore, people continue to be killed for some vague reason. I think that there are too many films that try to distract us rather than to teach us. This film with its complex images and clear message says "Why do we kill each other?, why are we obsessed with war?" I felt really emotional after watching it, especially hearing the audio from 9/11 which was very odd and different.
Rating: 
Summary: Do not buy this!!
Review: This was the single worst purchase i ever made on Amazon. If you have a vauge conception of history and current world events you will learn nothing from this film. You will only be subjected to mediocre art house film and very low quality audio track that will probaly give you a headache.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy Beautiful
Review: USA The Movie is like this: You take a nap on a long hot Sunday afternoon. It feels great to close your eyes and let your worries drift away. Soon you're lost in one of those intense lucid dreams where you know you're dreaming but you still can't wake up--not that you want to. You go with the flow, and soon you're in a kind of weird Alice in Wonderland story complete with characters you didn't think you could dream up. They're telling you all kinds of crazy stuff about war and peace while taking you through a trip into the past and even the future.
The dream starts to get heavier and you feel like it's going down a path you can't control. Maybe you want to wake up so you try to open your eyes but you can''t . Now there's destruction and sadness and confusion and scary voices telling you what could be truth or could be lies. You're seeing images that flicker and change
and then get clear, but do you even want to see what you're brain is creating for you?
Finally you're lost in a myth world and you realize the end has come. The end of the world and the end of the dream. It's over. What do you wake up to? What do you do next?
Maybe you'll write down that dream because you know dreams like don't happen too often--and when they do you better pay attention.
Or maybe you'll crack a beer and forget the whole thing. Bad idea. Don't forget.
Rating:
Summary: WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Review: When you see this DVD you'll know the answer. We're fat and lazy my friend. From warmongers to peace activists we're all responsible. Don't think you are part of the new world. Don't believe the hype that We Are The People. We're at war and we have no idea for what. We are sitting back watching it burn at home and abroad. Keep watching Kill-Bill. Take care.
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