Bowling for Columbine

Rating:
Summary: Mandatory Viewing for ALL American Citizens
Review: "...we have a lot more mixing of ethnicity in this country..." What?!?! So, apparently Charleton Heston is a bigot as well as a gun fanatic. I loved watching Moore completely undress Heston during the final interview, not only was it a triumphant moment in cinema but a slap in the face to all of the rednecked, gun-toting maniacs in this country. Bowling for Columbine is the shot in the arm that this country needed to start a sensible plan for gun control. The statistics Moore cites are staggering and eye-opening. Aside from bitter disdain for the NRA, Moore (a lifetime member), takes a look at the gun issue from almost every perspective. The most powerful being the victims of the Columbine shooting. Moore also interviews such celebs as Matt Stone, Dick Clark (what a cold-hearted man) and Marilyn Manson. The path to Heston becomes all the more logical as the film progresses and the ultimate payoff is more than satisfying. Also, the insensitivity of the NRA is incredible. Just a few days after the Columbine massacre the NRA had the gall to stage a pro-gun rally in Littleton. This was no mistake...these people are sick and our Government needs to stand up and take notice. The stuff about Lockhead Martin is really scary as well, but all of these pieces fit perfectly into the puzzle of greed, manipulation and intimidation that this country is making famous. After seeing this film, I was truly ashamed to be an American. Powerful stuff...Highest Recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Land of the Brave or the Fearful
Review: "And I thought, 'You know what? This is about an American mental problem. About our culture of fear and paranoia'." ~Michael Moore

In this documentation of the questions Michael Moore asks about gun violence, I found very few answers. You can compliment him on his discussion about free speech, encouraging people to get involved in politics and bringing an awareness to how we are consumed with materialism to the point of losing our souls. We do need to become less selfish. It is not a bad idea to remind ourselves of how American can become a kinder nation. This "documentary" just has a lot of finger pointing and few answers.

This entire presentation is actually based on feelings and reaction. Michael does present various situations, discuss some of the problems and takes a look at the Columbine High School massacre in April 1999. He visits a Michigan bank and receives a free gun. He attempts to interview Charlton Heston. Marilyn Manson says something I actually agreed with. While you can agree that listening to kids is important, it might be a bad idea to brainwash them with lyrics that don?t exactly promote sanity.

From the statistics given, you would imagine the situation is much worse. I did some of my own research and in 2000, there were 3,761 American children and teens killed by gunfire. 2,184 were murdered by gunfire, 1,231 committed suicide, 262 died from accidental shootings, 609 were under 16 years of age, 179 were under 10 years of age 83 were under 5 years of age. (Children's Defense Fund, 2002)

"How are kids getting guns?" Apparently 2/3 of students in grades 6-12 say they could easily obtain a firearm in 24 hours. According to the ATF, there are a group of problem gun dealers that supply the "suppliers" who then funnel guns out to the nation. Closing down various criminal operations would be advisable for long-term success.

To fight this battle, you need intellectual ammunition. It is not good enough just to make America feel bad about the situation. What are we going to do about it?

We need to know why this occurs. Michael presents what the media believes the problems are. These range from violence in movies to Marilyn Manson's music.

While Michael doesn't seem to be against policeman going in and saving the lives of children in school shooting incidents, I have to ask him why he is against a government taking out a dictator who is killing their own people? I also found that he seems to confuse the aggressor with the protector.

Michael makes Europe and Canada look like paradise. He doesn't mention that European suicide rates are much higher than U.S. suicide rates. He doesn?t talk about taxes. Nor does he mention that Europeans and Canadians have given up many of their freedoms.

Basically Michael Moore presents a variety of numbers that didn't seem similar to ones I found, however many of the basic statistics on gun violence are in disagreement and you could really prove any point just by looking up a different source. The countries he compares the U.S. to have smaller populations. You can't compare the amount of murders betweens a country with 285 million and a country with 19 million and make your point in an honest way.

What some do seem to agree on is that U.S. deaths have declined since 1993 and that most gun deaths in America are the result of suicide. Most of the people "murdered" with guns seem to die due to disputes between people who know each other on some level. He also doesn't mention that crime victims are more than twice as likely to walk away from an assailant unharmed if they are using a gun to protect themselves.

As far as the NRA goes, I don't blame Heston for walking out on the interview, especially if the NRA did cancel several days, but they could not change their annual meeting due to corporate law and notice would have to be given to 4,000,000 members.

Michael Moore's obsession with "the rich" being evil struck me as a little odd. There are people who do evil in all classes of our society. Class envy can only make matters worse. He seems to have a variety of goals. One is to encourage parties to join together to defeat Bush. He blames the government for causing various problems. $245 million was not given to the Taliban, it was given to International organizations for humanitarian aid.

So why are we growing little terrorists right in our own communities? According to The World Health Organization (World Report October 3rd, 2002), youth violence cannot be isolated from other problem behaviors.

The risk factors for youth violence seem to include a history of early aggression, antisocial behavior, hyperactivity, attention problems, nervousness, poor levels of concentration, low levels of achievement, treating animals cruelly, setting fires, use of alcohol or drugs, bullying children or being the target of bullies, poor supervision by parents, exposure to violence in the home, parental drug or alcohol abuse, poor emotional attachments to family, poverty, antisocial parents, low commitment to school, academic failure, access to firearms and family disruption.

Perhaps we should add watching violent TV shows to the list. The average person between 8 and 18 years of age watches 10,000 violent acts a year on television. Michael is right when he advises us to turn off our TVs.

The problem is obviously not "guns." The problem seems to be how we are raising kids and how we are not taking personal responsibility for gun safety.

Teaching children to respect and love people of all races would be a good starting point. Realizing we are responsible to a higher power would bring some sense of connection to a life beyond our planet earth. Love can overcome fear. If Fear is the Problem, Is Love the Solution?

"We refuse to live in fear." ~George W. Bush, October 7, 2002.

~The Rebecca Review.com

Rating:
Summary: " Michael Moore: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness"
Review: "Bowling for Columbine" begins as a documentary about the Columbine High School massacre and turns into an examination of the American psyche that is as honest as it is insightful. In a country where 'the right to self-defence' has been traditionally identified with 'the right to kill', where six-year-old children pull guns on one another in class, and where the NRA responds to classroom massacres with pro-gun rallies that shamelessly target the communities that are still mourning, Michael Moore's humanity, sensitivity, and intelligence are qualities that cannot be praised enough. "Bowling for Columbine" explores the recent trend amongst American schoolchildren to take firearms to school and use them against their own schoolmates in a way which highlights important social issues such as, gun control, the power of the arms industry, and the connection between big business and the gun lobby in the United States.

Michael Moore asks that most vital of questions, "What is it that turns American schoolchildren into gun-toting killers ?". This proves a very difficult question to answer, and Moore has no intention of scraping the surface of this problem so as to ease the nation's conscience and avoid confronting the full implications of this cultural phenomenon. A less responsible documentary-maker would be content to point out the ease with which Americans can purchase weapons at will, or the fact that American youth is systematically desensitized by rock-music lyrics, violent computer games, or shocking video-nasties so they are more prone to violence than other children. Michael Moore, however, is not the man for a white-wash. By comparing American history with that of other countries, and tracing the role played by violence in each, Michael Moore seems to suggest that it is not the insecurity inbeded in American conscioussnes which is itself responsible for producing class-room killers, but the way various political and economic interests systematically cultivate this 'culture of fear' for their own profit. In the light of the present administration's so-called 'war on terror', "Bowling for Columbine" is a very significant testimony indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional!
Review: "Bowling for Columbine" is a documentary film that charts the course of firearms and violence in American culture. The Columbine High School shootings serve as the catalyst for the talented Michael Moore as he attempts to answer the question "How could it have happened?" The film points out how fear, irresponsible media, misguided government programs and racial stereotyping contribute to the staggering death rate in America. Compound these social ills with the ease with which firearms are obtained and it becomes apparent why the "greatest" nation on earth surpasses all other developed countries in deaths attributed to firearms. The film is smart, funny at times, serious always and ultimately saddening. It is my hope that this documentary makes its way into America's education system. Until then pass the word. This one is Highly Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Best Documentary In Years
Review: "Bowling for Columbine" is an important movie. It dones't amtter if you are a liberal or a conservitive, this is a movie that, very simply, needs to be seen and discussed.

Michael Moore, hero to all liberals, probes the issue of gun control, but he never makes a view of it clear. This movie isn't so much whether Americans need guns--if anything, the movie seems to be saying that its okay to have them--but rather why we seem to feel the need to shoot each other.

Now, many conservtives will say that Michael Moore is only showing us what we think we need to know to see his point of view. THis is, for the most part, true. But that is what every journalist is going to do. This movie wont change your opinion on the issue, but rather spark a conversation with you and your signifigant other, friend and whoever is watching the movie with you. That's a lofty ambition for a movie also: to want people to converse, to talk about issues and form opinions on them. I don't care who does this, Michael Moore or Bill O'Reilly, its important to have people talking about things again, and thats the point of this film.

Does Michael Moore go a little to far sometimes? Yeah. THe interview with Charlton Heston is a little too much, Moore pushing him for a litte too long. But minor grievances aside, "Bowling for Columbine" is a great film, entertaining and thought provoking, and well worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite what it says it is
Review: "Bowling For Columbine" is doubtless a well-made, interesting movie that makes a few good points. However, it's not quite the documentary that it's supposed to be. Watch this movie if you must, and then go to the web site http://www.hardylaw.net/Truth_About_Bowling.html. And then make up your own mind.

Rating:
Summary: Reinventing the wheel?
Review: "Bowling for Columbine" is only as enlightening as the viewer is unenlightened. I suppose that might be true for most films, but especially here; independent filmmaker Michael Moore isn't telling me anything I didn't already know about guns, fear and violence in America. The film is a handy, humorous summation of the sad truth, but it lacks the ability to outrage and uncover like Moore's "Roger & Me" did in the 1980s.

Moore, who is a little too "unassuming" for my taste, especially when he conducts cheap, calculated interviews, does do one thing very well: He captures what it is to live amongst violent elements in America. He visits a gun survivalist training camp, where he finds middle class men firing semi-automatic weapons because, maybe, they can. He interviews high school dropouts who built bombs out of boredom. He goes to Canada and discovers that people just aren't as afraid up there. And he skewers the news media, especially local television stations, which amp up everyone's fear of violence nationwide through bleeding, leading stories even though crime stats show that many crimes have been reduced in the last decade. Moore also tries to cobble some kind of real argument against the NRA without using the gun availability argument -- Moore believes it isn't the problem -- and fails, mostly because, if gun availability isn't the problem, then there is little you can pin on the NRA outside of insensitivity.

At times, "Bowling for Columbine" is funny, at times it's ridiculous, and at times it's inspiring -- as when K-Mart agrees to discontinue the sale of ammunition because Moore trots a few Columbine victims in front of them.
And at the end it's cruel, as Moore arrives at close to dawn to launch a two-minute attack on NRA president Charlton Heston, already suffering from Alzheimer's, by peppering him with ridiculous questions about why Heston showed up in Denver and Flint, Mich., days after school shooting tragedies. Moore dives into Heston so fast that he ravages the actor for thinking America's violent history and mixed ethnicity might have something to do with our modern gun violence.

It is the "mixed ethnicity" comments that NRA watchdogs and liberals pounced on -- they wanted to paint Heston was a racist gun goon, I guess -- but to argue that racism has played no role in this nation's violent upbringing is to swear off reality. I'm sure Moore thinks he's pulled a fast one on Ol Moses, but friends I've spoken with since I've seen the movie were split 50/50 on Moore's questionable ethics in that scene.

"Bowling for Columbine" was a hit at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Well of course it was, and so it will be all over the world -- the movie is a firm indictment of America's cavalier attitude toward death and violence. It is our greatest problem. "Bowling for Columbine" states that fact, and if there are Americans who weren't worried before, may they see this movie and become worried.

From my own vantage point, I fear Moore's pissed and scared off so much of the pertinent establishment in America that he will live out his career interviewing high school dropouts and bullying Dick Clark as Clark zooms away in a promo van. We can jeer and laugh for a little bit, and Moore might even win the (da da da dum!) Academy Award for this film, but he's painting himself into a jester's corner and, eventually, the crowd is going to file away.

Rating:
Summary: EVERY AMERICAN MUST SEE THIS MOVIE
Review: "Bowling for Columbine" questions our society and the way we run things. This movie brings up wonderful ideas and asks perfect questions about America. Not many Americans really knows what our government does, "Bowling for Columbine" addresses some of these issues. To be a true American, you must see this movie

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and informative
Review: "Bowling For Columbine" wonderfully explores the reality of the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Michael Moore asks, "what causes violence if it's not the guns?" He proves that there is no certain answer. His outspokenness and his deep information deserves the honor as the highest grossing documentary in movie history and the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Three celebrities: Charlton Heston, Dick Clark, and Marilyn Manson are featured. Charlton Heston is the president of NRL (National Rifle Association). Moore argues the appropriateness of Heston speaking in a pro-gun rally ten days after the Columbine school shooting and again ten days after a six-year old girl was shoot in a Michigan school by a peer classmate. Dick Clark's short scene in the documentary expressed his inconsideration toward the slain girl. Moore approaches his van asking for an interview. Moore revealed that her mom is forced to work 70 hours per week in a welfare job sponsered by Clark. Clark's reaction is shocking! Marilyn Manson is the only featured celebrity who speaks brilliantly. Manson reveals his reaction toward being blamed for inspiring Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to shoot 12 students and a teacher in their school. He shares what actions he's take if he could meet the two troubled kids.

Moore asks "are we safe in our houses?" He travels to Canada and parts of the US interviewing random citizens about their beliefs. They answer what often happens to those who don't lock their doors. However, the opposite is expressed while he asks, "why are we always scared?" An LAPD shockingly reveals why no one is arrested for creating pollution, which is more dangerous than guns. An illustrated scene gives an informative brief history of American fear.

"Bowling For Columbine" is an eye opening experience. It's recommended that everybody watches this at least twice. It will inspire Americans to act upon their beliefs as did Michael Moore. One never knows their capabities until they work. Parents should present this documentary to their kids as it will enlighten their future. However, there are some violent images presenting actual gun murders. Those who are disturbed by this should fast forward those scenes. "Bowling For Columbine" will stand as an American history artifact in the near future.

Rating:
Summary: Dull, devoid of insight, lacking flow
Review: "Bowling For Columbine" would have been completely ignored if it wasn't for the drab, monotonic alternatives Hollywood has tranquilized America with. Desperate to find anything "different", reviewers gave "Bowling For Columbine" far more credit than it deserves.

To call "Bowling For Columbine" a documentary is laughable. In a genuine documentary, one of two approaches is taken. The author will either start with a hypothesis and attempt to prove/disprove it through investigative journalism, or he'll investigate a topic in an attempt to provide some insight. Moore does neither.

Instead, Michael Moore pollutes the screen with his unpleasant form, bouncing from scene to scene making no points in particular. Hijacking an inevitably controversial topic, gun control, Moore gives his audience a paltry excuse at objectivity by interviewing people on both sides of the issue.

Moore follows no path of reason, nor does he make a persuasive case for his obvious anti-gun bias. Just as the audience might start to doze off, Moore becomes inflammatory, badgering K-Mart into policy change and staging an infantile display of emotional drivel and character assassination directed at an overly polite Charlton Heston.

"Bowling For Columbine" at long last grinds to an abrupt much-awaited conclusion, cheating this viewer out of an opportunity to demand a refund before the end of show.