By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

“Sicko” (Lionsgate/Weinstein Company)—Oscar-winning documentary-maker Michael Moore has a flair for the obvious. In “Fahrenheit 911,” he presented his compelling case and simply confirmed what everyone was thinking on a range of subjects regarding the war in Iraq and the events leading up to it, including the Bush connection to the Bin Laden family.

In “Sicko,” Moore takes a similar approach, even down to finding to a way to pin the failing American health care system on George W. Bush and his crooked cronies who have allowed both the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, as well as the American Medical Association, to call the shots, all in the name of financial gain. Of course, the wheels were set in motion long before Bush came to power, when another Republican, the equally repugnant Richard Nixon, used the insidious Edgar Kaiser’s medical care program as a model for his national health care system, resulting in the birth of the HMO. The equation—less and less care equals more money for the companies—is still in place today. Ultimately, what makes “Sicko” so effective are the human faces that Moore puts on screen. Whether it’s American ex-pats living in France where health care is provided at no cost, or our Canadian neighbors (some of whom are assisting Americans in need of health care) who sing the praises of their national health care system, or a few of the 50 million Americans without health insurance who are doing what they can to get help before becoming one of the 18,000 a year who die without getting the health care they need because they can’t afford to pay for it. And while Moore’s trip to Cuba with some of the sick might seem extreme, it gets its point across loud and clear. Among the wealth of special features on the DVD are the featurettes “Sicko Goes to Washington” (about the bill HR 676), “This Country Beats France” (about the amazing health care system in Norway) and much, much more.

“No End in Sight” (Magnolia)—Written, directed and produced by Charles Ferguson and narrated by Campbell Scott, “No End in Sight” is a damning and incriminating documentary about the war in Iraq and George W. Bush’s foreign policy inner circle (Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz), responsible for the ever-escalating situation.

Comprised of a cornucopia of interviews with high-ranking officials, journalists and others, “No End in Sight” uses Bush’s May 2003 declaration of an end to major combat operations in Iraq as a jumping off point. Of course, with the ongoing war estimated to cost $1.8 trillion, some 3,000 American deaths and 20,000 American wounded, a revolving door of inexperienced leaders, increasing violence between the Shiite majority and Sunni minority, Iraq’s continuous descent into chaos and no signs of weapons of mass destruction, an end is not only not in sight, it’s almost unimaginable. As bleak as the Iraq war itself, “No End in Sight” presents its facts in a levelheaded manner, reinforcing our worst fears and suspicions about our leaders and the quagmire and quandary in which we find ourselves at present. The DVD includes a wealth of special features.