Capitalism: A Love Story

Film Review: CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (2009)

RATING 7.5/10

BOTTOM LINE: Engaging as always, if not as feisty, Michael Moore delivers another biased and heavily opinionated commentary, this time on capitalism, and manages to deliver some insightful food for thought, even if it does not always stand up under scrutiny.

THE GOOD: Michael Moore has made an entire sub-genre for himself of heavily opinionated and biased political commentary on various issues affecting American society and culture. In “Capitalism: A Love Story”, Moore takes aim at the system that brought America to its knees during the global financial crisis by tracing it back to its origins and the insidious ways those with power have been tricking those without to keep them in power. Moore is surprisingly restrained in his anger this time out. Although he does not hold back a punch, he does construct sequences that have a slower and more subtle build, which in many instances, have a stronger effect than say any scene from “Fahrenheit 9/11” where he just bashed you over the head with his ideas. The film’s opening credits are intercut with well edited security video footage of dim-witted bank robbers hitting banks. Moore then follows this up with an old documentary serial on the downfall of the Roman Empire intercut with stoic American images and landmarks. Without saying anything in his own words in these scenes, Moore gets across many worthwhile ideas, likening the United States to all the imperial powers of the past which eventually self-destructed under its own opulence and lust for power; whereas Rome had slaves, America has the poor that are exploited by the wealthy and powerful. Moore indulges in some of his own commentary in criticising the Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan years, but the best material in this film comes when Moore interviews the everyday people on the street who were affected not only by the crisis, but the cold-blooded behaviour of banks wanting to foreclose on those who cannot afford repayments. It is hard not to feel the inequity at play in these scenes, and as with his other films, Moore generates a strong case for their plight. “Capitalism: A Love Story” is perhaps a more mature execution of Moore’s beliefs. He is biased and opinionated, but he will make you stop and think about the topic, even if you disagree with him.

THE BAD: In taking a more restrained approach, the feistiness and biting cynicism that made some of Moore’s earlier work so funny and entertaining is not on show here, which is unfortunate. At times, this can be a slower affair because of the lack of bite, with some sequences dragging on a bit. One might also question how much “filmmaking” was actually done in the film, considering so much of the footage provided was shot by someone else, but then again, this is a criticism of most of Moore’s work, and his technique of using the footage of others is quite effective in illustrating the points he wishes to make.

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

Michael Moore Redeems Himself With "Captialism: A Love Story"

Over the past few years, Michael Moore has lost some of his credibility from among members of what is coming to be known as the "Truth Movement," either for watering down the shocking truths that are really behind the absurdities we're being fed as "news" since 9/11, or for his attempt at commercialization of the movement. After all, while Internet guerrillas like Alex Jones and Paul Watson spread the same message and use the same methods Moore copies without making a big buck at any box office, and while they totally oppose the coming of the New World Order (as futile as that opposition may be), Michael Moore wants to usher the "Gap Nations" (NWO term for any country currently still outside of the frame of the wonderful world of the Coca Cola and McDonalds & Co. empires) "gently" into the New World Order, as he states in his book, "Stupid White Men."
 
Whether he is simply smarter or greedier than Alex Jones and the likes or not may be another question, but fact is, Moore's latest production, "Captialism: A Love Story" certainly has educational entertainment value. While I didn't care to watch his latest features since "911 Fahrenheit," this one was recommended to me by a close friend, and, alas, it was worth watching.
 
While Socialism, an invention of the NWO folks, and the ultimate goal they want to achieve by using the failure of Capitalsim to get us all to welcome it, is what's being preached, along with a portion of Catholicism, as opposed to Big Business Protestantism that's currently making the world sick of the term Christianity altogether, there is - somewhat unfortunately - a lot of truth hidden within that message, and in a nutshell, the awful truth we're all going to have to face sooner or later is that ultimately, Capitalism stinks.
It may pose as the bringer of freedom, while in reality, the opposite is happening, and the result unfolding before our eyes is actual enslavement. Perfect grounds for folks to get desperate enough to acceopt another fake and charade of "freedom," a wonderful new world order of socialism, bound to bring is the ultimate enslavement yet.

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Recommendations: The Matrix , Fratello sole, sorella luna , The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John

There IS no spoon!

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY

And Jesus says: "I cannot heal you my son...you have a pre-existing condition."

That's just one of many hilarious scenes in Michael Moore's latest offering -- CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY. Although most reviewers refer to Moore's films as documentaries, they are clearly more one man's one-sided point of view regarding serious issues in contemporary America. If you have ever spent a couple of hours (or more) listening to folks like Limbaugh, Hannity or Beck, Needtovent strongly recommends you give Michael Moore 120 minutes of your time as well. We are confident that you will walk away from the theater entertained, enlightened and, most likely, infuriated as Hell.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY is probably Moore's best film to date -- it is certainly his most personal since ROGER & ME. And although he continues to use a scattershot approach, the enormous size and complexity of the subject matter this time around actually lends itself to his style of filmmaking. Among the multitude of issues explored are:

"Dead Peasant Insurance" -- life insurance policies taken out by Fortune 500 companies on executives, and, in the case of Wal-Mart, lowly "associates" as well. Should the insured die, the beneficiary is the company, not the deceased's family. In these cases, the company actually profits when their employees die, the sooner the better, thus collecting up to $5 million in hard, cold cash as one of the cases explored up-close and personal revealed. While the origin of the name "Dead Peasant Insurance" remains unknown, it certainly serves as a metaphor for the prevailing attitude of callous corporate America.


Another topic explored is the risky, reckless, rapacious Wall Street gamble known as "derivatives." These "spin-off" investment instruments are so complex not one of the three financial experts, including the Department Chairman of Harvard's Finance School, can explain them. In fact, some are apparently so complicated that they are created by computers and not even the software authors fully understand them. The bottom line: if there is a default on a mortgage, the investor wins -- big. And if there isn't a default, the investor can still hedge his bet by also betting the derivative will fail. (How convenient.) It's a win-win for the investment firm -- and a toxic, egregious lose-lose for the average American family.

Other segments explore:

The horribly low pay for airline pilots -- we are shown a "Give a penny to a pilot" jar at the boarding gate of an airliner to underscore the severity of the problem (first-year pilots often earn less than the assistant manager at Burger King).

The widening gap between the richest and the rest of America -- the richest 1% of the population has as much accumulated wealth as 95% of the poorest. Citibank has even declared in private memos that America is now a plutonomy. It sure seems like we need more Howard Beales and fewer Walter Mittys among 95-99% of our population.

The foreclosure epidemic -- one family in particular is profiled as they are unceremoniously kicked off their farm that has been in the family for over four generations.

But perhaps the most revealing sequence is the fascinating, dynamic archival footage of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appearing on camera advocating a Second Bill of Rights. According to our sources, this Movietone News footage, shot at the explicit invitation of an ailing FDR at the end of his last State of the Union address, has never been seen previously -- for some reason it wasn't included in the newsreels of the day. Of course, with Roosevelt's death this Second Bill of Rights was never enacted here, in the United States, although many of its provisions are now in the constitutions of Germany, Italy and Japan -- which were all authored with considerable American input and involvement after WWII ended.


Love him. Hate him. But don't ignore him. CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY is definitely worth seeing. Roger Ebert said it best, at the very least you'll come away realizing that with corporate greed and Wall Street shenanigans the order of the day, capitalism means never having to say you're sorry.

Please go see CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY. We predict you'll leave mad as Hell...and that's a good thing.

Robert A. Nowotny

Booze Revooze: A Drinker’s Skewed Review of CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY

Have you ever drunk with a true believer. Doesn’t have to be a religious guy, even if they’re fun to make fun of and make you feel better about your intellect in debates.  Nah, i’m talking about anyone who truly believes anything down to his freaking core. It’s a touchy call because sometimes you get the obnoxious kind who starts yelling from the get-go and is so far up in your face that his beer spittle showers your stash and lashes.  Go ahead and try to inject a counter argument and you’ll get more than spit because he’ll throw his entire drink all over you and then you have to charge him with alcohol abuse. The other kind of believer still showers you with his spit but at least he’ll laugh while he does it. He won’t listen to your arguments any more than the first kind but at least he’ll smile and nod as he ignores you. And it’s not because his arguments are one-sided and his world view is blind-sided that he doesn’t have a couple good points to make. Capitalism: A Love Story (and Michael Moore) are kinda like this second guy.

Look, i gotta apologize right off the bat here because i’m not gonna get on a bar stool and get all polar-assed about Michael Moore. i know i’m supposed to say he’s either the savior of the human race or the devil incarnate and, truth be told, this review would be a helluva lot funnier if i felt Moore strongly. The problem is, i think he’s a talented film maker who has a lot on his mind and sometimes i get what he says and sometimes i just couldn’t be bothered to care. So he’s pretty much like anyone else at the Bar None, myself included. You know you’re getting old when you just walk off the battlefield and start telling all the warriors they should take a pill.

The movie starts off kicking with Iggy Pop singing his cover of “Louie, Louie” to security camera videos of various people robbing various banks. After that, though, steps get a little uneven. Moore pulls out the sad puppies with their drooping eyes and a couple of little chicks that have been stepped on and i may have guy cried a little but that was only with one eye—the other one saw exactly how i was being manipulated.

Still, things got better in the second half as he explained crap like the government bailout of Wall Street in terms so clearly even we alkies could get it. And there was this hilarious video about Cleveland. [Update: My bad, while the video i've linked is funny, it isn't the one shown in the Michael Moore movie.  That one isn't on YouTube, it's here. "We're Not Detroit!"]

Tell you what, though, the state of the States scared the schlitz out of me a lot more than Saw VI did. The flick made me glad i live in Yeman, yo.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: ½ Shot

People, it’s a documentary. There are no beautiful chicklettes here ’cause they’re all real. Sure, Audra, the twenty-something daughter who points the video camera at herself as the police are evicting her family didn’t seem too bad, but we only get a fleeting glimpse. Then there’s the cute 24-year-old first-officer who died in a plane crash while bitching with the pilot about their salaries. [Sorry, i'm a little too sober to post pictures of a dead girl in the Sex Section tonight. Better luck next round.] Other than that, however, there was no official talent.

Which is why this freaked me out: go to the imdb page of Capitalism… and look at the first name that’s there. Thora Birch!?!? Who the hell knew she was in the movie? i was even sober for this one and i couldn’t remember her being in this. So i asked Miss Demeanor, who couldn’t remember seeing her either. Tell you what, i’m prepared to give anyone out there free drinks for life in the Bar None if you can tell me what exactly it is that Thora does in Capitalism…

On the bright side, i get to use this as an excuse to post Thora Birch pictures, so everyone wins.

Rock & Roll: 1 Shot

There’s the Iggy Pop song at the top, plus there’s also a little “O Fortuna”. Even if every buddy uses this,  it’s still a killer song. i chose the Therion version for this post.

Other than that Capitalism is rock free.

There is this cool song from the trailer, M.I.A. – Paper Planes, but it isn’t rock.

Boring Technical Crap

Written by: Michael Moore

Directed by: Michael Moore

Starring

Thora Birch !?!?

Bottom Line

You can’t afford not to see it.

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Al K Hall<br />
Functional Alcoholic Slurperson<br />
(No, REALLY. Google &amp;quot;Slurperson&amp;quot; if you don't believe me.)

Last updated: 2010-04-03 21:35:45 by user08

Capitalism: A Love Story

So  Michael Moore doesn't seem to have the same pull as he used to does he?  Capitalism: A Love Story managed to pull only 5 screens across the  entirety of London, and four of those were indie cinemas, so its safe to  say Moore isn't going to be blowing the same amount of complacent minds  as he once does. Did we tire of his smugness, or his methods? Or are  his movies just getting worse? Well, while its undeniable that Moore  loves getting up on his soapbox so he can shout it, it doesn't  necessarily mean that he's wrong, or that it is any less revelatory.
  I'm a liberal, don't get me wrong, but I tire of my ideological  kin sometimes. With Moore, it is us, who all think that he is right,  that have fucked him over. We don't like that he's abrupt, we don't like  his directness, or lack of nuance. And for the liberal media, this  matters more then you can know. It doesn't matter that he's pretty much  the only prominent liberal film-maker that people actually listen to, or  that F911 aside, all his subject matter is pressingly important. No. To  us, it is worth our message not getting told at all if it is not told  the right way. And while this gives us a lovely sense of superiority, it  is not hard to see why liberals have a very insignificant voice in  worldwide politics. Its almost as if the intellectual left don't want  their ideas to break out into mass consumption, and to be honest this  makes us into the elitist caricatures that the right say we are. The  ridiculous thing is that liberal ideas are based almost entirely on  common sense decency, and yet we have made these ideals somehow  unappealing.
  
Look I'm a critic and if you ask me if  Moore is as good as a film-maker as Errol Morris or Alex Gibney, I'm  going to say of course not, are you crazy, and in sixty years his films  probably won't matter a damn. But right now he's more important then  either of them, because for the passionate telling of the right now,  there's no-one better. In capitalism, as with all of his films, he  doesn't present an argument, more a point of view. And capitalism is  certainly a fine target for demolition, a system where greed and  selfishness is not only practiced but also claims to be moral and just.  Moore has not lost his ability to hone down on the truly shocking, and  there is plenty of that here. From Juvenile 'delinquents' receiving  grossly exaggerated sentences in order to keep privately owned  facilities ticking over, to Pilot's receiving less annual pay than  manager's at McDonald's. Its prescient film-making in an era where  criticizing the great American ideology is almost an executable offense.

The  film bluntly and brutally makes its point, and while I could have  perhaps done without Moore's stunt on Wall street, which seemed to  cheapen the whole thing, its nonetheless a voice worth listening to,  even if he's not choosing the words we'd like him to.

Rating:  8/10

Capitalism: A Love Story: Greed ain't good

She laughed. She cried. She cursed like only a slut can do.

Michael Moore had the Movie Slut right where he wanted her: Sitting in a seat in her local multiplex bowled over (not a reference to "Bowling for Columbine") by his latest documentary.

Okay, so she knows he's a spinmeister. And he's been known to play loose and free with the facts. And sure, he's a Drama King, who'll stop at nothing to inject a punch of vitality to his flicks. Still, anyone who's been on this planet in the last year knows his central thesis is correct.

Capitalism caught a crummy bug and has spread it to the rest of us.

The Movie Slut was engrossed every second of this movie but still has a quibble with the title. As Moore himself points out, Capitalism was chugging along beautifully until the greedy 1980s rolled around. (Check out "Wall Street" with Michael Douglas if you need a reminder.)

So, isn't it greed that is to blame? Why can't we go back to the old Capitalism, which worked so well until a certain Movie Star president rode into office?

Moore doesn't explain this but he does a yeoman's job of convincing viewers that we can't let the forces of greed hijack our country. And he does it with heart, soul and the inimitable Moore sense of humor.

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See you at the movies, The Movie Slut

Moore holds back nothing

Michael Moore's latest feature, Capitalism: A Love Story, has everything I could want from one of his films: a hotly debated and relevant issue, information, personal accounts, funny clips, and great music. I enjoy seeing his films not so much to be informed, which I feel he does quite well, but to be entertained. That is something rare with a documentary. I don't think you can say the same about An Inconvenient Truth.

Love him or hate him, Moore makes a fantastic film. This time he takes one the recent economic turmoil this country has been facing for the past year or so. Moore traces it's roots back to the Reagan administration on up. He presents a lot of facts, memos, and documents some companies and banks would not like us to see, but he does it because the people have a right to know.

I can't say much about what went on because Moore presents a lot of data, but to the best of my ability I can say that there is an awful lot of shady activity going on behind closed doors. We look at the bail out plan proposed to congress. We see how companies like Goldman Sachs infiltrates the government and starts doing their own bidding. We see companies spend their money frivolously while workers and homeowners are losing their jobs and livelihood. Some of these banks and groups do terrible things that force people into uncomfortable and downright oppressive situations.

One thing I expected to see from this film was Moore perspective and nothing else. I don't know what information he is withholding and what truths he is stretching, but I am impressed with how convincing some of his arguments and testimonials are. He plays on our heartstrings like a trained musician, hitting home with issues involving blue collar Americans struggling to keep their jobs, their homes, and their families together.

Aside from the content of the film, the actual film itself is very well put together. He makes excellent use of stock footage from the 50s and 60s, weaving them perfectly to fit the film's flow. One thing Moore does better than most is his use of music to drive home a point or a feeling. Be it classical, rock, or country, Moore blends it all together quite nicely.

This film makes you think. It makes you angry. It makes you want to do something, and that's okay. That is what a film is supposed to do. It is designed to evoke some sort of emotion and help spring it forth. That's not to say you should go out and do something drastic, but it will at least make for excellent conversation amongst friends and coworkers.

Vincent Snavely