Genres

Visitors Review

andrew 2012-05-24 20:48:00

Propaganda

How to rate a film which is just slightly more phony than Al Gore ethanol??? Where is Richard Armitage when you need him? No credits.. There are mockumentaries and the there are fakeumentaries, I guess.

MLDinTN 2012-05-24 08:51:30

for those that love politics

This movie is about something that occurred during The W. Bushadministration. I remember hearing something about, but being someonewhom doesn't follow politics, I didn't know any details about it. Thismovie helps to shed light on it. Naomi Watts, plays Valerie, a CIAoperative, whom goes on secret missions to the middle east and iscovert. Her husband, Joe, is an ex-ambassador and knows about thecountry in Africa that is in question. There is some intelligence thatthis African country may have sold Iraq some uranium. The CIA ask Joeto go to Africa and see if he can come up with evidence of the sale.Joe finds no evidence and reports this. Also, there is a question aboutthese tubes bought by Iraq as to whether they can be used to developWMDs. Most experts say no. However, the US looks over this andbasically announces Iraq may be developing WMDs and uses this to invadeIraq.Joe writes an article about his side saying he found no evidence of theuranium sale. To get back at him, someone in the government leaks hiswife's name as being a CIA agent, meaning she's out of a job.Now that's the story this movie tells, which I'm sure was written bysomeone whom supports the left. And Sean Penn is in this and you knowhe's about as far left as you can get. So, who knows how much of thescript may have been altered to soot Penn's agenda. But, it's still awell told story.FINAL VERDICT: The script made sense, even for someone whom didn't knowthe story. A good watch if you want a political movie.

2012-05-23 18:39:22

Fair Game Review

FAIR GAME STARRING: Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Ty Burrell, Brooke Smith, Thomas McCarthy, Jessica Hecht, Noah Emmerich, Bruce McGill and Sam Shepard WRITTEN BY: Jez Butterworth and John Henry Butterworth; based on the books, The Politics of Truth, by Joseph Wilson, and Fair Game by Valerie Plame DIRECTED BY: Doug Liman Rated: PG - 13 Genre: Drama Release Date: 05 November 2010 Review Date: 09 November 2010 A very rewarding and not highly practiced treat in cinema, is sitting down in your seat at a theater and having no idea what kind of movie you're about to watch; not the premise, not the rating, not the genre. I've been fortunate to do this a few times and it can be awesome. If you're wondering how you can do this, well - every once in a while for whatever reason, a studio will release a film with A-list talent but only put it in a selected handful of theaters across the country. As such was the case for me when I drove 15 miles to see Fair Game at my city's `artsy' theater, knowing only that it was the new Sean Penn. I was also surprised to learn at the film's close, that it was based very largely on a true story. Fair Game shows a couple who was sabotaged by the media when they exposed that the government had blatantly lied about where Iraq may or may not have gotten their supposed nuclear warheads, way back at the brink of the Iraq war. Now before you get all fussy due to the touchy political subject matter, RELAX. I'm a proud American and served in the Military and I didn't find the film offensive. We are all aware that Sean Penn is known for voicing his lefty political views rather radically; but I strongly think 99 percent of us with brain stems will agree with his character's speech at the end of the film. This movie isn't about bashing Bush or his administration and it's not about being anti-American and painting a portrait that displays Iraqi terrorists as the good guys and us as the bad guys. If anything, it's a film showcasing both our beautiful God-given rights to freedom of speech and that if you KNOW firsthand that someone lied, then you may want to do something about it; sometimes no matter what the cost. I'm not going to say whether or not the film is 100 percent accurate because I don't know that and you don't know that. Hell, the filmmakers probably don't even know that. But we ALL know that things were shady to say the least for a while there, and that surely somewhere, SOMEONE lied - big or small, they did; and it was most likely more than one person. Anyway - Fair Game shows us a character named Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) who volunteered to go to Africa on behalf of the CIA's request, to investigate if and or how weapons of mass destruction could have been shipped from there. The film shows us very clearly, that they could not have been. Our character knows this. Oh, and he was asked to do this by the way, because his wife Valerie (Naomi Watts) is a CIA operative, and Joe has some experience in this field, the details of which I'll leave for you to discover. When Joe returns, he is baffled to soon learn that we are going to war, and that the President and the Pentagon have more or less claimed that it was proven that these WMDs did in fact come from Africa, and that Iraq has them and that we need to step in. Being one of, if not THEE only American who knows this to be not true, Joe naturally feels a duty to report this. So he writes and article, has it published and all hell breaks loose for him and his wife, and that's all I'm going to tell. There are however, a slew of small additional things to mention to you. The acting is sensational; specifically from both Penn and Watts, no shocker there I'm sure. The cinematography is terrific as is the direction by Doug Liman who also brought us The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. And the film is brilliantly written and it displays scenes of realistic moments we can all relate to; such as political discussions at a dinner table with friends or family who are quick to run their mouths about things of which they have no personal experience with. You know, dinners where everyone at the table is an expert and can solve all the world's problems? Yeah, dinners like that. If anything, aside from being entertaining from start to finish, Fair Game is a movie that makes you think. It makes us realize how the media will often twist and skew things to be interpreted the way they see fit; and don't worry - I'm not blind to the fact that Hollywood does this as well. Although the odds are high that it will never happen to you or me, each and every one of us could be `fair game' to the media or the government's vendetta driven shenanigans at any moment. But what's great about America, and what this film is trying to convey to us, is that thanks to our amazing Constitution... the media and government can be fair game as well.

April Brew 2012-05-23 09:28:00

Another Sean Penn Bomb

Just dreadful. Save yourself $10 and rent a Michael Moore film if you want to watch a bunch of liberals running around proclaiming how morally superior they are because of how rich they are. Guess what, libs? Just because you are super rich doesn't mean that whatever you do is OK.

Robbie Collin 2012-05-21 19:40:02

It's never clear whether Sean Penn is aware just how annoying his character is - or if he genuinely thinks his finger-wagging smug- sack act is sympathetic.

dennispublic 2012-05-21 15:51:23

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it...

First of all: I'm not an American, so I have no interest in any of theleft wing vs right wing political immaturity that goes on there. Andsince I'm being honest: if this film was a work of fiction - itwouldn't have been that great, maybe a 6/10 IMDb rating.What makes this film absolutely mind blowing is that this stuffactually happened. Wow! You can argue the little details if you wish,but the bulk of this is public record and you're not kidding anyone.This gets an 8/10 on IMDb from me because it's non-fiction and it's avery very important story.The war in Iraq was a crime and the guilty should be required to watchthis movie, a few times. How many thousands of lives could have beensaved? Feel shame and learn from your mistakes. Get mad! Don't ever befooled like this again!!!Frankly this movie should be shown in schools for the next 100 years -it should be considered required viewing in History classes. I thinkit's important that this little piece of the past is not swept underthe rug anytime soon. I praise the makers of this film, I praise JoeWilson and Valerie Plame. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it - so cherish this 108minute reminder of America's greatest mistake.

Robert Roten 2012-05-21 16:25:29

While I don't buy the arguments it makes, it is an interesting and entertaining movie nonetheless. I don't know if it's shedding light on the Valerie Plame affair, or just putting left spin on it.

2012-05-20 23:24:43

This is NOT Propaganda

This review is from: Fair Game (Amazon Instant Video) I read someone's review that this is liberal propaganda. I don't see how this can be propaganda when it is TRUE. This was a great movie that really gets to the heart of what has gone on for centuries: people in power thinking they can do whatever they want and get away with it! I loved Penn as Wilson--he did an excellent job and I was rooting for him. I was upset when Valerie was at first hesitant. If you like political and psychological dramas, get this film It's not super suspenseful, but I take away the message or idea and enjoy if for that mostly. After many years in Iraq we all should know they Bush Administration LIED and this movie just gives us the facts of that case, so if it makes Palme look innocent, then it's probably for a good reason (aka what happened). I'm more p'o d that Bush pardoned Libby and no one went to jail. This is how corrupt people in WA can get and I'm glad Palme/Wilson fought back...that's what I believe in.

Ben Larson 2012-05-19 23:10:06

Democracy is not a free ride, man. I'm here to tell you

One of the most interesting, and funny, aspects of this film waswatching Valerie (Naomi Watts) and Joe (Sean Penn) sit at their dinnertable or in a restaurant with their friends as they spouted thecarefully scripted emanations from the White House designed to deceivethe American public. Joe and Valerie knew the truth, but could not saya word. Joe would just call them out, but could not explain. It washilarious.The rest of the film is not so hilarious, as we watch Bush and hisregime cherry pick data and deliberately falsify information in theirlust for war. The administration knew there were no WMD, but they wentahead anyway.Then, when they got caught in their lies, they set out to destroy afamily, and cause the deaths of Iraqi scientists in the process. There is nothing new her to anyone that doesn't get their informationfrom Fox. It is a story that has been told over and over in differentforms, and the end is always the same. They wanted to go to war, anddamn anyone who got in their way.Penn and Watts were incredible.

BarneyCL 2012-05-19 04:26:21

Flawed Account of Iraq War Sideshow

Good acting in this movie cannot make up for a poor script. The story follows real-life CIA employee Valerie Plame's (played by Watts) version of the consequences of Joseph Wilson's (her husband, played by Penn) involvement in a State Department inquiry into Saddam Hussein's attempts to obtain African uranium for his atomic weapons program. After Wilson makes public his opposition to US policy regarding Hussein, a newspaper article reveals his wife's employment at the CIA. Apart from moments of amateurish camerawork, the movie is professionally crafted, but the script's dependence on Plame's and Wilson's biased story makes it a predictable vehicle of anti-war protest.

Joe Utichi 2012-05-19 04:28:13

Doesn't quite live up to [its] promise but ... it's mature, smart and engaging and, critically, strikes a new tone for Liman's work.

Liz Braun 2012-05-18 10:13:04

Both Sean Penn and Naomi Watts offer believable performances here, and Watts is impressive in the truly tricky role of the complex Ms. Plame.

Julie Rigg 2012-05-18 13:16:28

Director Doug Liman has done a pretty good job maintaining the pace and tension in this film, though I could have done with a little less hand-held camera. Penn is superb, and Watts is pretty credible.

2012-05-17 19:47:59

More than Fair

Some have compared this film to "All the President's Men", which told of the travails of the intrepid reporters who unraveled the Watergate scandal.There's one large and tragic difference between that story and the one told in "Fair Game". Watergate forced Richard Nixon to resign his office in disgrace. The treasonous activities perpetrated by Bush, Cheney, and their cronies have had all but no repercussions.Bush now makes thousands speaking at company functions. Cheney is about to release a book justifying his misdeeds. And Bush commuted the sentence of the one guy who took a fall for the "Plamegate" scandal, Cheney's operative Scooter Libby.Make no mistake. The story told in "Fair Game" captures one of the darkest hours in American history. The leaders of our nation launched a war of aggression on another country, attempting to justify their actions based on the flimsiest web of false information.When one courageous citizen, former ambassador Joe Wilson, spoke out about the campaign of deceit waged by the White House, the White House exposed his wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative, and attempted to discredit the couple in a wave of lies and vitriol that lasted four long years.Any American, either on the right or left, who cares about "truth, justice, and the American way" should be outraged and disgusted by what went on here. This movie does a valuable service in dramatizing and focusing a complicated story obscured in real life by the fog of disinformation into a taut hour-and-forty-five minute drama.This DVD also brings more to the story than the original theatrical release, because the disc includes illuminating commentary by Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame. Their testimony gives the film a stamp of unimpeachable veracity unlike the flim flam concocted by the Bush administration in its helter-skelter runup to the Iraq War.Happily, the couple now seem happy and proud of their courageous actions, but they also remark how watching the film brings back some terrible recollections, especially when they see the footage the film contains of the warmongers spewing their pathetic lies on camera.Bush, Cheney, Peter King, Condoleeza Rice, and others should all be ashamed and shunned for the rest of their lives by all true Americans.The performances by Naomi Watts and Sean Penn as the embattled couple are impeccable, and indeed Plame and Wilson both say what accurate portrayals of themselves are on display here.In my opinion, this film should be required viewing by all school children here in the United States for generations to come. And for those families whose loved ones gave the ultimate sacrifice in that unjust war, one can only feel the deepest of sympathy.

Claudia Puig 2012-05-15 17:27:12

Liman skillfully intercuts television news footage of the president and administration officials with a skilled cast of actors.

Colin Covert 2012-05-15 11:45:21

A triumph on all counts.

2012-05-15 01:58:14

EXCEPTIONAL ACTING, DIRECTING, AND WRITING

This review is from: Fair Game [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Most reviews here have thoroughly described the real life story and plot of FAIR GAME. But what brings the story to life are actors Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sonya Davison, Vanessa Chong, and Tiwari, director Doug Liman, and script by the main subjects Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame, and writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth. This combination of Hollywood's top actors and director telling the hair raising story of heroic American Joe Wilson blowing the whistle on the war mongering lies of George H.W. Bush's imperial presidency led by his henchman Dick Cheney is a very scary movie! FAIR GAME rivals the NEW documentary film "Chasing Madoff (2011)." Directed by Jeff Prosserman, and "starring" lead whistle blower Harry Markopolos and his three Wall Street fraud expert collaborators. Naturally, Madoff had been one of G.H.W. Bush's ardent supporters. Both Wilson and Markopolos lived under constant fear for carrying out their civic duties, fears of deadly reprisals by powerful people from the president on down in the Washington and Wall Street "food chain". For experiencing two good scary movies, you must see FAIR GAME and CHASING MADOFF.

2012-05-14 15:41:05

Riveting Film

This review is from: Fair Game [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) The video and audio on this blu ray are excellent. What really bears comment if the film itself. "Fair Game" is the true story of Valarie Plame Wilson, a covert CIA agent and her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson. Leading up to the 2003 war in Iraq, was the concern that Saddam Hussein was gearing up to produce nuclear weapons. And at the request of the Vice President's office, the CIA asked Joe Wilson to go on a fact finding trip to Niger (the presumed location of the purchase by Iraqi agents of a form of uranium called "yellow cake"). Wilson was previously an ambassador under Presidents GHW Bush and Clinton and knew the area well. His findings were in fact that rumors of such purchases were false and he reported such.When GW Bush launched the war against Iraq, the rationale was based principally on the Iraqi possession of such weapons of mass destruction. When that lie was perpetuated by Bush in his State of the Union address (the now infamous "sixteen words"), Joe Wilson spoke out in a Op-ed piece in the Washington Post. And from that point on, members of the Bush administration, from Dick Cheney on down, sought to discredit Joe Wilson by exposing his wife (Valarie Plame Wilson) as a covert CIA operative. And they further attempted to assassinate the character and reputation of both by claiming that his wife had sent Joe Wilson on the trip as a junket.The official records are now clear (after the Fitzgerald investigation and the indictment of Scooter Libby) that Joe Wilson was telling the truth as he exposed one of the biggest lies in the history of U.S. foreign policy one that lead to biggest foreign policy disaster since the Vietnam war----namely the Iraqi war. Libby was convicted of lying and obstruction of justice. Bush took care of his own by commuting Libby's sentence, but he did not pardon him.This film is a story of patriotism and bravery; and it also the story for abuse of power, treachery and deceit.

Kyle Smith 2012-05-12 19:09:36

Unless your pulse races at the mention of Robert Novak, you'll be underwhelmed.

Roger Ebert 2012-05-12 02:32:10

What's effective is how matter-of-fact Fair Game is. This isn't a lathering, angry attack picture.