Rating: Summary: Human Vomit. Review: I would change the title for my review if it was anything different. If Michael Moore would just try to have a neutral view during his film, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. Michael Moore is a hypocrite in that he, unlike the others he accuses, is by far the most evil man in America. No wholesome morals or values. He stands for nothing but evil. Everything about him disgusts me. He'd make a good point about Republican excess if he didn't weigh so damn much. He needs to get his act straight. He is obviously a brilliant man, but again, stands for nothing. Dont see this movie unless you get your rocks off watching left-wing crap.
Rating: Summary: this isn't really a review, i have to post it for class. Review: In the documentary film, Bowling For Columbine, director/film maker Michael Moore raises the issue of gun control in modern American society. Gun control has always been an issue in the United States for many years, but the issue seemed to escalate after the Columbine school shooting in 1999. Moore was able to capture the issue in his film while offering us a reason why. The scene that kicks off the gun control issue is a clip from a Chris Rock stand up act in which he says, "We don't need gun control....We need bullet control. I think bullets should cost 5,000 dollars. If bullets cost 5,000 dollars, there would be no more innocent bystanders..." The second scene that introduces the issue of gun control is the story of how some hunters in Michigan thought it would be cute dress a dog in a hunting vest and strap a gun on its back. Somehow the gun went off and a hunter got shot. This story was just one example of how American citizens are not careful with guns. The middle of the documentary focuses on the Columbine tragedy on April 20, 1999. That day, Dylan Kliebold and Eric Harris planted bombs throughout the building and shot their classmates and teachers. They killed twelve students and one teacher before taking their own lives. The bullets used in the massacre were legally purchased at Wal*Mart. The most dramatic scenes include footage from the high school's security cameras and one of the victim's fathers speaking about the tragedy. Tom Mauser provoked empathy and a need for gun control when he states, "...The time has come to understand that a tech 9 semi automatic 30 bullet weapon like that that killed my son is not used to kill deer. It has no useful purpose. It is time to address this problem." Columbine was not the only school shooting discussed in Bowling for Columbine. In 2000, a six year old boy shot and killed a five year girl at Buell grade school in Flint, Michigan. The shooting claimed the record of the youngest school shooting in the United States. If the school shootings didn't help the viewers' eyes see what happens when guns are in the wrong hands, the statistic for deaths from guns in various countries should. According to Bowling for Columbine, Germany has 381, France has 255, Canada has 165, England has 68, Australia has 65, Japan has 39, and the United States has 11, 127. Moore begins looking for explanations for such a high number of deaths from guns in our country and turns to the media. He shows various clips of news warning us about numerous things that may harm us. When he asks a camera man in Los Angeles if he would cover a near drowning or a man with a gun, he said "a man with a gun." The National Rifle Association as well as many American citizens are anti gun control. Because the second amendment gives us the right to own guns, many people believe it is our duty to own guns and protect our families. In Bowling for Columbine, a member of the Michigan Militia proclaims his stance on guns when he says, "This is an American tradition. It's an American responsibility to be armed. If you're not armed you're not responsible. Who's going to defend your kids? The cops? The federal government? It's your duty to defend you and yours. If you don't, you're in dereliction of duty as an American. Period." Michael Moore raised the issue of gun control with statistics, interviews, cartoons, and various footage in his documentary film, Bowling for Columbine. Gun control is an issue we should all care about because God only knows if one of the 11, 127 people killed by a gun next year will be someone we love.
Rating: Summary: Gun control works! Just ask Hitler. Review: In 1939, after passing sweeping gun control laws, Hitler pronounced "Germany is now the safest country in the world." And he was right -- Nazis kicking in the doors of Jewish houses were completely safe from being shot at while they dragged their victims off to death camps. What a fine thing gun control is. If only we could be as enlghtened as Nazi Germany. The problem with liberal ideas is despite decades of evidence to the contrary, they still assume gov't control is good and more gov't control is better. Want some REAL evidence on gun control instead of hyperbole, funny interviews, and anecdotes? Do a five minute Google search on "concealed-carry statistics." Making guns illegal just means criminals (who don't follow laws anyway) don't have to worry whether law-abiding citizens might have guns to protect themselves with.
Rating: Summary: liberal lies Review: complete fabrications with 0 facts to back anything up, more of the same from the left.
Rating: Summary: This is kinda funny! Review: I just got done reading through the reviews, and I love reading through them, because you find that these people did not pay attention to the film after the first hour of the movie. If they would have they would have noticed that Michael Moore did not blame the guns for the amount of murders in the US today; he blamed it more on Americans paranoia, and the liberal news media. He seemed to point out that while Canada has a lot of guns, they have around 100 murders a year. (Kinda interesting to point out that in Toronto he talks to a police officer who remembers 1 murder in the past decade, and that was commited by a man from Detroit.) This is an excellent film, and I'd recomment it to everyone. (And to you gun nuts out there, the NRA should not have gone to Flint and Denver within days af the shootings there. That's just flat out ignorant.) Watch, and even if you are an NRA member, you might change your mind after seeing this.
Rating: Summary: More Moore than some can handle Review: Michael Moore has probably earned more than a few haters after his Oscar rant against Bush, and it's easy to find backlash against this film online. Overall, I found this a pretty good documentary. For one, like most of Moore's work, it's very entertaining. However, like most of Moore's work, it's also bombastic and a bit much at times, and this deluxe 2 DVD set is more Moore than I could handle at times. Moore is a leftist who has regularly cries out against both parties (or the one big party in America) and encourages radical change over partisan games. He can come off as somewhat of a blowhard, and very into himself. But there are few people making films like his, and I think it's good that a movie like this managed to reach a wide audience. Bowling for Columbine takes the infamous school shooting as a take-off point about the love of violence in America and its link to gun availability and gun culture. Moore himself is an NRA member since his youth, familiar with firearms and shooting, so it's not guns per se that bother him. His tone is often one of general curiousity over the seeming obsession with guns in America, and the violence that exists everywhere from the classroom to the battlefields overseas. His journey takes him to Littleton, Colorado, where he admits what struck him most was how normal it appeared, like any other suberb in America. So what would make two teens go ballistic one day and kill fellow students, after going bowling of all things in the morning. Moore works a number of angles, including the proximity of military installations to the area, or factories where military-industrial materials are produced. He interviews a number of people drawn into the circle of fire after Columbine including Charlton Heston and Marilyn Manson. Thankfully, Moore is not convinced by the typical argument that violent movies, violent television, violent video games and angry music would cause two suburban teens to shoot up their school. Nor is it Marilyn Manson, who was cited as the cause of all of this, an absurd assertion made all the more laughable by shots of Joe Lieberman denouncing the artist and his group as 'the sickest rock group ever'. Joe, get back to Earth. I had a problem with some of the presentation. He condemns Charlton Heston for hosting an NRA rally near Columbine shortly after the shootings, fine. But the rally certainly appeared popular, if distasteful. Charlton Heston is not the problem. Moore shows up at Heston's house at the end and interviews him. It's clear Heston is trying to be somewhat accomodating, but is then thrown some questions he can't possibly answer, and the end result is he looks like a fool. The sequence ends with Moore haranguing the man in his own house, somehow drawing a link between a child killed many miles away with a gun and Charlton Heston's spokemanship for the NRA. Why would he pick on Heston and not Manson? Neither is responsible, and both try and give honest opinions. Manson actually comes off as one of the most articulate of the interviewees, go figure. Also, some of the statistics that are flashed on the screen and some of the assertions and facts are a bit skewed, if only to get a reaction, which is Moore's point. Still, it's a good documentary. Thought-provoking,entertaining, and somewhat sincere. At least someone is trying to make films like this. The DVD is packed with features, which will entice those with interest.
Rating: Summary: Beware of dirty journalism Review: I am glad Mike Moore can point out the hypocricies and general weirdness of his own country and it's people but he employs some incredibly dirty tactics here. Some of his "facts" are downright unfounded and shoddy and the integrity of some of his accusations should definately be questioned. In saying that, what he tries to achieve, his ultimate goal, is worthy and I commend him for that. He certainly has passion. If only he wasn't so one eyed and overly persuasive he'd have me sold totally.
Rating: Summary: Stimulating but Marred by Poor Statistics & Comparisons Review: I generally support gun control, and was entertained by Mr. Moore's not unfair portrayals of "gun nuts" in our country. The film is very stimulating and entertaining, and definately worth watching. I'm only giving it three stars, however, because of some of the glaringly false/misleading statistics and poor international comparisons. I almost fell out my chair when the film claimed that racial minorities make up the same percentage (12%) of the population in both Canada and the United States. It should be common knowledge that Blacks and Hispanics alone make up 25% of the U.S. population. When I visit Canada, I'm always amazed at how White it is, and most of the minorities I see there are Arab or Asian. Also, he claims that Blacks "only" commit 51% of the murders in our country, but, given their percentage of the population, that hardly makes his case that race has nothing to do with our relatively high murder rates. Then he seems to ignore the fact that more people were killed a few years ago in shootings at schools in Scotland and Germany. This film could have been much better. The glaring mistatements detract too much from it.
Rating: Summary: I am a gun owner... Review: I saw this movie in one of my college classes. I do own guns and have for years, but I have never committed any crimes. Let the person that commits a crime with a weapon stand trial for it; don't blame an inanimate object for crimes committed by HUMAN BEINGS! I thought the movie had some good points, and some bad points. I really do feel bad for people hurt or killed by weapons. I am very sympathetic for the feelings of their families and friends and communities touched by such tragedies. But at the same time, people shouldn't knee jerk react to gun owners and the right to own them everytime someone gets hurt with a firearm. I was an NRA member at the time of the NRA rallys in both Denver and Flint at the times in question in this movie. Don't ever think NRA members aren't saddened and outraged at the use of firearms the way they were in the Columbine incident and the shooting in Flint. They were there supporting the rights of gun owners, not to be insensitive to the families of the injured and killed. The NRA does not promote, condone or approve the use of firearms against another person except in self-defense. I will never want anyone telling me, a responsible gun owner and law abider, that I am not allowed to own a gun. Also, the facts that this country has more gun violence than other democratic countries is a farce and skewed. Yes, more people die in this country because of gun violence: I believe the movie said 11,000 a year, while Germany was in the 360 range, and England was near 100. The US has almost 300 million people in it, and Germany maybe 80 million and England around 60 million. The percentages of deaths per population size is kind of similar. We have a higher percentage but not the disparity they would have you believe. Now they will never tell you that, I wonder why?? Anyway, I thought the movie was ok. You can't use this as a measuring stick on why guns are bad for society, but I am for feeling compassion and sorrow for all victims of violence. Let's not ever forget the victims. For that I give the movie 3 stars.
Rating: Summary: wat do you expect Review: what do you expect. its a film. to all the people who give the movie horrible reviews cause you disagree, shame on you. and vise versa. sure it may be light on the facts and "self-serving" as i read somewhere in here, but that doesnt make it a crappy filom, if it were a book it would suck, but its not. by nature, movies, even documentaries, are havy on the emotion and light on the facts, and this is no exception. by no means should someone who wants to be a liberal use this movie alone to the justify their point. i thought the movie was interesting, as i'm hoping many others did and have since read a good bit on the "culture of fear." point is, it DOES wander into propoganda, and just because you agree with him for reasons of your own doesnt mean its a great movie that everyone in america should see. its simply an interesting and slightly bs look at american culture crammed full of subliminal messages. so i give it a 3 for being average in entertainment value and information. not a waste of money, but not a bargain either. just remember to take whatever you see with a grain of salt.
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