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United 93: Remembering 9/11

Update: Other blogger reviews via HotAir.com.

***

I just came home from watching United 93. As I start to type this, I am not even sure what to tell you. As I drove home, I tried to rehearse the words I wanted to use to describe this film, and rode next to my wife practically in silence the entire 30 minute drive. The movie was...
POWERFUL...

DISTURBING...

SOMBER...
As the ending credits roll across the screen, the silence was deafening. You could feel the weight on men's shoulders, as we stepped out to the aisle. It was like walking out of a funeral for a loved one. The cheery AMC employee greeting people as they walked out clashed with the somber mood everyone was feeling. Powerful. This was the word I kept hearing. It will inspire righteous anger in any red-blooded American.

The movie is the most emotionally powerful piece of film I have seen in a long time. The time is right--should have been done earlier. The movie is very well done, and honors the victims with dignity and respect. It is honest. It is real. It is dreadful!

I believe there should be a movie like this made every year from now on. Make one about the firemen, and their courage. Film a movie about pentagon victims. Make one about the NY police. There are so many human stories of bravery, courage, sadness, pain, tears, and hurt.

America needs this movie. We need to be reminded that we are STILL AT WAR, and the enemy has NOT been defeated! America needs to be reminded of the price of complacency.

I thought I would provide a round up of related links. Read up. Check out old articles. Be reminded. Refresh your memory. Never forget.
What other bloggers are saying:
Michelle Malkin
Lots of buzz about the United 93 movie. Readers have been asking for my thoughts. Yes, I will go see it. Yes, I support Hollywood finally coming through with a movie that celebrates the heroism of the passengers and crew. Yes, it's time for this movie.


Hugh Hewitt
My wife and I saw the trailer for United 93 on Saturday night, and it causes a chill and a shudder.

The film will have a profound impact on the country, simply because it will oblige us all to remember the morning of 9/11 as it happened, and not the almost five years of debate and conflicts that have followed.


Mary Katharine Ham
I didn't feel like the movie was exploitative. There are no big stars saving the day single-handedly. There are many flawed, scared men and women who manage to do something very, very brave, but there also is not a lot of sentimentality.

The movie is stark, unadorned. The story speaks for itself. And, the people of Flight 93 and the rest of the victims of 9/11 deserve to have it told.

For all those reasons, it is hard to watch, but you should watch it.
Not everyone--even among conservatives--agrees though:
Doll at Freedom Watch
People need to start thinking instead of just reacting. It is one thing to honor our heroes. It is completely appauling to honor them through profit and gain of material wealth (Hollywood). It is horrid to interject politics in a tragedy unlike no other this country has ever experienced in our history and I pray shall never see again.
Then there are those that see a boogie man behind the release of the film and are scared of its political implications.
boofdah at DailyKos
The preview of this movie stirred up feelings of foreboding and sorrow that I have not felt about 9/11 since the day it happened. I do not doubt that this movie is a heartfelt and reverent tribute to the 9/11 victims of Flight 93.

However, the more-than-coincidental timing of this film's release worries and upsets me immensely. Maybe I'm paranoid and selfish for thinking this way, but I can't get out of my head the notion that Karl Rove, the Republicans, FOX News, and most of all the Bush Administration are going to use this film--regardless of the filmmaker's intentions, whatever they may be--for their own political advantage...just as they have continuously used the memory of the 3,000 dead on 9/11 to justify their other actions.

Aayayay...I had this really snappy sarcastic comment about that last one, but since I am in such a somber mood, I'll just let it speak for itself. While I'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories, they are right of being concerned as far as political implications. Democrats cannot be trusted with our national security. Do we want John Kerry, or heaven forbid, Hillary Clinton, leading the final leg of the war on terror? Please remember what happened on September 11, and continue to support our troops who are fighting our enemies and making the world a safer place.

Go watch this film. If you go with a lady, take some tissues. Leave the kids at home--this is probably too much for them. Bring the teenagers--remind them that life is about more than me, me, me. After you watch the movie, send a care package to a soldier. Stand taller when the flag waves before you. Sing louder next time you hear the national anthem. America cannot forget.



Tags: , Movies, Film, Flight 93, Movie, paul greengrass, Tribeca, Politics, Iraq, Current Affairs,

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