The accusations are alarming and juicy enough to strike up a watchable combo of fear and gall.
Bush's Brain (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:18
Fresh:11
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.2/10
Consensus: Most of the evidence is more circumstantial than conclusive, but it's still a disturbing portrait of misuse of political power.
Theatrical Release:Aug 27, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: Not to be mistaken for an exploration of the 43rd US President's gray matter, BUSH'S BRAIN takes a look at the shadowy figure of the man behind George. W. Bush's rise to the Oval Office. Karl Rove... Not to be mistaken for an exploration of the 43rd US President's gray matter, BUSH'S BRAIN takes a look at the shadowy figure of the man behind George. W. Bush's rise to the Oval Office. Karl Rove may be an unfamiliar name to many, but to the Bush family he is an invaluable political ally who has worked in a carefully disguised capacity for many years. Rove ghosted his way through Bush Sr.'s presidency with such silent ease that a mention of his name would have been met with indifferent shrugs and feverish head scratching. His attempt to pull off the same trick twice when Bush Jr. was elected almost came to fruition, until the publication of James Moore and Wayne Slater's startling exposé of Rove in their 2003 book, also titled BUSH'S BRAIN. Filmmakers Michael Shoob and Joseph Mealey quickly picked up the baton from Moore and Slater, producing this damning filmic indictment of Rove and the Bush presidency. From political cover-ups, to an uncanny ability to manipulate facts and figures, the directors leave no stone unturned as they dig up the dirt on the little-known political aide. A scary, thoughtful film, BUSH'S BRAIN paints a worrying picture of Bush Jr.'s presidency, positing the believable theory that all has not been as it seems behind the walls of the White House. [More]
Starring: George W. Bush, Karl Rove
Starring: George W. Bush, Karl Rove
Director: Joseph Mealey, Michael Paradies Shoob
Director: Joseph Mealey, Michael Paradies Shoob
Producer: Joseph Mealey, Michael Paradies Shoob
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Reviews for Bush's Brain
This unapologetically partisan documentary is designed to inflame Bush opponents, and it ought to succeed like a bucket of gasoline tossed on a bonfire.
Littered with sloppy accusations and one-sided arguments, Bush's Brain, like so many political documentaries of late, is transparently manipulative.
They succeed in presenting a compelling series of dots, to use the current parlance, but they don't succeed in connecting them.
Examines Rove's rise to power within the context of politics-as-usual. Such perspective adds power to the movie's punch.
I'm not sure that depicting Rove as a demonic Wizard of Oz does much more than stir righteous indignation among the already indignant.
One of the better political documentaries flooding into theaters after Fahrenheit 9/11 and before the election.
The movie feels like a rush job and at times its tactics are as suspect as those attributed to its subject.
This politically damning profile chronicles the rise to power of Karl Rove, the brilliant, nerdy chief aide to President Bush.
Some believe that the evil genius behind our unelected maximum leader is Dick Cheney. The filmmakers argue that it's 'co-president' Rove (installed, we learn, in Hillary Clinton's old office).
It's a competent examination of an important subject, but in a year that has been filled with stunning political documentaries with high production values, it suffers from an overreliance on talking heads.
By turns darkly comical, seriously scary and purposefully incendiary.
Mealey and Shoob's film is a little too 'Inside Baseball' as it takes a deep dive into arcane Texas politics as discussed by a series of talking heads. Yet what they say -- and much of it is hard to refute -- is devastating stuff.
Lacking the narrative thrust and cinematic power of Fahrenheit 9/11, it will not dent President George W. Bush's executive armor as deeply as the Michael Moore documentary did.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
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|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
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