My Thoughts:
When I first saw the trailer I thought this would be a good movie. I couldn't remember some of the things that were happening in it but once I sat down and started watching this movie I was like "Man I remember seeing something like that on TV". I never knew the full story of it though.
We really kind of get two stories in this movie the first is we are given Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) investigative report for the San Jose Mercury News who just broke a story involving the US Government seizing alleged drug dealers property before they had even been convicted. This leads to him getting a tip that the US Government was involved in something much bigger than that and with the blessing of his editor he sets off tracking down the story. And the end of this part of the story is him turning it in and watching the world explode with the story.
The second part comes really right before Gary Webb turns in the story he is invited to sit down with the CIA and supposedly talk to them about what he was investigating. Instead they just want to intimidate him into giving up the story and move onto something else. Well needless to say that doesn't work so they begin with the smear campaign to ruin his reputation and have people doubt him.
I have to say this was a movie that kept me trying to think ahead and figure out what was going to happen. Like I said I don't remember this story in detail so I am sure there are those of you out there that know more about this than I do and really probably more than the current generation will ever really know or care. This was in a time when people still believed that their Government was trying to fight the good fight. This was the time that Ronald and Nancy Reagan were on their "Just say No to Drugs" campaign when all this was going down. I think nowadays we see a story about the Government doing something shady and we all sigh and go really again?!
This is one of those movies that show us that the Government is not always the kind benevolent benefactor we thought. The crap that they put Gary Webb through just so they could say they didn't do something that they really did is despicable. They ruined a journalists life who just wanted to make sure the public knew the truth and no one stood up or believed in him once the CIA started in.
On a side note I really find it funny when you get done watching a based on a true story and seeing the actors portray a real life character they then show you what the real people look like and you go wow and they picked so and so to play him. Just my little side note and humor.
My Recommendation:
Go see it. I know these based on true stories don't always tell the full story but I think it is an interesting story and if it engages your mind to want to learn more about what really went down than that is never a bad thing in my mind.
When I first saw the trailer I thought this would be a good movie. I couldn't remember some of the things that were happening in it but once I sat down and started watching this movie I was like "Man I remember seeing something like that on TV". I never knew the full story of it though.
We really kind of get two stories in this movie the first is we are given Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) investigative report for the San Jose Mercury News who just broke a story involving the US Government seizing alleged drug dealers property before they had even been convicted. This leads to him getting a tip that the US Government was involved in something much bigger than that and with the blessing of his editor he sets off tracking down the story. And the end of this part of the story is him turning it in and watching the world explode with the story.
The second part comes really right before Gary Webb turns in the story he is invited to sit down with the CIA and supposedly talk to them about what he was investigating. Instead they just want to intimidate him into giving up the story and move onto something else. Well needless to say that doesn't work so they begin with the smear campaign to ruin his reputation and have people doubt him.
I have to say this was a movie that kept me trying to think ahead and figure out what was going to happen. Like I said I don't remember this story in detail so I am sure there are those of you out there that know more about this than I do and really probably more than the current generation will ever really know or care. This was in a time when people still believed that their Government was trying to fight the good fight. This was the time that Ronald and Nancy Reagan were on their "Just say No to Drugs" campaign when all this was going down. I think nowadays we see a story about the Government doing something shady and we all sigh and go really again?!
This is one of those movies that show us that the Government is not always the kind benevolent benefactor we thought. The crap that they put Gary Webb through just so they could say they didn't do something that they really did is despicable. They ruined a journalists life who just wanted to make sure the public knew the truth and no one stood up or believed in him once the CIA started in.
On a side note I really find it funny when you get done watching a based on a true story and seeing the actors portray a real life character they then show you what the real people look like and you go wow and they picked so and so to play him. Just my little side note and humor.
My Recommendation:
Go see it. I know these based on true stories don't always tell the full story but I think it is an interesting story and if it engages your mind to want to learn more about what really went down than that is never a bad thing in my mind.