“It was just like a movie.” A cliché, yes, but as is often the case, that phrase became a cliché for a reason. The frequency with which those words were repeated in the weeks and months after September 11, 2001 was a striking testament to the role movies have come to play in how we process and interpret reality.
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I have nothing to add to my review of Paul Greengrass’s
United 93, except to say that four years later there is still a gaping wound at Ground Zero where a memorial should be. For me, this film is the closest thing we have to an adequate tribute to those we lost on September 11, 2001.
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B- |
**½ |
+2|
Teens & Up
Where Paul Greengrass’s brilliant
United 93 crafted a documentary-like anatomy of events without presuming to get inside people’s heads or explain actions or motivations,
World Trade Center is a more conventional Hollywood film, with dramatic dialogue, characters following clearly plotted arcs, and a swelling soundtrack to reinforce the mood.
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A |
**** |
+3|
Teens & Up*
Whatever monument is eventually built at Ground Zero or anywhere else,
United 93 is as fitting and worthy a memorial to the victims and heroes of September 11 as one could hope for.
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It was only last week, though it seems like a lifetime ago, that I was standing on top of the Empire State Building, squinting to the south with my two older children toward the proud twin towers of the World Trade Center.
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