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RATING:   
SINGAPORE : Love him, hate him, revere him, can't stand him, you've got to give it to Michael Moore - the man is resilient.
Twenty years, five controversial movies, an Oscar, a Cannes Palme d'Or, and many a barb-wired discredit later, Moore is still here and ready to rile you up yet again with a most timely hot-button issue - the current global economic crisis.
Moore believes it's all evil corporate America's fault, what with its reckless deregulations, huge disparity between the ridiculously rich and the working poor, as well as the behind-the-scenes political shenanigans.
And thus, in his trademark relentless leftist fashion, uses a mixture of home-movie footage, pop culture visuals and typical attention-getting ploys to call for citizens to unite with him, and take the country (and the money) back from Wall Street and the unscrupulous folk who run it.
Some might argue that his schtick's getting old and that he is, at best, an impassioned grandstander resorting to shock tactics and humorous provocation. But at least the man is trying. Perhaps he does need new tricks instead of driving an armoured truck right up to a bank or attempting to make a citizen's arrest of various big-shot CEOs.
But for all his gimmicky tactics, the man continually challenges the boundaries and raises the necessary questions. And he does it best with his honest interviews with the ordinary everyday folk caught up in these extraordinary and unfair circumstances.
Maybe "Capitalism" doesn't have the investigative journalism of "Sicko" and it isn't as poignant as "Bowling For Columbine", but it still is an important story to be told.
And that is why Michael Moore is so good at what he does. While he may be one-sided, and unabashedly so, he knows how to get a reaction from his audience.
Whether you're with him or against him, the man gets people debating and discussing, talking and thinking - and that, in my book, is as good as any step forward.
- TODAY/rs
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