Review of Winged Migration (2001) by Mitch P — 31 Jan 2005

[i]The Fog of War[/i] should be required viewing for everyone in the Bush administration. Unfortunately, they would probably look at Robert McNamara as someone who has softened with age, and lost his true perspective. They would be deluded, of course.

McNamara does quite a bold thing in Errol Morris' film. It's almost a type of confession. As if he is attempting to absolve himself of mistakes that he made. Unlike when you and I screw up, McNamara's mistakes killed people. He's nothing if not genuine.

Michael Moore can learn from this film. It's more effective than F9/11, and far better technically. Morris is the greatest documentary filmmaker to ever live, and Moore has got a long way to go just to sniff his jock.

Finally, is it ironic or sad that liberals, libertarians, and true conservatives have reached a point where we might [i]wish[/i] Robert McNamara was the current SecDef?

[i]Welcome to Death Row[/i] is an interesting look at the record label (Death Row Records) and it's notorious associates (Shug Knight, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Harrio, etc.). The film is extremely well directed and edited, and is an absorbing watch. I found it a bit incomplete, however, because it treated Shakur's murder as more of an afterthought. To me, that's when the story really gets interesting.

I think the film also shows these entertainers and record people in a different light. They are thoughtful, smart artists who love their craft. A far cry from the general public perception.

This film is incredibly underwatched. By comparison, it has 1/30 the votes on IMDB that [i]The Fog of War[/i] has, and that film is often considered 'missed.'.

[i]Winged Migration[/i] is the bird movie where the French dude figured out how to photograph birds in flight. It's beatiful, and I enjoyed it immensely (watched it twice last night). But, in the end, it's 100 minutes of birds flying, so it only gets 6/10.