I Married a Witch & Why We Fight

I Married a Witch is notable for having Veronica Lake. And really that's about all you need to know. It's not that funny (although there were some very funny lines), the special effects aren't that special, and parts of it grated on my nerves. Or should that be grated my nerves? Either way, Veronica Lake is very attractive and funny, and it's a damn shame more of her stuff isn't available on DVD. I guess Rene Clair's reputation was built on his other films, as this only had bits and pieces go above and beyond the genre. But it has Robert Benchley in it, which is always a treat.

Why We Fight is the movie that Michael Moore wishes he made. No crazy conspiracy theories, no unconnected dots. Just 100 minutes of very structured and effective discussion of why we're both in Iraq and why Eisenhower was a great prescient president. Really, that speech was outstanding, and it's pretty damn clear that the best way to avoid going into unnecessary wars is to see the utter destruction that war can achieve. About my only problem with the movie was Gore Vidal saying that the Japanese were trying to surrender the entire summer before we dropped the bombs on them. I don't remember that from my history, but it could be right. However, Vidal isn't entirely the most trustworthy source on things. I would have preferred someone else supporting that claim. Richard Perle, on the other hand, provided almost all the humor in the film, as he disingenuously argued for his side, when there was no support for it. I'm not sure whether it was Jarecki's intent to film Perle in such a way as to make his eyes look very sunken or if it was the makeup or if it was just that he hadn't gotten much sleep, but he was pretty darn evil looking throughout the film. I did enjoy the use of Not Dark Yet and I Fought in a War, so Jarecki clearly knows music or someone else does. I Fought in a War was just a perfect ending song. Kudos!