“No End In Sight” (a review) Monday, Nov 19 2007 

Movies and News and Politics and Republicans and War Thomas Nikl 10:56 pm

I sat down to watch “No End In Sight” tonight, a recent documentary on the War In Iraq that tries to explain why we are in the mess we are in. With a long list of interviewees, lots of actual war footage, and attempts to outline the war from start to current. The message doesn’t even have to be spelled out for the viewer, as it’s so painfully apparently as you watch. I am sure that there are many opinions people may have to the conclusions the film presents.

The main message I took from the film was essentially that just when I thought the administration who ran (or is running) this war could not possibly be made to look any more incompetent, here comes “No End In Sight” to illustrate just how atrociously this war has been planned, managed and operated.  The only skill that’s been shown from this administration has been the ability to manipulate the news media and distract the American people with lies and propaganda.

Before this film, I would have been happy with resignations and the knowledge that history will judge these people as the worst the US had ever seen. But this film is so potent, so powerful, so painful, that it really makes you want even more than that. If nothing else, it makes me want these administration people to suffer the way the soldiers have suffered, and the way the families of soldiers have suffered. I still can’t quite even wrap my mind around just how poorly this war has gone.

What makes it hard for me is that I supported this war at the beginning. I fell for the lies and the propaganda. I trusted the news media to do the research and to ask the right questions. I trusted the administration to plan and execute successfully. I assumed so many things, and I feel so horribly guilty for doing so. I feel a weight on my shoulders just for ever having supported this horrible war, and so I cannot even imagine the weight the lies on the shoulders of the people interviewed in this film, or worse, the soldiers and their families themselves.

The end of this war could not possibly come soon enough. My heart goes out to everyone whose lives have been ruined- in one way or another- by this war. And I hope that there are some very hot places in hell reserved for the people that made it the disaster it has become, through their arrogance, incompetency, apathy, lies and ignorance. I find no other way to say it, but…

Fuck you, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bremer, Rice. Fuck you all. I can only hope that one day the American people hold you accountable for the war crimes you have committed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0912593/

 

“Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers” Tuesday, Jun 19 2007 

Commentary and Movies and Politics and War Thomas Nikl 6:28 pm

Usually I try and keep this blog as amusing as I can. Even the political entries usually aim for some kind of entertainment value. This won’t be one of them. Tonight I watched a documentary titled “Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers”. This is one of many documentaries I’ve watched on Iraq (including: Gunnar Palace, Iraq in Fragments, Control Room, Why We Fight) but this one is by far the most horrific. There’s no blood (that I recall), no violence, no death- not like the others- this one is about sheer greed. Greed on a scale that makes even someone like me sick to my stomach, so for those of you who know me, that’s somewhat of a statement in and of itself.

I have loved, and do love, Capitalism, but more and more I realize that capitalism just simply doesn’t belong in markets that involve human lives. War and Health both come to mind as markets where corporations have failed the people far more than they have helped. For the sake of this blog I’ll stay focused on war and this documentary. As much as I may love capitalism, I’ve always had a great deal of admiration for the Armed Forces of this country. They’re the ones that allow us the freedoms we usually take for granted, and now, today, it seems like we value them less and less.

“Iraq For Sale” is about corporations in the US who are being awarded HUGE contracts in Iraq. A lot of these contracts result in a few common themes:

1. Soldiers lose their jobs doing what they were trained to do, so a consultant can do it instead.
2. Contractors are hired en mass, without training or testing, for jobs ranging in logistics, to linguistics, to translation, to interrogation, to fighting, to protection, to intelligence… and so it goes, almost forever, into a black hole of corruption.
3. Contractors essentially treat their employees as a means to a profit, disregarding their safety to make more profit.
4. Further, contractors purposely and wastefully spend, and perform incompetently, knowing that the government will pay their bill without any measures or checks of efficiency or insurance against scandal.
5. These companies make massive contributions to political parties as compensation for contracts and what basically equates to amnesty.

I can’t summarize here for you the impact- or importance- that this film covers. It’s as appalling as it is shocking to think that this is happening. And why? So that the administration can pay back friends for donations and past assistance, and so a few CEOs can make in excess of 40,000,000 dollars a year. If I were an American I would be disgraced. I am an American. I am disgraced.

President Eisenhower warned us against a Military-Industrial complex. President Roosevelt said amidst World War II “Also, our present emergency and a common sense of decency make it imperative that no new group of war millionaires shall come into being in this nation as a result of the struggles abroad. The American people will not relish the idea of any American citizen growing rich and fat in an emergency of blood and slaughter and human suffering.”

Heed the wisdom of these Presidents, and acknowledge the great injustice that is going on in these corporations, under this administration, and that which is effecting so horribly our troops, our war, and our dignity. As Americans-Republican or Democrat or Green or Independent- we should be collectively outraged at what is going on here today, and do all that we can to see that it stops, and that those responsible are punished accordingly.

Below is a clip of the film and a number of links. Rent the film and see how you feel about it. Copy this message and paste it on your blog. Plagiarize it if you want- just spread it- It’s a worthy cause.

http://iraqforsale.org/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815181/

 

“The Last King of Scotland” Wednesday, May 23 2007 

Movies Thomas Nikl 3:38 pm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/

Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for “best picture” this year and he completely deserved it!  Whitaker does an amazing job capturing the multiple personalities that Idi Amin presents. From compassion, to manipulation, to rage, Whitaker alone gives a performance worth watching. The movie as a whole was entertaining and well done, though historically it’s based quite loosely on the story of Amin’s “doctor”. In reality, Dr. Garrigan does not actually exist, and the movie is actually based on a former British man who was quite close to Amin. The movie leaves you wondering what happens to Dr. Garrigan and it’s a little disappointing when you realize he isn’t a real character.

Nonetheless, The Last King of Scotland was a fantastic movie, and if nothing else, is eye opening to the African struggle then, and the African struggle which continues today under different dictators in different regions, like Darfur.

Rent it. 4.5 / 5 stars.

 

“Gunner Palace” Wednesday, May 23 2007 

Movies Thomas Nikl 3:32 pm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424129/

A documentary about troops in Iraq stationed at a bombed out palace that used to belong to Uday Hussein (the bigger asshole, out of Saddam’s two asshole sons). At any rate, a good documentary that takes you a little more inside the lives of some of the troops stationed in Iraq. One soldier in particular outlines how, for most Americans, if you don’t have a loved one overseas, it’s easy to overlook the sacrifice they’re making. I would agree with this soldier’s sentiments, as he continues to have some good insight throughout the movie.

Rent it. 4/5 stars.

 

Here’s your free tip, Harvey. Monday, Apr 9 2007 

Entertainment and Movies Thomas Nikl 8:03 pm

Harvey Weinstein Picks Through The Wreckage Of The ‘Grindhouse’ Bombing
Dear Harvey,

I understand you’re considering ways to make “Grindhouse” a bigger hit, especially since the length was the biggest reason that people (supposedly) didn’t come see the film? I have a remarkable idea for you to solve all your “Grindhouse” problems that’s actually quite simple. Take Quentin Tarantino’s bore-fest second half “Death Proof” and remove all but the last ten minutes. Now your film is of viewing length and minus the full hour of pointless girl yammering that made me wish the Death Car would track ME down and end MY misery!

Sincerely,
Tom Nikl

 

Grindhouse: Stay for Planet Terror, Avoid Death Proof Sunday, Apr 8 2007 

Entertainment and Movies Thomas Nikl 3:36 pm

Saw “Grindhouse” this weekend with some friends. In short, Grindhouse is kind of a mockery of the old B-terror movies from the 70s. I have to discuss them individually though.

Part I, “Planet Terror”, was pretty funny. It had all the corny special effects, crazy plots and events, amusing one-liners. Mostly it was a lot of fun to laugh at, which I think was the intention. I enjoyed this half of the double feature.

Part II, “Death Proof”, by Tarantino, was craptastic. In typical Quentin form, the film is 98% dialog and 2% fulfillment. It wasn’t just dialog though, it was like watching 1 1/2 hours of a bad episode of the view. It was non-stop chick chatter. Even women were getting annoyed in the theater I was in. I stayed for the full film and the last ten minutes was enjoyable, but after an hour or more in the beginning couldn’t save this heap. After “Planet Terror” and the fake previews are over just leave- save yourself.

That being said, there were three or four trailers (fake trailers) before and in the middle of these films and they were truly epic. I laughed hysterically for almost all of them- definitely worthwhile, along with “Planet Terror”.

Seriously- skip “Death Proof”, your bladder and your brain will thank you!

 

A History Lesson (300) Sunday, Mar 25 2007 

Movies Thomas Nikl 3:05 pm

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20015084,00.html
by Gregory Kirschling

When the vast Persian army met 300 furious Spartans at Thermopylae back in 480 B.C., they didn’t bring along any charging elephants or rhinos. Their leader, Xerxes — who sported a ZZ Top beard rather than a sexually ambiguous, hairless physique — probably sat on his throne and stayed away from the front lines entirely. And Ephialtes, the Spartan who played a key role late in the showdown, was likely not a deformed hunchback.

Such liberties aside, 300 stays true to historical accounts of the battle. The titular number of Spartans, joined by other Greeks, really did hold off Xerxes’ swarms for three days at Thermopylae. Several catchphrases in the movie, such as ”Tonight we dine in hell!!,” are taken from the Greek historian Herodotus and other sources. The Spartans held off the Persians long enough for the Greek forces to regroup and ultimately topple Xerxes. And while the Spartans likely did not fight in slomo with abs rippling, a historical consultant on the movie argues that 300’s beefcake would have pleased the Greeks. ”Their vases and literature were not realistic,” says Dr. Victor Davis Hanson, an expert on ancient warfare at Stanford. ”’Heroic nudity,’ they called it. They made people bigger and more buff too.”

Posted Mar 16, 2007 | Published in issue #926 Mar 23, 2007

 

“This Film Is Not Yet Rated” Sunday, Mar 25 2007 

Movies Thomas Nikl 3:00 pm

Rented a documentary called “This Film is Not Yet Rated”- it’s about how movies get their ratings and the greivances and hypocrisies that a lot of film makers tend to have with the MPAA’s ratings board.

Personally I enjoyed it a lot and my thoughts are (and have been prior to the film) that the ratings board is pretty shady. The members are kept secret and pretty much obliged to silence by contract which means there isn’t any transparency or accountability. But what bothers me more in general is that there are so many double standards in movie ratings to begin with, and that often films that are good or informative (or both) are kept out of the main stream by being held hostage with an NC-17 rating.

My guess is that one day in this country there will be only two ratings for movies, and when this happens, I’m planning on moving to Switzerland (assuming I’m not already there).  The two ratings will be:

Baby Jesus Approved- for all movies that contain no foul language, no sex, no nudity, no violence, no meaningful dialogue, nothing substantial, nothing informative or controversial and most importantly, has at least 5 references to Jesus or Christianity.

The other rating, Satanic, will be for all the movies that don’t fit into the former. Acting in, producing, directing or seeing these films won’t officially be punished, but you’ll somehow magically end up at Hotel Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay) for an undisclosed period of time.

Anyhow, my two cents aside, rent it and see for yourself. It was a good flick.