Comments on: Movie Review: Body of War

By: SxSW 2008: Gorged with live music « wicksite

SxSW 2008: Gorged with live music « wicksite — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:18:15 +0000

[...] Body of War (Stubb’s): I didn’t really know what this was when I got in line, I just knew who was going to be there - Tom Morello (from Rage Against the Machine), Ben Harper, Serj Tankian (from System of a Down), and Billy Bragg. It turned out that Body of War is an anti-Iraq-war documentary made by an ex-marine who was paralyzed in combat, and these notable musicians all contributed songs to its soundtrack. Each of these songs, most of which were soulful and heartfelt, some of which were angry and rebellious, were fantastic in their own right. The stand-outs were Ben Harper, who sat and played a solo steel guitar while the sun went down while his soaring voice took the crowd to another place, and Serj Tankian, whose highly creative musicianship on the solo piano and unique, plaintive voice is even more striking when it’s not laid over System’s typical speed-metal. I also really thought a lot of Mason Jennings. The rousing and memorable ending was led by Tom Morello, who got all the musicians out on stage to sing “This Land is My Land” while the crowd jumped up and down mosh-pit style. (5 of 5 stars, the most “this will never happen again” event of SxSW for me - summary video - movie review) [...]

By: jerry seinfeld

jerry seinfeld — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:17:07 +0000

Mel,

You’d be suprised at what marriage does to a man’s political leanings… and his ability to be funny. But i digress.

Since you asked with such great eloquence, I will indeed watch Body of War when it is released on DVD - I believe I’m a fairminded guy; and am open to take in many points of views on many things. Which I do whenever I watch the network news, open up a newspaper, and watch The Daily Show. Get it? I get bombarded with bias all day long.

It just irks me when an obvious political bias is revealed by a movie reviewer - especially concerning a documentary with a political point to make of it’s own.

By: Anti-War Message, In My Name « I KNOW, HUH ?

Anti-War Message, In My Name « I KNOW, HUH ? — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:29:15 +0000

[...] conscientious objector who bears my first name. The video is an indictment against this bloody, dragged out war we’re fighting in oil land, and takes more than some cues from Fahrenheit 9/11. Well, [...]

By: Jack Burton Says

Jack Burton Says — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:19:47 +0000

I can’t believe you spent a whole paragraph shouting the glory of Robert Byrd. It simply shows that you “progressives” will forget the past of anyone, even the most atrocious of human beings like the racist Robert Byrd, simply because he is now “on your side”. It also points out the pure bias in your review in regards to the movie’s political views. I bet it must have been extremely painful for you to take that extra point off the film’s score (9/10), when you really really REALLY wanted to give it a perfect 10/10. Pathetic.

By: MValentin

MValentin — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:14:40 +0000

Jerry, is that you? Wow, and here I thought your political sympathies were on the other side of the political divide, but hey, you’re allowed to change your views, no matter how, er “right” they are (or, as the case may be, how wrong you are).

Seriously, thanks for honing in on what’s obviously the most important point I made in my review. Okay, snark aside, the comparison shouldn’t be between Phil Donahue and Bill O’Reilly, but with OTHER MSNBC programs or hosts that were on-air then and weren’t cancelled. For example, Tucker Carlson has managed to eke out bargain basement ratings and, until recently, still appeared on MSNBC. Why?

I don’t think any analysis of why television shows succeeded or failed (or were cancelled) back in 2002 can avoid the political, social, and cultural climate back then (in short, dissent of any kind against the Bush administration or its enablers in the media was tolerated).

I guess i should ask, though, whether you actually read the rest of the review. Did you? And more importantly, are you going to give Body of War a shot when it gets released in theaters or on DVD? You should as it was the best documentary I lucked into seeing at SXSW. Hopefully, your diversionary comment here won’t convince other readers to give it a chance.

By: jerry seinfeld

jerry seinfeld — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:48:18 +0000

“Phil Donahue, the former television host whose last television program was cancelled by MSNBC (ostensibly for low ratings, but probably for his liberal-progressive views)”

haha - nice try, Mel. i doubt he was cancelled because of his ‘liberal-progressive views’ considering most of the staff of msnbc and nbc news are liberal progressives. it was the ratings.

from commondreams.org:

“Originally conceived as a liberal alternative to the popular O’Reilly Factor, the show started slow and never recovered. During this month, a “sweeps” period in which ratings are watched closely to set advertising rates, “Donahue” averaged 446,000 viewers. O’Reilly drew 2.7 million viewers, up 28 percent from February 2002, according to Nielsen Media Research.”

but i applaud your effort.

By: SXSW Movie Review: Body of War - /Film | TIFFReviews.com

SXSW Movie Review: Body of War - /Film | TIFFReviews.com — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:21:19 +0000

[...] against the war. He also became an advocate for quality healthcare for Iraq War veterans… [Full Story] Bookmark [...]