Waste of time

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Following his inciting movie that changed the junk food industry, SUPER SIZE ME (2004), Morgan Spurlock, insurrectionist, free thinker, junk food eater, has encapsulated on film the issue on every adult mind on Earth since September 11, 2001.WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? Firstly, the American government (Bush and Obama both) know where to find bin Laden, if they don't already know his exact home address and cellphone number - but it behooves them to retain bin Laden's mystique so that one side can fearmonger, while the other side piggybacks off that fearmongering while disclaiming they're a part of it.But for the sake of this documentary to work dramatically, let's make like mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed bullcrap). So... predicated on the world's ignorance of "where" Osama is, Spurlock further asks, "What kind of a world would create an Osama bin Laden?" This secondary question connects his quest with the upcoming birth of his son, which becomes the hook of the film, which is truly the more pertinent question.This revelatory documentary that talks to "...all those people whom we're told to be so scared of all the time" will open a few closed eyes and minds.Spurlock's first interview seems to be an incredible exclusive, as he sits down with the uncle of Ayman al-Zawahiri (Osama's lieutenant! - one would think the criminal Bush admin would have tortured this poor guy already, but we now know that Bush-Cheney did not torture to find bin Laden, rather to gain false info to connect 9/11 to the Iraq War already in progress). Though cordial, Uncle's views on America are terrifying: "The seed that was sown by America - a seed of spitefulenss, hate, aggression and killing - cannot disappear in the short term." A young Egyptian student perceives: "The U.S. can no more claim moral ground. People have learned to expect a lot less from the U.S. There are terrorists on one side (al Qaeda) and opportunistic, exploitative people on the other (referring to W.'s friendship with despotic Egyptian dictator, Mubarek)." "It's the American foreign policy we disagree with and it's too bad the American people have to pay for that anger." Spurlock speaks to a Jordan journalist who shared jail time with al-Zarkawi, who told him a reason for 9/11 which frighteningly echoes one of the many fake reasons Dubya gives for his War on Terror (paraphrased): "On 9/11, the Americans played right into their hands. Al Qaeda can't fight them on U.S. soil so they made them go over there to fight them." Of course George W. Bush is mentioned - many times - but WHERE IN THE WORLD is not a Bush-bash. Spurlock listens to every level of Middle Eastern voice - professors, journalists, politicians and laypeople - some claim no Arab will give up Osama because he is achieving the jihad they all want to perpetrate on the Americans, while an Islamist activist lady opines: "If it was truly bin Laden who executed 9/11, then he dealt us a bad hand, because he legitimized the American presence in the Middle East." Spurlock has a knack for compacting truths into simple statements.Spurlock: "America has had a policy of propping up dictators for more than 50 years now." He talks of the 1953 Shah of Iran quite bluntly and names dictators around the world whom the American government support. Easily verified, it is thanks to this Information Age that all these facts Amerikan Government has tried to sweep under the carpet for decades have come to light. Spurlock: "In order to protect our own freedom, it was okay to sacrifice the freedom of others." Spurlock is definitely the new wave of documentarian. Like Michael Moore, he is not afraid to be a player in his movie, sarcastic and personable, making it entertaining to delve into politically charged topics.Spurlock's idea, "To catch a fox, think like a fox," makes him wonder how bin Laden arrived at his jihadist frame of mind through his life influences. (Which is infinitely more intelligent and lucid than how that cowboy moron grappled with the problem.) Spurlock travels to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, the Palestinian territories, views the Gaza Strip from behind the fence, Afghanistan, Pakistan - scary places, because religion is so deeply-rooted, yet denied as the cause of their conflicts. "Ours is not a religious conflict - we don't fight the Jews." In Saudi Arabia, Spurlock stands before the headquarters of the religious police - that would be the Jedi - on a grate where they actually behead people and let the blood run through the grate.Spurlock asks someone, "If bin Laden were caught or killed right now, would it make any difference?" None at all.A Saudi Arabian professor: "Osama bin Laden per se is not the problem; the school of thought is; the teaching. He's a product of the establishment." The ideology implanted in the minds and cultures of these people cannot be undermined. Osama is only the latest figurehead IN WESTERN MINDS to represent that ideology.And again, I question the legitimacy of U.S. troops stationed anywhere in the Middle East in the first place. If it weren't for American interests in oil, would there be any of the displacement talk about "spreading democracy" and "battling terrorism"? Film ends with Morgan Spurlock never finds out where Osama bin Laden is, but Elvis Costello's closing song, (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding, solidifies the thrust of the film - not to discover and kill one man whose death will do nothing, but to open the minds of the world so they won't need iconic figureheads to fight for or against.--Review by Poffy The Cucumber (for Poffy's Movie Mania).

When Morgan Spurlock discovers he is going to be a father his initial feelings of joy are overcome with an intense worry about how he can protect his child from the dangers of the world. Of course saving for the future, educating from a young age and moving to a good area flash through his mind but instead Spurlock decides that the most productive thing he can do is head out to the Middle East in an attempt to locate and capture terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.I really liked Super Size Me. It used a gimmick to build an effective and engaging documentary into the importance of diet and the impact of poor eating. So whenever his latest film came out I had assumed that the overall product would be the same even if the topic was much larger. The film just about starts out this way as Spurlock essentially uses his gimmick as an introduction to a couple of the countries of the Middle East where he superficially explores politics and discovers, hey, they're just people – just like us yeah? OK, so far so basic but I am assuming that he is just easing us into something right? Well, no. Actually what the film does is become more and more about the gimmick and less and less about anything of substance. Ultimately what we end up with is lots of bemused reactions to the question "where is Osama?" It is a real shame but for some reason Spurlock has aimed his film at people who do not get access to any news coverage outside of their own country. Maybe this is me being snobbish though, maybe lots of people do think that the Middle East contains nothing but goats and people who would happily die if only they could kill one Western Infidel™ at the same time. Well, for those people this film might blow your mind but honestly it is just so basic that I doubt even those with zero world view will not be engaged by Spurlock's film.The conclusion of the film suggests that Spurlock has learnt a lesson but, if that is the case, I have to wonder why he couldn't work it out to let us into it as well. The film cries out to be taken in hand in the editing room and really pulled into a structure that works – even if it means using less of the "on-location" footage than you would like. Sadly this doesn't happen either and the film gets more and more basic as it goes on, sinking into the gimmick and losing site of any chance to make intelligent points, educate or challenge the viewer. Could have been an interesting and insightful film but instead is just a fairly pointless mess of wasted potential.

I got another copy of the Christofascist propaganda film Obsession in the mail yesterday. It is appropriate that I sit down to watch this film after the attempts to scare me.Morgan Spurlock is a genius. He made a highly entertaining film that has a real message that needs to be seen and heard by everyone.No matter where he went - Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Morocco - you name it, the people were dismissive of Osama bin Laden and felt that he was responsible for their lives being so bad. he was not a hero, but a villain to Muslims everywhere.What was equally impressive was the fact that everyone hates our government. Not us, but out government. Guess what? We hate it too, but will we have the guts to change it? I don't mean just change parties, I mean change our government to one that doesn't sponsor dictators and terrorism throughout the world as long as it benefits us.The bottom line in this film was that most people in the world are just like us. We want to earn some money, take care of our families, and live in peace. What a novel concept! Check this one out.

I have always been a fan of Morgan. He is head and shoulders above Michael Moore. In this film I really gathered a lot of information on how different countries in the Middle East feel about the United States and the attitudes of our so called friends. I know the U.S. has to do the things that may not be so popular for the best interest of the Country and I am OK with that but when you see how much some of these countries hate us anyway it makes you think. The thing that hit me square between the eyes of this whole film is how much the Saudi's feel and how they run their country. We buy all this oil from them and they look to me as the center of this whole mess we are in, but we will never call them on the carpet because we need them so much. What a mess! I feel we will never be free of this Blackmail until we are energy independent. These people are so rich that they will always have the power to make it hard for us. Thank you. I liked the film very much.