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armalightt
Reviews
United 93 (2006)
A moving tribute to the Heroes of Flight 93
I've just rented and watched "United 93". I'll be buying a copy on DVD. In my will it shall be stipulated a copy of the film be left to each of my very young grandchildren.
Now that the NORAD tapes have been made public we can understand more completely how carefully the film makers worked to preserve the essential truth of the story of United Airlines Flight 93.
This film is harrowing but ultimately, I believe, will stand the test of time. I am deeply humbled after having watched it.
I am a 59 year old retired history teacher. I have traveled the world. Over the past 5 years I have looked into every aspect of what happened on 9/11/01. I was not satisfied with the official explanation. Though ultimately I have found the "inside job" point of view contributed nothing to the truth. Unless of course one were a frustrated marxian revolutionary or radical Islamic misogynist and the truth had to be subordinated to a dogma.
After all the America Haters are dead and gone, indeed after all of us are long gone, "United 93" will stand as a testament to the everyday Americans who stood as one and joined forever the glorious dead at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, and Normandy, among other ground made sacred by those who died so we could be free.
And yes, we are free here.
So have at it.
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
One fans review
To be this long a film must have some genuine suspense; or at least the eye must be transported to another realm. Sadly this film has little suspense, and even less eye candy.
To tell the truth I found the writing in the book pretty sloppy, I finished it only because the story itself moved along. It had that much going for it. The film doesn't. It just drags.
I don't know what happened to Ron Howard, perhaps he confused book reading time with screen watching time. Maybe it was a case of take the money and run. I don't know.
If you absolutely loved the book you might like the film. If the book failed to move you, the film will leave you high and dry as well.
Paradise Now (2005)
What's real. *spoiler*
This movie clearly shows that the terrorists used a break in the security fence to get into Israel so they could murder innocent civilians. This is perhaps wishful thinking on behalf of the filmmakers. Palestinian terrorists that get into Israel exploit the fact the security fence is unfinished. For example, the finished fence around Gaza has kept suicide bombers at bay for a while, not that they haven't continued to try to get in, so that the terrorists have resorted to firing rockets into civilian areas of Israel from within civilian areas of Gaza.
The silliest thing in this film is that the Israeli's discover the infiltration, chase the terrorists back through the hole in the fence, and then leave the hole open and go away.
By the way, the UN voted on a two state solution in the late 1940's and the Arabs attacked the Jews immediately. That's been pretty much the story ever since. The majority of the Palestinians still don't want a two state solution, that's why the terrorist organization, Hamas, won the Legislative vote recently. Israel has longstanding peace treaties with Jordan (70% Palestinian population) and Egypt simply because those states recognize Israel's right to exist.
This, to me, very nihilistic movie doesn't even hint at those realities.
Sorry, Haters (2005)
Everything will be fine after the USA converts to some form of fundamentalism.
Spoiler alert! Don't read on if you don't want to know what happens. That said, let me see...where do I begin? Robin Wright Penn plays a single, urban New York "sophisticate" who has a job that would have probably gone to a man in a previous era. Clearly an unhappy woman. In addition, she's a great dog lover, so she's betrayed her maternal instincts and gone "mad" replacing babies with puppies in her life. What to do? Ah, yes; more betrayal. Let's see, there's also a noble Muslim driving a cab in Manhattan. OK! She will ruin his life by setting up a terrorist operation for him! Excellent! Wait. Why? "Sorry, Haters" makes sense if you're a religious extremist, or a communist. In short, anyone who hates the West. The "moral" of the story clearly is, if educated women who have been driven "insane" by capitalist ambition will shut up and go away, and take their pets with them, everyone will be happy and there won't be any more terrorism. In that light, the smug, condescending title of this film could also be interpreted as an (unconscious?) letter close and signature, such as...Love, Mom.