Jessie Vogelson Movies
On March 19, 2003, forces from the United States and a handful of allied nations invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power. American military leaders expected the conflict to last no more than a few months, and President George W. Bush declared that major military operations were over less than two months later. However, Iraq soon became a dangerous quagmire for American forces, and near the end of 2006, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, one of the key architects of America's strategy in Iraq, resigned from office due to public outcry and Bush declared he was "rethinking" his plan of attack in Iraq as the nation sank into civil war, with U.S. troops the frequent targets of attacks on both sides. How and why did America's leaders decide to invade Iraq? How did they formulate a strategy that went so far wrong? And can anything be done to salvage the situation? Filmmaker Charles Ferguson, a former advisor with the Brookings Institution, examines these questions in No End in Sight, a documentary on the War in Iraq which includes interviews with a number of figures involved in the conflict's decision-making process, some speaking on-camera about the war for the first time. No End in Sight was screened in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Several of the production people responsible for The Sopranos were also behind the equally quirky FX network series Damages. Glenn Close, who'd been asked to star in this series on the strength of her work as police captain Monica Rawling on another FX offering, The Shield, was cast as barracuda-like Manhattan power attorney Patty Hewes. As ruthless and calculating as the high-profile criminals that she went after in court, Patty spent most of the series' first season pursuing a class-action suit against billionaire Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), a shady Ken Lay-style corporate CEO. It was clear from the get-go that Frobisher was willing to do anything to stop Patty in her tracks, possibly even including ordering a few murders. The first-season storyline literally began at the end, as Patty's idealistic protégée Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), half-naked and caked with blood, ran through the streets of New York (were the show was filmed) and made a beeline for her office, where her first words were "I need a lawyer!" The rest of the season built up to this crucial moment, with what series creator Todd Kessler described as the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. (It was planned for Patty Hewes to handle a different case in each successive season, each introduced with a similarly tantalizing "teaser.") Throughout the drama, the thin line between "hero" and "villain" grew progressively thinner, in the tradition of The Shield. In addition to Glenn Close and Rose Byrne, the regular cast included Tate Donovan as Patty's much-maligned subordinate Tom Shayes and Zeljko Ivanek as sly defense attorney Ray Fiske. Debuting July 24, 2007, on FX, Damages was also briefly carried by MyNetwork TV beginning August 1 of that year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
