I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
View MoreVery very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
View Moreeverything you have heard about this movie is true.
View MoreThis is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
View MoreThis documentary actually turns out to be quite a lot more than a political polemic, and it's all the better for it. Naturally, extreme lovers of Bush will be put off immediately, but no surprise there. And, people looking for straight Bush bashing may be disappointed as well. This is not an expose into the darker side of the Retard King, and it purposely goes easy on the conspiratorial tone. There is a significant, though not entirely fleshed out, subtext about media control and the consequences of that, but mostly this is a story about some fascinating, driven, rather demented people and their travails amongst the big fish. In other words, it's most entertaining and enlightening on a human level, not a political one.I will say that the 'revelation' at the end is so extreme that it changes the perception of the entire narrative, and it's something which the movie itself never entirely comes to grips with. The way it's structured does give the momentum of the drama a naturalistic feel, but I wonder if there wasn't a better, more upfront way to rework it and maintain the impact.However, the sense of howling into the wind is subtle and well played, and the real human drama of people striving to be more than they actually are (even by duplicitous means) opens up a whole range of connections between GWB, the author and the publisher. The idea that the publisher and the author are to some extent frauds, or at the very least unabashed showmen, would call into question the validity of the whole documentary if the approach didn't feel genuinely vérité, which is why it works much better as a depiction of flawed humanity than as an investigation into the (also interesting) issues with the book, media, etc.
View MoreAs most people know, when you dig up dirt on a major public figure, especially one who is running for president, many setbacks come with it. Horns and Halos is a film regarding a man, James Hatfield, who decided to venture down that path. He's responsible for the book "Fortunate Son" which is a pull no punches bio on the man who now occupies, for a second time, the address of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the book, mainly because of it's accusation that Mr. Bush was once arrested for cocaine possession in the 70's. In the film, we follow Hatfield, and his publisher, Soft Skull Press, as they struggle to get the book released. What happens is poignant and ultimately tragic.
View MoreI thought that this was a well-done documentary, but didn't have the same response as I think was intended, or at least that the other people who left comments had. I found the two characters, Hatfield and Hicks, totally manipulative - hamming it up for the camera. Of course, Hatfield put his money where his mouth is at the end, but that last scene - where Hicks just starts getting teary and then weeps openly - my husband and I went into hysterics. It was like watching a bad acting class. The story is interesting, and I've read the book in the past - but (and I'm NOT a Bush supporter, for sure) the most compelling part of it is the initial tell-all biography of Hatfield. I ended up buying that 2.99 on-sale edition that included it.
View MoreExcellent documentary of what goes into publishing a banned book. The book being suppressed by the rich and powerful, in this case, being "Fortunate Son", an unauthorized biography of George W. Bush, Jr. (the still unimpeached president at the time of this writing).You also get a tragedy for your money along with a well-done soundtrack. And if that's not enough, significant parts of the book are revealed so that you don't even have to buy the book after seeing the movie. But you'll want to.
View More