Review Shock And Awe

Reiner, Rob, Director, Shock And Awe, Vertical Entertainment DirecTV Cinema, 2017

Shock and Awe derives its title from the bombing campaign that opened the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The event was greatly oversold as a massive series of air strikes when in actuality it was very limited and short lived. The movie takes that to describe the propaganda campaign the Bush administration launched in 2002 to sell the Iraq war to the American public. This film, produced and directed by Rob Reiner, focuses upon two real life reporters at Knight Ridder new service, Jonathan Landay (Woody Harrelson) and Warren Strobel (James Marsden) who were some of the few who actually investigated the White House’s claims about Iraq and found many problems. They were largely overlooked as the vast majority of the American media simply repeated what the government said with very little comment which is what the movie attempts to portray.

Review Letters from Baghdad

Krayenbuhl, Sbine and Oelbaum, Zeva, Directors, Letters from Baghdad, Vitagraph Films, 2016

Letters From Baghdad was a 2016 documentary on Gertrude Bell. She was famous for being an upper class British woman that traveled across the Middle East at the turn of the century, eventually landing a job with the London government, and helped to create and govern the country of Iraq after World War I. This movie was based upon her letters, official documents, and other primary sources. It is a rich portrayal of her life and accomplishments.