ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

carbuff First the negatives. The narrator (Jeremy Scahill) has a really flat voice throughout the film--typical for documentaries, but I prefer some emotion and inflections--really no big deal. Second, as expected, the book was much, much more through with a lot more information. The film should be viewed as a complement to the book, not a substitute. Third, I personally do not find the "lead character" that the United States is attempting to assassinate by drone to be very sympathetic. Not for a second do I believe that he was a peace-loving Islamic cleric radicalized and turned into a terrorist by the evil U.S. Instead, I think that for unknown psycho-social reasons being a demagogue came easy to him. The positives of this documentary, however, far outweigh any negatives. It is really excellent and interesting, just like the book. Even for someone who has decent familiarity with some of the questionable things going on in U.S. foreign policy, there will certainly be many new facts here. No recent presidential administration comes off good. That any of this was going on under George Bush shouldn't surprise anyone, but Obama comes off much worse considering that he has escalated questionable policies and is a sophisticated, well-educated, constitutional law professor. How many Nobel Peace Prize Winners have Kill Lists? The precedents we are setting are worrying, and, in the long term, today's advanced weaponry is likely to become much more accessible and we may wind up reaping what we have sown.

cyerger This is so bad it may as well be fiction. The writer tries to demonize JSOC by digging in to a single raid out of the probably 60,000 raids that JSOC forces have done during the war.The writer uses tactical, short excerpts and clever editing to make his point. My favorite line in the movie was.... "I have been a war corespondent for over 10 years and I had never heard of JSOC before? Who is this mystery army?"Have you been sleeping under a rock for 35 years?? They have a website and even a wikipedia page. There have been movies highlighting their operators for years. (i.e. Lone Survivor, Navy Seals, Blackhawk Down, etc....) If you have really been a war reporter / corespondent.... how could you not know about JSOC unless you are completely inept at your job. As a former member I can tell you.... this movie is 95% fiction. And story tellers like this have the right to spin their stories and exploit isolated events because of the men and women that defend them.And the gullible people that believe these story tellers. You are the civilians that are afforded their protection."People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwel

Red-125 Dirty Wars (2013) was co-written by David Riker and Jeremy Scahill and narrated by Scahill. It was directed by Rick Rowley. This powerful documentary is based on work done by investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill. Scahill is an amazingly courageous war reporter who left the Green Zone in Afghanistan to report on a U.S. raid against unarmed civilians, in which five people were killed. The victims included two pregnant women.The U.S. government routinely denies these incidents, or claims that the people who were killed were terrorists, or, at best, admits they were collateral damage. However, once Scahill had met the survivors, and spoken to them at length, he didn't let the story stop there.He used all his skills as an investigative reporter: interviews, thousands of documents, and some anonymous whistle-blowers. By diligent investigation, Scahill was able to learn that what he had seen was not unique. In fact, a covert U.S. military force exists that has been given authority to kill any person, anywhere, at any time, if that person is deemed—by someone—to be a threat to the U.S.It's hard to believe that there's a military organization that's more secret and more vicious than the CIA, but there is, and Scahill has the evidence to prove it.Another IMDb reviewer has asked why this story isn't more widely known. There are several reasons. One is that the U.S. government can always claim that the information is a secret part of the "War on Terror." Also, the mainstream media tend to have very cozy relationships with the U.S. government, and they don't want to rock the boat. And, of course, the U.S. government has infinite financial and legal resources to use against anyone who comes too close to the truth.Having said all that, I think an even more basic problem is that we in the United States have become numb to killings, tortures, and any other injustices done in our name. We don't want to hear just how far we have moved from a moral, overt sense of mission to an endless series of cruel and immoral acts carried out in secret.The film is carefully made, extraordinarily detailed, and absolutely riveting. It was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Documentary in 2013. (It's won many other awards.) If you care at all about U.S. foreign policy, truth in government, or international morality, Dirty Wars is a must-see movie. I saw it on a large screen when it was shown at a local college, SUNY Geneseo, but it will work just as well on DVD. (You don't go for the scenery; you go to hear the message.) Don't miss it!Note: Jeremy Scahill was recently awarded the prestigious William Sloane Coffin Peace Award by Peace Action New York State, the largest peace organization in the state.

imizrahi2002 it's not where i think i'll find anything about how people feel about certain situations... but the reviews i read here? wow! talk about insights into how people view the US and its workings...from around the world. i haven't lived in the US for years. as soon as i realized i'd found a place that does with the tax money what i wanted to be done with it, i'd realized it was where i wanted mine to go...what i want is an environment that is relatively safe and healthy to have families in. where people in need due to circumstances mostly beyond their control would be supported through hard times. even though i have to pay at least 8% more out of each paycheck. i'm OK with sacrificing for what i believe in...i could've been a soldier in the Vietnam war. i realized then how little that govt truly cared about me or any of its 'non connected' citizens... my knowledge of how pervasive that is has only grown throughout the following decades... if people want to have a better understanding of what i'm talking about, all they need do is read howard zinn's 'a people's history of the united states'. a bit biased, but enough facts to provide any discerning individual with the information needed to come to a clear conclusion.i don't see it as just 'the US govt' as much as i see it as alpha animal behavior. by alpha animal i mean a creature that will do whatever it takes to be and remain alpha. whatever it takes, just as long as 'they get theirs'. it seems to be built right into natural process.and each of these alpha groups, no matter where they're located seem more than willing to tell a version of the story that puts them in the best light. i'd rather point these things out than try to harp on 'this govt/group did this and this govt/group did this...'. for me, if i DO know who's responsible for some things being the way they are, there's no real need to try to convince others. i just go ahead and act on what i think is true.it would seem we all act from our convictions, whatever they may be. and we arrive at these convictions however we may. i lived and accrued information however/from where ever i could, hoping that it might be close to true... but i know how, like the game of telephone, hand me down information can be. and how, many times, it will be purposefully misrepresented by those with a certain agenda. but then there's this REALly inconvenient question i keep coming to... so what IF your govt is perpertrating atrocities against some groups? are you going to arm yourself and take them on? or is this all just an exercise to help exorcise the guilt by association? i don't suggest anything except to live life in a way that makes you a good person in your own eyes...so many of the opposing/conflicting views here seem to already be doing that. so i'll stop now... thanks, btw, for all the insights into your process/es...