Ralph's Movie Reviews: WHY WE FIGHT

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

WHY WE FIGHT

Documentary

KEY PEOPLE INTERVIEWED
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Retired NYC policeman Wilton Sekzer
Chalmers Johnson, former Director of the CIA
23-year old William Solomon who wants to join the Army
Richard Perle, pro-Bush administration Pentagon advisor
Retired Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski
John S.D. Eisenhower, son of the former President
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s granddaughter Susan
Gwynne Dyer, military historian
Republican Senator John McCain
Gore Vidal, prolific American novelist, playwright, and essayist

REVIEW
Because it spends a lot of time devoted to the war on Iraq, Pro-Bush supporters will probably not like this film. Nor will “hawks” who think the use of military force rather than diplomacy is the best course of action.

Unlike some documentaries, this one is not just a one-sided rehash of well-known facts. It is more balanced, giving equal opportunity to both sides of the debate.

Although some of the views expressed are controversial (Japan’s attempt to surrender was ignored because of a hidden agenda) many are new or at the very least, not that well known: not one of the first fifty strikes by “smart bombs” hit its target during the first preemptive invasion of Iraq or that some defence contracts purposely have suppliers in all 50 states so everyone gets “a piece of the action”.

CLASSIFICATION

for disturbing war images and brief language.

P.S.
The We in the title refers to the United States of America. The title was originally used for a series of propaganda films produced for the military during World War II to justify the involvement of the USA in a foreign conflict.

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my ratings system

I've always thought that telling too much about a movie or warning someone about a "twist" at the end deprives the person the pleasure of seeing it as it unfolds, so I don’t do it. You may not always agree with my rating of course, but at least it is an unbiased opinion unlike some of the full time professional reviewers who are on the studio’s payroll.

A few movies you won’t see any review from me:

Scary movies: I’m the world’s biggest chicken and just hate getting the crap scared out of me. I can handle an unexpected door slam, that kind of thing, but a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat…not for me. Sorry.
Movies geared to the young teen and pre-teen crowd with dialog comprising mostly of crude remarks, awful jokes and lots of rude, socially unacceptable body noises. "The Spy that Shagged Me" comes to mind. (I wonder if the kids know what the British verb to shag someone really means? They probably do; I bet you it’s the parents who haven’t a clue).
Sometimes Hollywood gets on a roll and they produce a series of movies that are all very much alike. For example movies about the CIA were very popular and so we had The Bourne Identity and Bad Company and The Sum of All Fears. They all had the same basic theme and it becomes repetitive. I will see some, but not all of them.

FYI this is my rating system:

0 stars = Terrible: so bad it’s not worth talking about; in fact, I’d pay you not to go
= Lousy: I actually got up and walked out before the end it was just that bad (no kidding)
= Not so good: thought about walking out but hung in just in case it got better (but it didn’t)
= A so-so good movie: I enjoyed it somewhat but wasn’t all that crazy about it
= A really good movie: I recommend seeing it
= An excellent movie you just got to see! I suggest you put it on your "To Do List" it’s that good.

some favourite websites

For those into it, Nitpickers at

has more movie mistakes than you could ever imagine. My contributions can be seen if you check out the Nitpickers Registry and click on the link Nitpickers Listed by Nitpicker Number, select the group 45,401 - 45,500 and drill down to number 45411. Although I have 56 nitpicks to my credit, some have almost 2,000. You wonder sometimes where they find the time to do it.