Sicko
06-12-07, 11:33 PM
#1
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
Sicko
I don't see a thread about this movie yet. Has anyone seen it yet besides myself.
I can certainly see why some would be insane over this movie as it will wake quite a few people up I'm sure.
I can certainly see why some would be insane over this movie as it will wake quite a few people up I'm sure.
06-13-07, 02:47 PM
#5
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
Well don't quote movie titles because they wont show up in a search, cause I searched for sicko and there was no topic for a movie review, and that thread never even came up.
But anyway this movie is going to drive people crazy. All moore's nonsense aside you can clearly see there's a better way.
But anyway this movie is going to drive people crazy. All moore's nonsense aside you can clearly see there's a better way.
06-13-07, 02:59 PM
#6
Moderator
Originally Posted by hdtv00
Well don't quote movie titles because they wont show up in a search, cause I searched for sicko and there was no topic for a movie review, and that thread never even came up.
But anyway this movie is going to drive people crazy. All moore's nonsense aside you can clearly see there's a better way.
But anyway this movie is going to drive people crazy. All moore's nonsense aside you can clearly see there's a better way.
so how did you see this? Were you at Cannes, or at some film festival or sneak preview cause the film isn't coming out til the the 29th?
06-13-07, 04:24 PM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
saw the oprah special on it
they showed a clip and it's classic moore where you tell half the story and make it seem like something horrible
it sounds sad that people with insurance were denied coverage, but i want to know the entire story of each of those people and exactly what happened and why.
they showed a clip and it's classic moore where you tell half the story and make it seem like something horrible
it sounds sad that people with insurance were denied coverage, but i want to know the entire story of each of those people and exactly what happened and why.
06-13-07, 07:33 PM
#9
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people with insurance are denied coverage, it happens all the time. Insurance companies are criminals that make up excuses for not paying. "Beyond customary charges" is just one of the BS excuses they use
06-13-07, 07:48 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
I wrote this as a quick note to my friends on Facebook and MySpace...
Easily put, one of the best movies I've seen so far all year. Granted, that's not saying much considered what's been put out by the studios, but it might be Moore's most important film to date.
If you see only one movie this year...
... it should've been Grindhouse, but that's in the past now and I will beat the living daylights out of you later for that mistake. However, you still have time to make-up for that by seeing Michael Moore's documentary Sicko when it's released later this month. Now I don't care how much you hate Michael Moore as an individual and how you think his films are terrible, the film covers a topic that every American should agree on, regardless if they're Republican or a Democrat. And for you Moore haters who can't stand the sight of him, he mostly serves the role as narrator. He's in the movie for 25 minutes tops, and then he's usually in the background.
After just watching the movie, it plays differently than Moore's past two efforts, Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Most of the humor is gone and the focus is more clear and direct. The spotlight is put upon how terrible our health care system in this country sucks, but we're not given any options on how to fix it. Instead, Moore divides the film into three acts. The first act we're shown why it sucks and focuses on the individuals (mainly most US citizens) who have to suffer from it. The second act crosses the border into Canada and across the ocean to the United Kingdom and France to show us how their health care system works and why it's better. By time we roll into the third act, we're back into Moore's usual cinematic structure by focusing the last third of the movie on one individual story. When we hit that hour and a half mark, you'll hateRepublicans our government so much that the last point driven home (regarding volunteer workers on September 11th) really makes a true, defined point on how much our system blows.
Now, I will admit, Sicko is not nearly as entertaining as Moore's previous films. However, the film makes that up in what is brought to the table in terms of how we can make our system better and what we can do to change it. Personally, I feel that it's time to jet off to Canada to get free health care (plus the added benefit of non-stop Degrassi reruns) and leave my country in the shambles that it's currently in.
In a summer of terrible films pulling in amazing amounts of money, this is a film that I hope does near or close to the amount of business as it's predecessor three years ago and starts numerous discussions throughout the public on what we can do to make health care better not only for us, but for the country as a whole.
... it should've been Grindhouse, but that's in the past now and I will beat the living daylights out of you later for that mistake. However, you still have time to make-up for that by seeing Michael Moore's documentary Sicko when it's released later this month. Now I don't care how much you hate Michael Moore as an individual and how you think his films are terrible, the film covers a topic that every American should agree on, regardless if they're Republican or a Democrat. And for you Moore haters who can't stand the sight of him, he mostly serves the role as narrator. He's in the movie for 25 minutes tops, and then he's usually in the background.
After just watching the movie, it plays differently than Moore's past two efforts, Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Most of the humor is gone and the focus is more clear and direct. The spotlight is put upon how terrible our health care system in this country sucks, but we're not given any options on how to fix it. Instead, Moore divides the film into three acts. The first act we're shown why it sucks and focuses on the individuals (mainly most US citizens) who have to suffer from it. The second act crosses the border into Canada and across the ocean to the United Kingdom and France to show us how their health care system works and why it's better. By time we roll into the third act, we're back into Moore's usual cinematic structure by focusing the last third of the movie on one individual story. When we hit that hour and a half mark, you'll hate
Now, I will admit, Sicko is not nearly as entertaining as Moore's previous films. However, the film makes that up in what is brought to the table in terms of how we can make our system better and what we can do to change it. Personally, I feel that it's time to jet off to Canada to get free health care (plus the added benefit of non-stop Degrassi reruns) and leave my country in the shambles that it's currently in.
In a summer of terrible films pulling in amazing amounts of money, this is a film that I hope does near or close to the amount of business as it's predecessor three years ago and starts numerous discussions throughout the public on what we can do to make health care better not only for us, but for the country as a whole.
06-13-07, 08:46 PM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by cactusoly
people with insurance are denied coverage, it happens all the time. Insurance companies are criminals that make up excuses for not paying. "Beyond customary charges" is just one of the BS excuses they use
Reaction to these various issues by the insurance companies has resulted in massive red tape: "pre-approval" being chief among them. Are there examples of unnecessary denials of coverage by insurance companies? Sure. But there was a denial of coverage by a hospital just this week. The whole system is broke.
As to the last point, our standard health care policy is claim payment at 100% of "reasonable and customary" charges. Any company we insure has the ability to raise or lower that 100% either when they first sign up for coverage or through an amendment. Premiums are raised as that percentage increases, premiums are lowered as that percentage decreases.
The company purchasing the policy has nearly complete control over what they do or don't want covered. We have thousands of "standard" policies available to choose from, but even those can be modified in any way to be better or even worse coverage. It all comes down to what the company can afford in premiums for the coverage they want to provide. And that's the rub: it's becoming increasingly expensive for a company to provide coverage at all, let alone good coverage. It seems the "no questions asked, pay everything" policy is now getting to the point only very profitable/Fortune 100 companies could afford for their employees.
I was a medical claim approver for 5 years before moving on to another department. Neither I nor anybody I worked with ever denied claims that the purchased policy allowed for. Sure insurance companies are in it for the profit, but I know of no examples of anyone ever being pressured into not paying a claim.
Regarding the movie, I'm interested in seeing it as well. As I said, there's plenty of blame to go around for this crisis. If his past movies are any indication, I doubt Mr. Moore will spread it evenly.
06-14-07, 11:22 AM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
The fact that FOX News even gave this one a big thumbs up leads me to believe that, Moore fan or not, this is a pretty damn good movie.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273875,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273875,00.html
06-15-07, 12:13 AM
#14
DVD Talk Legend
I watched this tonight and it was fantastic. Very informative, at times heart-wrenching, and it always manages to be entertaining. I agree that it's Moore's best film to date.
06-15-07, 12:51 AM
#15
DVD Talk Special Edition
Thread Starter
Yep at time heart wrenching maybe, but times it really did make me sick. With what we are all it seems faced with if we become ill in this country. Greed wins out nearly every time.
But it will , like every other movie he's done all be torn apart piece by piece until the real heart of the matter is lost. Remember when you watch this, it doesn't have to be this way.
But it will , like every other movie he's done all be torn apart piece by piece until the real heart of the matter is lost. Remember when you watch this, it doesn't have to be this way.
06-15-07, 04:02 PM
#16
The problem is that we get only 'his' slanted view of what really happens and he takes things out of context. IF he was a real docoumentary filmmaker things would be more balanced.
As Chew stated above there is plenty of blame to go around but we know how Moore will spin it.
As Chew stated above there is plenty of blame to go around but we know how Moore will spin it.
06-15-07, 04:26 PM
#17
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I'm not sure how you can really spout off about how it's "His" slanted view on a subject when it's laid out pretty clear. The film does a great job at telling it how it is.
I didn't like F 9/11. I feel asleep during it because I was just so sick and tired of the 9/11 heavy hand by both sides. I did enjoy Roger and Me, Awful Truth, TV Nation and Bowling over Columbine and while I felt sick to my stomach over this film I thought it was really great.
Health care is total shit in the states and it's a real shame. But this is a very accurate spilling of it. A real shame to see how the health care system is in other countries.
I didn't like F 9/11. I feel asleep during it because I was just so sick and tired of the 9/11 heavy hand by both sides. I did enjoy Roger and Me, Awful Truth, TV Nation and Bowling over Columbine and while I felt sick to my stomach over this film I thought it was really great.
Health care is total shit in the states and it's a real shame. But this is a very accurate spilling of it. A real shame to see how the health care system is in other countries.
06-15-07, 08:09 PM
#18
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Health care is destroying this country. Once the baby boomers start retiring in massive numbers we're really going to be up shit creek. The system is broken. Those who can't see it- oh well, I'm guessing you have some hellacious insurance or you've never been faced with a serious illness or you're loaded and you could care less what others are dealing with. A couple quick examples from the last couple months- my brothers fiancee is pregnant. She has insurance through her job, Blue Cross, supposed to be top notch. Blue Cross has said they will not pay for anything related to her pregnancy because she should have told them before she got pregnant. Her and my brother are going to have to foot the bill. Kind of shocked they can get away with that but....apparently what they've done is legal.
I recently lost my insurance around the same time I started having some problems with a kidney stone. I could lose the kidney or have lithotripsy done. It ended up costing $8,000- the day of the surgery was the same day Johns Hopkins released a study saying hospitals charge uninsured patients almost three times as much as the insured for the exact same procedure. When I look at my bills I just shake my head- $500 for a "recovery room"?! If you saw what the "recovery room" consisted of you would know what I mean- basically a place where they stick you after the lithotripsy and give you a bottled water. That's it. Hell, if I would've known they were gonna charge me $500 for sitting in a room for 30 minutes I would have told my dad to get the car and told the hospital see ya!
Did anyone see the recent study of like five or six countries- Germany, England, Australia, the US, and one or two more? The US spent more per capita by far than any of the other countries and yet was rated as having the worst health care. It's insane. Truly insane. I lived in Germany for awhile with a family where the father was a doctor. I would take their system over ours any day of the week. The US health INDUSTRY is all about greed.
I recently lost my insurance around the same time I started having some problems with a kidney stone. I could lose the kidney or have lithotripsy done. It ended up costing $8,000- the day of the surgery was the same day Johns Hopkins released a study saying hospitals charge uninsured patients almost three times as much as the insured for the exact same procedure. When I look at my bills I just shake my head- $500 for a "recovery room"?! If you saw what the "recovery room" consisted of you would know what I mean- basically a place where they stick you after the lithotripsy and give you a bottled water. That's it. Hell, if I would've known they were gonna charge me $500 for sitting in a room for 30 minutes I would have told my dad to get the car and told the hospital see ya!
Did anyone see the recent study of like five or six countries- Germany, England, Australia, the US, and one or two more? The US spent more per capita by far than any of the other countries and yet was rated as having the worst health care. It's insane. Truly insane. I lived in Germany for awhile with a family where the father was a doctor. I would take their system over ours any day of the week. The US health INDUSTRY is all about greed.
Last edited by PPP; 06-15-07 at 08:17 PM.
06-16-07, 02:02 AM
#20
DVD Talk Legend
I've only seen Bowling and F911... I hear this one doesn't have as much of himself, chasing after folks, interviewing, etc... which is what I liked the best about his films. True?
Hopefully I'll be entertained.
Hopefully I'll be entertained.
06-16-07, 02:35 AM
#22
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by al_bundy
they showed a clip and it's classic moore where you tell half the story and make it seem like something horrible
it sounds sad that people with insurance were denied coverage, but i want to know the entire story of each of those people and exactly what happened and why.
it sounds sad that people with insurance were denied coverage, but i want to know the entire story of each of those people and exactly what happened and why.
Moore has a way of telling one side of the story and sometimes bending the truth for entertainment. Which is fine for a most movies but not informative documentaries. I'm (mostly) liberal myself and enjoyed Farenheit 9/11 as entertainment but watched it knowing that not everything I'm hearing is completely true.
With that said, I do plan on seeing Sicko. I find the topic he covers in the film to be rather interesting and its something I know a good amount.
06-16-07, 07:23 AM
#23
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Which is fine for a most movies but not informative documentaries.
06-16-07, 12:21 PM
#24
DVD Talk Hero
that's true, but in case of michael moore all of his movies can't even be classified as documentaries with the amount of bias they have. all of his movies, especially 9/11 are carefully screened by armies of lawyers to make sure he doesn't get sued.
same thing in sicko. i bet if you look up why all these people had problems you will find out the story is much different than what is portrayed in the movie. i don't think i've ever met or heard of one person who's had coverage denied. not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not an epidemic like moore makes it seem.
like in bowling for columbine there was suddenly a gun culture that was made up
same thing in sicko. i bet if you look up why all these people had problems you will find out the story is much different than what is portrayed in the movie. i don't think i've ever met or heard of one person who's had coverage denied. not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not an epidemic like moore makes it seem.
like in bowling for columbine there was suddenly a gun culture that was made up
Last edited by al_bundy; 06-16-07 at 12:25 PM.
06-16-07, 12:50 PM
#25
DVD Talk Legend
I don't think there's any question that there is a huge amount of bias in Moore's film, more than most respected documentaries. Heck, the film isn't even out yet and there's already signs as to how he twisted "facts" in order to force them to go along with his side. Anyone read what the guy at MooreWatch posted about that part of the flick? I know it's slightly weird for the guy to be bitching about all of that, but still, you can still see Moore's methods in even that simple bit.
The film is OK though, but I'm not sure what to fully believe or not, and that's the problem with Moore's flicks. There's also no question that the US healthcare system is in need of help, but this film isn't really the way to spread that message in my opinion.
I admit that I was entertained by it, and on the outside looking in most casual viewers would fully take the site of Moore after this flick and truly be touched and to rethink their opinions on the matter, but I can't help but feel that many of the facts just aren't there, and are ignored.
The film is OK though, but I'm not sure what to fully believe or not, and that's the problem with Moore's flicks. There's also no question that the US healthcare system is in need of help, but this film isn't really the way to spread that message in my opinion.
I admit that I was entertained by it, and on the outside looking in most casual viewers would fully take the site of Moore after this flick and truly be touched and to rethink their opinions on the matter, but I can't help but feel that many of the facts just aren't there, and are ignored.
