Sicko by Michael Moore

[SFG75]

This movie is getting rave reviews and is the talk of Cannes. One of the highlights of the film is Moore taking sick 911 responder patients to Cuba to receive free/reduced medical care and prescription drugs. The treasury department is now investigating him for this act, since we have an asinine, stupid, politically motivated embargo against Cuba. For an interesting response, read Moore's response. The funny thing is that Fred Thompson, a potential republican candidate for president, knocks Moore for his film. The problem?, Thompson is widely seen chomping down on his favorite Cuban Montecristo cigar. Yep, no hypocrisy there.

Should be a great film, I think it will be one of his best.

News story about Sicko

Fred Thompson response to Michael Moore


Moore on Lou Dobbs

 

[whats a book?]

i don't know, but his last film was incredibly bad.

 

[JustinDT]

Almost all of his films are 'incredibly bad'. He fills them with lies, distortions, half-truths, mistruths, propaganda, etc. He's a great filmmaker, all of his films are quite watchable, but the 'information' in them is majority junk and flat out lying for the sake of making people he doesn't like look bad. His TV show was fun, Roger and Me was great, but everything else has been great entertainment at the very sake of honesty.

Now he's got part of the latest liberal battle call of free healthcare (the other being DOOM ON YOU Global Warming) which is absolutely ridiculous and any basic study of those systems in Europe of of their place in economics makes them look absolutely foolish. Something obviously needs to be done with the system and always will be as it will never be perfect. But puffing up Castro's Cuba and wanting such a ridiculous system as is found in the majority of Europe is not the answer.

He's one of those people that are really passionate about politics but can't be bothered to actually find anything out, because it's the passion itself that so fun. Only this one happens to be a filmmaker. The fact I was once forced to watch BfC in a college course was shocking to me. I guess a PhD doesn't make for good judgment.

Apologies for the rant. But this guy is a perfect symbol of everything that has gone wrong with the modern left.

 

[Rien]

I really don't know whether or not to like Moore because a lot of what he says does seem to be very one-sided. He seems to make sure you don't get to see the other view at all during his films, rather than showing both sides and offering his view only slightly, which would seem preferable to me. At the same time, how many Republicans will let the somewhat more left-leaning people get a word in edge-wise? They might not make movies, but they certainly have just as much of a problem when it comes to shutting up and letting the other person talk.

I liked Bowling for Columbine. It was satirical, witty, humourous, and had a point to it. I just wish he weren't so forceful with his persuasion.

 

[JustinDT]

Moore

It's not one-sided though. I'm friends with plenty of dems and liberals (hell, I am one in many ways) and they don't say anything like him. Why? Because he's lying.

Unfairenheit 9/11: The lies of Michael Moore. by Christopher Hitchens

Bowling for Columbine: Documentary or Fiction? by David T. Hardy

And just generally, http://www.mooreexposed.com/

Don't mean to harp on it, but it's not one-sided, it's just lying. I'd absolutely love a truthful doc like The Fog of War, etc. But his, and his brethren of bullshit like Loose Change, just aren't truthful most of the time.

 

[Thorn]

I'm looking forward to seeing it, at least - I've watched all his other films and enjoyed them thoroughly. And everyone from Oprah to Fox News seems to like Sicko.

 

[RedGlazzies]

cant wait too see sicko. if theres one thing he does that no one can look at him wrongly for doing, its making people talk about important issues.

 

[nomadic myth]

When he was on Larry King Live and was asked about being one-sided, he responded by saying that the other side has the exposure, and he doesn't want to waste his time on it in his film.

I haven't seen this film yet, but he doesn't seem to be asking for anything but something humane and decent.

He also doesn't seem unrealistic in his views. On King he praised countries such as France and Canada for having systems, but recognized they too have flaws. He said that the U.S. needs to make their own system with none of the mistakes of others.

I'm from Canada, and our system is far from perfect, but getting a major illness is not going to bankrupt you, nor does one have to worry about the insurance you've been paying for giving you the shaft.

I live in Korea now, and pay for insurance, but not all Koreans can. Some of the elderly and poor without a family to support them just commit suicide if they get seriously ill. I'm young and healthy, but I don't pretend to want to live out old age in Korea. I mean, most Koreans are doing well financially, but a lot of people are banking for old age in a big way. What makes me a little nervous is that the insurance policies my wife and I have are in Korean. She's read them, and I trust her, but I'm a cynic, and I don't trust anyone when there's money at stake. I would like to peruse the clauses myself.

A bit rambling, but in conclusion - I want to see Sicko. I'm sure it will be enlightening. Even if it infuriates me with falsity (which I'm not expecting), at least it will have started some mental activity.

 

[book'em]

I saw the film and I thought it was interesting. I want to go to the other countries mentioned in the film and ask people if their health care is really as great as Moore portrays it. Overall, I thought it was very interesting.

 

[RainbowGurl]

I enjoyed the other movie he made about 9/11, everything seems to patch up pretty well, can't wait to see this movie he has made, hopefully it will be a good watch like the first movie he made.

 

[huenemeca]

I have always been a fan of a national health care system. I don't think that it would be perfect but it has to be better than what we have.

But I don't like Moore, like has been said he has a way of distorting the truth. This CNN article cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/15/moore.gupta/index.html is part of an argument that moore got into with Dr. Gupta. I think it shows how moore tends to pick and choose the stats that he wants to use.

 

[jaynebosco]

As a citizen of a country who has universal health care, the main problem is that people really can't get the care that they want and end up going to the US to get the care that they want. We also have a problem of beds closing and patients moved to Washington State on occasion.

Overall its good, but like with everything, there are problems.