Terror on the airline

United 93
Director: Paul Greengrass
Released 4/28/06

Oscar nominations:
Best Director - Paul Greengrass (lost to Martin Scorsese for The Departed)
Best Editing (lost to The Departed)

"We have to do something; they are not going to land this plane."

United Flight 93 is different from the other three planes that were hijacked nine years ago today for several reasons: it was the only plane not to reach its target. It was the only plane that had four hijackers instead of five. It was the only plane where the terrorists waited about forty minutes before taking it over instead of right after the flight took off like the others. It was the only plane that was delayed on the ground for about forty minutes. It was also the only plane where the passengers decided to attack the terrorists.

Looking back, I wish I had seen this in the theaters, but I didn't know if I would be able to handle seeing such an emotional film. It wasn't that I thought it was "too soon" for a 9/11 movie to be made, (although I was a little surprised that two 9/11 movies (the other being Oliver Stone's World Trade Center), were released five years later), but I just didn't see how someone could make a film about such a tragic and catastrophic event without exploiting it, and, to me, it wouldn't feel right to buy a ticket to see such a movie.

However, after reading rave reviews that stated Greengrass did not exploit the event or made the movie too "Hollywood", I changed my mind. It was also a relief to know that he got permission from the family members of those aboard the plane to make this film (although in a situation like that, you would have to), so I rented the DVD when it was released. I thought it was done well and with respect and was very glad I watched it alone because I was a wreck during the last 15-20 minutes.

It's been four years since I've seen the movie (obviously I re-watched it again to write this review) and nine years since the actual event. Even though I knew the events that transpired that day and even though I had seen the movie before, I watched with anxiety and horror and my heart was pounding. The image of the second plane hitting the tower with the word "LIVE" plastered on the TV still freaks me out. (And I am quite glad I did not see that live on TV, as I was in my American history class - the irony has never been lost on me - when it occurred.)

Unknown actors were cast as the passengers of flight 93. This makes sense because if, say, Matt Damon, had been cast along with other famous faces, it would have been very distracting and would have taken the viewer out of the film. The actors met with the families of those they were portraying (there was a DVD feature dedicated to this and I would advise watching this with Kleenex handy because it is SAD) so they could learn about that person and look at photos. Families also told the filmmakers what their loved ones were wearing that day and what books or magazines they might had been reading or what snacks they might had been eating to make the film as authentic as possible in that regard. The passengers are shown doing mundane things like reading, listening to music, talking to their seatmates and their names are never uttered (except in a couple exceptions).

The movie cuts from the airliner to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) where the Operations Manager is played by the real-life Operations Manager Ben Sliney. Originally he was supposed to have a cameo as an air traffic controller, but Greengrass asked him to play himself. He also used real air traffic controllers, many of them who were there on 9/11 and he cast real pilots and flight attendants, again to give the film that authentic feel.

Now obviously the only people who knows what really happened on United Flight 93 all perished in the crash and Greengrass got all the information he had from phone calls the family members received and the 9/11 commission report and whatever other sources were available to him. We know there was a revolt and that the flight attendants were boiling hot water and finding any objects that could be used as weapons against the hijackers. In the film, it is depicted that the two terrorists who were not in the cockpit are beat to a bloody pulp, and while it would be satisfying if that were true, who knows what really happened. Also, the movie shows several of the passengers ramming the drink cart into the doors of the cockpit and trying to take the controls, but nobody knows for sure if they did reach the cockpit or not.

The movie seems so realistic sometimes (and perhaps that's a stupid thing to say since it was based on an actual event), that I felt like these were the actual people who were on the plane and those were the real terrorists and I had to keep reminding myself I'm just watching actors and while I watched the film in horror, I'm sure it didn't even compare to the horror those poor people felt on the actual United 93 flight.

An Unprecedented Day in America

"This is horrible." 

 "We have several situations going on here. It's escalating big time and we need to get the military involved in this." 

"There is simply no way to accurately describe the emotion this evokes in people all over the world; friends of the United States, and enemies of the United States, as well." 

"What we are seeing now is nothing less than the worst nightmare that one could imagine come to life, probably worse than anyone could have imagined." 

"September 11th, 2001, you're going to remember this day for a long time and a lot of things in this country will change as a result of what you're seeing on your screen now." 

I've been watching a lot of 9/11 documentaries wherever I can find them and I found the most fascinating video on YouTube. Someone had made a "dashboard" of 9/11 where events are synchronized in real time. It took me a few days to watch because it's a little over four hours long, but it was so fascinating and probably the best source for anyone who wants to learn more about that fateful day. This video has been up for one year and already has over nine million views!

Here is a screenshot so I can better explain how it works:

There's the live TV broadcast (it changes from all the major networks) that is the most prominent. Underneath that is a box which has the latest event. This will include things like when the terrorists take over, any kind of information about the planes (such as when United 93 is pushed back from the gate; resulting in a 40 minute delay or when the revolt begins on that same flight), where President Bush is during certain times, etc. You'll see the map and this tracks the flights of all four hijacked planes. Sometimes the map will turn into a diagram of the airports that the hijacked planes took off from or amateur footage of the attacks will be shown or a map of the WTC area showing us where pieces of the plane were found. It's pretty much used for anything that's a visual aid. Below that is the status monitor of the four planes. They let you know when they're still on the ground, airborne, hijacked, and crashed. Once they've crashed, they picture goes black and white. Yeah, it's pretty morbid. The pictures of the World Trade Center and Pentagon just let us known when they've been hit. When the towers collapse, they go dark. At the top you'll see a digital clock, so you know when events happen in real time. You can't really see it, but to the left of the clock it says "New York Fire Department" and "Air Traffic Control Radio". Each of these buttons light up and we hear when there are transmissions from either one in real time. At the very bottom is the timeline of major events. It shows when the planes are hijacked and the targets are attacked.

One of the most interesting things about this video is that it starts at 7:48 am Eastern time, which is exactly one hour before the first plane hit. Most live news programs of 9/11 that you can find on YouTube start right after the first plane hits so it's hard to find footage of this day when everything was still normal. In the first hour, the live TV broadcast only flips around three different networks: NBC, CBS, and CNN. As you can see, I took a screenshot of Today at 8:04 am with Ann Curry just finishing up "the top news stories of the morning." There's just something uncanny about seeing "Tuesday September 11, 2001" on the screen before knowing what the date actually would become (to the people who were watching this live). 

What were the top new stories before the biggest event in our country's history would happen in 44 minutes? Glad you asked, because if the terrorists attacks hadn't happened, this probably would have been the most mundane day in our nation's history. To be fair, most days are pretty uninteresting and not much happens (which is a good thing!). Here are a few of the news stories mentioned:

- There will be a hearing to see if Andrea Yates is fit to stand trial. If you don't know who that is, I'm sure there's many true crime podcasts that cover her story. 

- Michael Jordan is returning to the NBA. This was one of the top stories that all three networks talk about. Was this when he was still playing baseball, then returned to basketball? I'm not sure. Needless to say, I didn't remember this story at all! 

-Elizabeth Dole is running for the U.S. Senate.

-Ann mentions that President Bush will be at an elementary school in Florida today discussing literacy programs. Of course, we all remember him being in that classroom when he heard the news.

Those are just some of the stories mentioned. I won't spoil you with all of them (and let's be honest; none of them are really that interesting). But I thought it was just an interesting snapshot of what was going on in the country before everything turned to (literal) hell. 

Another interesting thing about the first hour is that it includes commercials. Once the attacks start, there are zero commercials. Now more news channels are added (FOX and ABC) so I don't know if the creator is just able to jump around the different stations without ever having any commercials, but I feel pretty certain none of the major networks were running commercials. I don't 100% remember, but it would feel pretty weird to be showing commercials at a time like this. It would just seem to be in poor taste to show a commercial of a squirrel selling Post-its (you'll soon understand the reference) while this horrific event is happening. The only commercials that I remember are the ones with celebrities: a Pier 1 commercial with Kirstie Alley and a KFC commercial with Jason Alexander. A lot of the commercials just seem so antiquated now! You should have seen the Travelocity commercial that shows their VERY '90s website. (And we'll see more terribly created websites, just you wait!) There's a promo for the Latin Grammys (featuring Jennifer Lopez) which will be on CBS that night. Hmm, something tells me they're gonna be cancelled! (Spoiler: they were.) Speaking of cancellations, Tracey Ullman is supposed to be on Today and Ray Romano is scheduled to be on The Early Show, but, no surprise, neither will be interviewed. 

We see a sneak peek with Tom Brokaw telling us what will be on NBC Nightly News. You can bet that story never saw the light of the day. Almost makes you feel sorry for the poor person who worked on it. 

On the Information Board (where the map is shown), before each plane takes off, we get a little dossier about each one: where it started from, where it will (sadly, never) land, how many passengers and crew, how many terrorists. The creator got these little fact sheets from Wikipedia.

Remember I mentioned the FDNY and ATC Radio buttons? Well, we first hear ATC at 7:50. The creator has muted the volume of the CNN story that's talking about how to get your start in the modeling business (major eyeroll) and we hear ATC telling American Airlines 11...something. Probably they're about ready to take off. To be honest, it is kind of hard to understand what they're saying sometimes and there is no transcript of it on the screen. Okay, I'm sorry, but I had to laugh because during this "how to be discovered as a model" mini story, they show a woman in her office with a freakin' Rolodex! Were people still using those even in 2001? Good Lord! At least this first hour has some lighthearted chuckles before things take a turn for the absolute worse! Another thing that gave me a good chuckle is when CNN asks viewers "What do you think of Michael Jordan's Return? Send e-mail to daybreak@cnn.com." Bwah! E-mail! So antiquated, it's hilarious! Oh, and things get worse when they show a picture of their "website" (looks like something I would have made circa 2000!). 

Speaking of terrible websites, at 8:10 the channel flips to CBS and Bryant Gumble is talking to a woman who is promoting a bunch of baby websites and they all look even worse than the CNN one. Gumble even asks if the first one they talk about, babycenter.com, is a free site...what the hell? Aren't all websites free? I'm confused. 

After this insipid segment about baby websites with outdated graphics, we see that AA 11 has been hijacked at 8:14. It is the first major event in the timeline to happen and in the information board we get data about the hijackers: how old they are and what country they're from. This information will be up when all the planes are hijacked. The oldest was 33, the others all range from 20-29, so it really puts into perspective just how young they were. The majority of them were from Saudi Arabia.

We know AA 11 was hijacked around this time because ATC calls for them to climb 35,000 twice, but receives no reply. You can hear the sternness in his voice when he says "American. Eleven. Boston." You know he's not playing games and he wants the pilot to answer him because he has a job to do. I have to wonder, if at this point, the idea of hijacking was going through his head. We even hear him call another plane to ask if he can hear him and that pilot says he hears him "loud and clear". We then again hear him say "American. Eleven. Boston." He has a tone in his voice which means "answer me".  

The guy at ATC must call his supervisor because we hear him telling a guy that AA 11 won't respond and that he's turning a different way and the guy responds, "That's fine." The hell? Maybe he said that because at the moment the plane isn't in any other flight path, but that's kind of a weird reply, especially when you've been told that the plane isn't even responding to you. 

It's been three minutes since ATC has tried calling for AA 11 and they are still trying, but to no avail. He must have tried calling them nine or ten times. He is desperately trying to get a hold of that plane. 

It's 8:19 when AA 11 flight attendant Betty Ong calls an American Airline reservation center in North Carolina and alerts them about the hijacking. Air Traffic Control has just given American Airlines 77 permission to takeoff. While all this is going on, ironically, CNN is running a segment with John Glenn who's talking about a new visitors' center at the Capitol. Ironic because that was supposed to be the target United 93 would have hit. That or the White House. 

At 8:24, Mohammad Atta, the oldest and ringleader of the terrorists (and "pilot" of the first hijacked plane) is heard by ATC. They think he pushed the wrong button and thought he was talking to the passengers because he tells them to be quiet and that "nobody will get hurt". Pretty sure ATC now knows they have a serious situation on their hands if they didn't already. Okay, I know this is super serious and this is going to turn into the worst day of our nation's history, but I'm sorry, I had to laugh when a few seconds later you hear the ATC guy reply, "And, uh, who's trying to call me here?" He just sounds so incredulous! Of course he doesn't get a reply except for when Atta tells the passengers (that he thinks he's talking to) to "just stay quiet." 

At 8:30 we see the Today crew outside greeting the crowd that has gathered around. There's just something very chilling seeing all the people outside Rockerfeller Center with their handmade signs, all happy to be there on a beautiful blue-sky Tuesday in September. Katie Couric and Al Roker are talking to a few people and everyone is all smiles and happy. They talk to one couple who tell them they're there for their anniversary and a woman who's with her husband and son on vacation. Hoo, boy. That's one vacation they'll never forget! I had to chuckle a bit when Katie talks about some of the stories that are coming up and that they have a lot to get to. Oh, Katie. Katie, Katie, Katie. Trust me, you won't be talking about ANY of those stories! Katie turns to Al for the weather and comments, "It is such a pretty morning, isn't it." Such a sad statement, but yeah she's right, it is a beautiful day, but we're now 17 minutes away from the first plane hitting the North Tower. Al agrees: "It's the perfect fall morning." He quickly corrects himself and says, "it's still the perfect summer morning." 

Here is a screenshot of the country's weather map on that day. You can see that the ATC radio button in red and you can see events in the timeline at the bottom a bit better than the previous screenshot I posted. 

At 8:32 the woman who talked to Betty Ong has gotten hold of ATC and is reading the notes she wrote about what she was told about the terrorist (from the sound of it, she's only describing one guy which is interesting). I guess she didn't know how to patch ATC through the plane itself? The plane is in "rapid descent." She tells him that the flight attendants are concerned because they can't get a hold of the pilots in the cockpit and when she asks him if he can, he says they can't either, then seems to hesitate before he tells her that they don't want to tell them (the flight attendants) that. I'm assuming they don't want to incite even more panic because they realize there's really nothing they can do. I mean what can you do besides scramble some fighter jets to shoot the plane down if you think it's aiming for an area with lots of civilians? It's a no-win situation for everyone on that plane. 

At 8:37, United 175, of all flights, confirm to ATC a sighting of AA 11. A few moments later, the pilot will again report to ATC that they heard "a suspicious transmission" (from AA 11) of someone telling everyone to "stay in their seats." This will be literal moments before they themselves are hijacked which just makes it so eerie. 

The channel flips to CNN where they are promoting their Sunday special called  "Hurricane: When the Big One Hits." Yikes! In a few short minutes, this is going to age terribly! I have no doubt the editor of this video knew exactly when to show a certain news channel. 

It's now seven minutes until the first crash will occur and CNN is live at New York Fashion Week where a reporter is interviewing pregnant models for maternity wear. This is just so weird and silly juxtaposed with what's going on with the hijacked plane. 

At 8:42, an American Airlines supervisor named Nydia Gonzalez "with expertise on security matters" is patched into a call with Betty Ong. She (Nydia) is also on the line with ATC, so we're hearing her side of the convo with them, but not with Betty. She tells Betty "she's doing a great job" and "to keep staying calm." We hear her say, "We are, absolutely" so Betty must have asked if they're doing everything they can. Surprisingly, we get info that the "passengers in coach may not be aware of what's going on". That surprised me because it's only two minutes until they hit the tower and aren't they descending rapidly? They must have known something not right was happening. At 8:45 Nydia reports that "the aircraft is erratic again." That must have been so terrifying. Thanks to Betty, we do get a lot of information such as the first class passengers were moved back to coach and before that she (or perhaps it was another flight attendant) reported that a passenger was stabbed. 

When the plane crashes in the North Tower at 8:46, in the information board we are shown that infamous footage that was taken by a French-born filmmaker who, with his brother, was working on a documentary about the NYFD. They were out with them just doing a routine check or something when the filmmaker sees the plane and turns the camera, and, of course, the rest is history. Because they were with firemen, it takes only three seconds for them to call it in.

Nydia is trying to get a hold of Betty, but obviously she's not answering. It's so eerie when you hear her say, "I think we may have lost her." I think she's just talking about she lost her on the call, but they have literally just lost her and all the other souls on that plane. ATC quickly realizes that the plane that hit the tower was their hijacked one, so they're probably the first to know that this was a terrorist attack. 

While this horrific event just happened, CNN is running a commercial about Post-its...with a squirrel. It's a cute commercial, but a bit difficult to enjoy under the circumstances. Obviously, in real time people watching CNN didn't know what had happened yet. It takes a few minutes for the stations to jump on the story. Here are the times when each station brings the story:

CNN: 8:49 (To their credit, they are the first to bring the story, so the squirrel Post-it commercial can be forgiven.)

ABC: 8:51

CBS: 8:52

NBC: 8:53

FOX: 8:54 (I believe they brought up the story a bit earlier than that; but this is the time when they bring up a live picture of the burning tower.)

Obviously, everything is just chaotic. Nobody really knows what exactly happened just yet. It's surprising how many eyewitnesses that are interviewed via phone by the morning news anchors claim it was a small plane that crashed into the tower. I don't know if it was that they were so far away or that they couldn't compute that a 767 could crash into a New York skyscraper, so their mind told them it was just a small commuter plane. Just looking at the gaping hole it left, it's so obvious it was NOT a small plane! 

Diane Sawyer from Good Morning America on ABC says they don't know yet if this crash was done "deliberately or accidentally." I do remember a lot of people thinking this was just a "horrible accident" when the first plane hit, but looking back, it's kind of stupid anyone could have thought THAT was an accident. It was a clear day and even if the pilot was having difficulties, they're not going to fly the plane into a building; they'd probably try to pull a Sulley and crash land it in the river. (Yes, I realize this predates the "Miracle on the Hudson" incident.) 

At 8:59 the phone message that United 175 passenger Brian Sweeney left for his wife, Julie, is played, as that is when it was left in real time. I believe this is the only piece of audio aside from any transmissions from ATC and the NYFD that is played. This is a pretty famous phone message from that day. I'm sure there are many people who have messages left from loved ones who perished that day and have never shared them because they want to keep them for themselves and that's totally their right, but I'm sure those who have shared their loved one messages with the public find it therapeutic for them. I know a few phone messages from United 93 have been shared as well. People grieve in different ways. I know that Julie Sweeney donated a recording of the call to the 9/11 museum. Her husband (who was only 38) sounds fairly calm, but perhaps that was for her sake. Maybe resigned is a better description of how he sounds. 

Moments before United 175 crashes into the South Tower, we hear ATC pretty much confirming in disbelief that they see the plane heading toward the building. The live broadcast is on NBC and they're showing a far away shot of the towers. I gasped when I could see the plane heading right for it. Honestly, if you were watching this live, you probably wouldn't even notice the plane because you would have been watching the tower with the gaping hole and billowing smoke. Amateur footage is also shown of the plane hitting the building at a different angle. I was literally gasping when I watched this. I KNOW what's going to happen, but it gives me such anxiety. On NBC, when the second place hits, you don't actually see it because they have gone to a close up of the first tower, but then they pull back and you see the huge fireball the explosion caused. Obviously, they will go back and show us (repeatedly; as will all the other stations) what happened since they caught it on tape. 

Katie Couric and Matt Lauer had been talking to an NBC news producer who must have seen the first plane crash and after the second plane crashes, she says the dumbest thing ever, I'm sorry, but it's true. She says, "I wonder if there are air traffic control problems." WTF? Even if the pilots couldn't communicate with ATC, they're NOT going to fly into a building! Al Roker, bless him, even says, "What are the odds of two separate planes hitting both towers?" I'd say the odds are pretty good when it's terrorism and the planes are deliberately being flown into the buildings! Katie Couric says, "It is completely impossible to understand why this is happening..." This just shows how some people could not grasp the idea of terrorism even after a second plane crash. 

But, to be fair, the Today crew aren't the only ones who have that kind of reaction. I've watched several news stations to see how they reacted that day and some of them are, honestly, just mind-boggling. If you watch the CNN footage of the second plane, they're getting it from their New York affiliates and they thought the second explosion was from the fuselage of the first plane...I guess they thought it jumped from one building to the other? I don't know how far apart these buildings were, but pretty sure that would be improbable. It's so odd because you see a quick clip of the incoming second plane, but then the camera jumps away from it. The voiceover of the anchor says, "One of our producers says perhaps a second plane was involved, but let's not even speculate to that point..." and I'm thinking, this guy is going to look stupid in a few seconds because his producer was 100% correct! They obviously figure it out when they go back to the tape and clearly see what happened. The anchor also has a similar reaction to that NBC news producer and says, "I don't know if perhaps some kind of navigating system or some type of electronics would have put two planes into the World Trade Center within about 18 minutes of each other." Uh....no. It's called terrorism. It's so OBVIOUS that they were both deliberate, but nobody wanted to admit what it was. Even if ATC was down, pilots would steer clear of two big ass buildings. It just seems too perfect of a target for that to be "an accident". 

Our international friends over at the BBC have seemed to miss the second plane completely! I'm not sure how; perhaps they weren't watching the monitor? Because you clearly see it on the screen and there is absolutely NO reaction from the male or female anchor. They're talking to an eyewitness and the woman interrupts 40 second in to say, "It looks like both buildings are on fire." (Yeah, no kidding!) Then about a minute after that, she says, "It's not really clear if there was a plane crash", then adds that there are "unconfirmed reports of a second plane" and I'm thinking, What?! Go back and check your tapes! The male anchor says that because they are seeing both towers on fire, "it could be that the aircraft went through one and the debris has affected the other tower." How are they going this long without not knowing what happened? Surely there are other people in the studio who saw what happened. Finally they do get the footage and replay it and the woman calls it "a double plane accident at the World Trade Center." I feel like "double accident" is an oxymoron. 

 

In this horrific event, I had a bit of a chuckle when Matt Lauer says something to the effect of if they could find out if ATC had contact with these planes. Uh yeah, no duh. Obviously not contact since they couldn't communicate, but they very much knew there was a situation going on. 

I believe the first mention of this being a deliberate act and terrorism is at 9:12 when the channel flips to CBS and Bryant Gumble is interviewing an eyewitness who told him the planes "aimed for it and they did a very good job." He says the towers were "targets". Although to be fair, even though this isn't shown in this video, after the second plane hits, the Fox News anchor says that it's "deliberate" and even drops Osama Bin Laden's name three seconds later. Of course, if you know your OBL facts, it's not that hard to pinpoint it on him: he was a known terrorist; he hated the U.S.; he had tried to do a terrorist act with planes back in the '90s (or even the '80s?), but it was thwarted; he had the money to fund this. If the shoe fits...

So a lot is going on right now: At 9:16 we hear ATC say they've lost contact with American Airlines 77; at 9:29 Katie Couric announces that it was American Airlines 11 that was hijacked and crashed into the WTC (I can't even imagine hearing that and having a loved one on that plane; also I was a little surprised she got that information so quickly); at 9:33 Fox News mentions Osama Bin Laden as a likely suspect (although, like I said earlier, they already mentioned his name right after the second plane hit); 9:37 is when AA 77 crashes into the Pentagon and the security camera that caught it is shown. Kinda crazy that three out of the four crashes were caught on some type of camera, especially back in 2001. By 9:49 CNN has "breaking news" of "reports of a fire at the Pentagon" and at 9:42 NBC and CBS show smoke coming from the Pentagon. Nobody knows what's happened, but they think it may be a bomb or some kind of explosion. Gumble mentions he doesn't know if this is a result of another aircraft. 

Okay, so while all this is going on, over on the map I see that United 93 has gotten pretty far into Ohio which is shocking, especially since they left from Newark and their target is either the White House or Capitol. They flew all away across the entire state of Pennsylvania. We know the flight was delayed 40 minutes and that it took the hijackers 46 minutes to take over the plane. It's no wonder we know so much about this flight because the passengers had time to find out what was going on and were able to call loved ones and tell them that they were going to storm the cabin which will happen just before ten.

This day gives me a lot of "what ifs?" and most of my "what ifs?" revolve around United 93. What if their flight was delayed just a little bit longer and never took off because by then the city of New York had already closed down their air space? What if they (the passengers and flight attendants; sadly I don't think the pilots had a chance) had successfully killed or at least incapacitated the hijackers and had managed to land the plane (probably would have been more of a crash landing)? We do know one of the passengers was a pilot (though don't think he flew big jet airliners) and another worked ATC for a few years, so it's not totally impossible to think they could (crash) land the plane. Can you imagine what heroes everyone on that plane would have been? And the stories (and many books!) they would have to tell? The Paul Greengrass film would have been totally different and he would have many consultants! Of course, they are all heroes, posthumously, for diverting the plane from crashing into the Capitol. 

 

At 9:45, in an unprecedented move, U.S. airspace is shut down and it only takes two hours for every single plane in the nation to land which is quite incredible. Of course, we know that many international flights were directed to Canada and if you have never heard of the incredible story of the Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, you should check it out. 

It's been an hour since the first crash and the three main stations have called in their anchors of their nightly national news broadcasts: Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, and Dan Rather have now joined their respective stations (NBC, ABC, and CBS) within a few minutes of 9:46. 

There is more confusion at 9:59 when the south tower (the second one to be hit) collapses nearly an hour after it was first struck. They just see a "large plume of smoke" and it takes a few moments for them to realize that the whole building has collapsed. One CNN correspondent even thinks that "the second tower is encased in smoke". 

As I mentioned not too long ago, the passenger revolt on United 93 began three minutes til ten, now it's three minutes after ten and the plane has crashed in a field in Shanksville which will be the only thing this town will be known for (and calling it a town may be a bit generous). Very eerie timing that the two United planes crashed exactly within an hour of each other. Five minute later is when ATC gets word that a plane has crashed in Pennsylvania, 10:37 is when the Associated Press first reports about it; 10:48 is when CBS first reports about it; and 10:58 is when CNN reports about it. I remember watching international coverage (might have been the UK) and when they reported about United 93 they said they didn't know if that plane was part of the terrorist attacks or if it was just a random plane crash. Okay, in the words of Al Roker, what are the odds of that? Of course that plane was involved! I suppose since the plane just crashed into a random field that's why they thought that, but, c'mon...

Once all the planes have crashed, the flight paths of all four planes is put on the information board and the map will eventually disappear as it is not needed anymore. 

At 11:15 American Airlines confirms the loss of its two flights, but what I found really interesting was that at 11:25 United Airlines says it is "deeply concerned" about flight 175. They have confirmed that United 93 went down. To me, it is odd that they used those words about flight 175 (which, ironically, is the flight the entire world saw come to its demise if they were watching live at that moment) because they have not yet confirmed it was hijacked or part of the attacks. Were there other flights that were unaccounted for? If not, wouldn't it be obvious that flight was the one used in the attacks? By 11:53 they have confirmed the loss of both flights. It's just a little detail that I have no recollection of that day.

I know it seems like I told you everything that this video offers, but trust me, I didn't. There's so much more information and graphics that I didn't tell you about, so I would definitely recommend this if you are interested in learning more about the day that nobody will ever forget. 

Argo see this movie now!

Argo
Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber, John Goodman, Alan Alda
Released: October 12, 2012
Viewed in theaters: November 5, 2012

Ben Affleck, I forgive you. I forgive you for Pearl Harbor, for Gigli, for Daredevil. (I would forgive you for Armageddon, but, uh, I kinda like that movie). I forgive you for your relationships with, ugh, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez. Even during your not so great moments, I have always liked you...perhaps even a little more than your BFF, Matt. How can you not like somebody who was in the music video for After 7's "Can't Stop" and who settled down with Jennifer Garner, an actress I like (and how nice of you to give a role in your new movie to her television father!) Plus with each movie you direct, I like it better than the last one!

I know Ben Affleck isn't reading this, but perhaps I have the attention of you, dear reader, and if you have not seen this movie, then I very much urge you to (Ar)go see it now! It's based on a true story, that, to be honest with you, I had never heard of until recently when I was listening to a few podcasts that were talking about this film and that's how I became aware of the movie and the events that happened on which it's based.

It's a small, but remarkable story within the Iran hostage crisis which started on November 4, 1979 when militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran because the U.S. supported the recently overthrown Shah. There's a brief history lesson as a prologue to the movie which makes things very helpful and easier to understand. It's a scary scene because there's a mob of militants and when you see they have broken the gates and are coming into the building, you feel their fear. Classified documents are being destroyed and shredded as fast as they can, tear gas canisters are being thrown at the militants, the Embassy staff are concerned about the Iranians who are already there to apply for U.S. Visas.

Since there's no place to escape, most of the Embassy are taken as hostages, but six manage to escape before the mob makes it in the building and find refugee in the home of the Canadian ambassador (played by (real life Canadian!) Victor Garber) and his wife and Iranian housekeeper, who suspects that his house guests are hiding out since they have been there two months and never go out.

Affleck plays CIA specialist Tony Mendez who is in charge of getting the six of them out of the country safely. A couple of ideas are thrown out on the table but none of them seem plausible. When Tony is watching Planet of the Apes with his son, he gets the idea to pose as a Hollywood associate producer and create fake names and Hollywood professions for the six hostages for them to be a Hollywood production team scouting out different areas for a sci-fi movie they are making, Argo. Tony believes this is the best bad idea they have.

With the help of a big shot Hollywood producer (Alan Arkin) and John Chambers, the makeup artist for Planet of the Apes who has worked with the CIA before (John Goodman), Tony picks out a script and gives each hostage a name and profession - scriptwriter, location scout, director, etc. Even though the movie is fake (well, the script was real!), and will never be made (let's face it - this movie is way more interesting than what the actual Argo would have been!), they still want everything to look as authentic as possible. While the producer is more concerned about choosing a script that would be a hit ("If I'm making a fake movie, I want a fake hit!"), Mendez chooses a script that calls for a location that could be set in the Middle East and Argo, a sci-fi fantasy movie that calls for a desert location, is their best bet for that. They also set up a casting party and an ad and article in Variety.

Also with the help from the CIA and Canadian government, Tony gets six fake passports. Their biggest obstacle will be getting past airport security. When a person enters the country they are given a white copy of their documented flight while the airport keeps the yellow copy so they can check when the person flew in. The six Americans are given (fake) white documents, but Tony instructs them to play dumb and tell the airport employees they don't know why they don't have them.

Even though I already knew the outcome of the story, they still did a great job of keeping you in suspense and on the edge of your seat. I haven't felt my heart pound that fast since I watched an episode of Breaking Bad! (Speaking of which, Bryan Cranston, Walter White himself, is in this movie!) In an odd way, I was reminded of United 93 in that both movies are based on true events and even though one movie has a successful ending and the other has a tragic ending, both movies made you worried (or hopeful in the case of United 93) that the opposite of what really happened would be the outcome.

I predict a Best Picture nod come Oscar season!

Captain on the Rocks

Captain Phillips

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Keener, Barkhad Abdi

Released: October 11, 2013

Viewed in theaters: November 3, 2013

Much like he did with United 93, Paul Greengrass cast mostly unknowns in his latest movie based on a true event with the exception of Tom Hanks who I'm sure you have heard of! The capturing of Richard Phillips onboard a huge cargo ship happened in April 2009, but despite being old enough to remember this, I don't recall this story at all and wasn't even aware of it until I heard about the movie and how that was based on a true story.

It is an interesting story and I can see why it was made into a film. I wasn't aware that Paul Greengrass had directed it until his name came up at the end credits and I think to myself, Of course, I should have known. This is a movie that he would direct.

The movie begins with Captain Phillips (portrayed by Tom Hanks) and his wife (Catherine Keener) on their way to the airport so Phillips can fly to Oman where from there, he, along with a crew, will navigate a large cargo ship called the Maersk Alabama to deliver food to the nations of Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda. Their route sends them to Djibouti from Oman and then to Mombassa, Kenya, which they have to sail along the Somali coast where pirate activity is so heavy that Phillips gets an e-mail warning about it and has drills to prepare his crew in case they should ever have a run-in with pirates.

On the sonar, he notices two small blips gradually getting closer to the Maersk Alabama and with binoculars, sees that they are two skiffs each with four Somalian pirates on each one. He fibs to the pirates when he gets on his radio and tells them that the Navy will be arriving in five minutes. Only one skiff calls him on his bluff while the other changes course. The skiff that is still coming after them breaks down and Phillips and his crew are safe...for now.

Phillips has a conversation with his crew about the incident. Their boat is not armed so if they are captured by pirates, they have no fire power to scare them away. Many of his crew want to take a detour to get out of the heavy pirate activity which would mean not reaching their destination. Phillips tells them they have a job to do and that's what they're to do and if anybody wants to leave, they can. I can see the points of both sides. It does seem pretty ridiculous to risk your life in an area of the world that's known for its piracy when your ship isn't even armed (that has since changed and firing warning shots help scare pirates off), but Phillips was right saying they have an obligation to deliver the food to Mombassa and this is what they signed up for.

The next day, four of the pirates are back, led by Muse (played by Somalian-born, Minnesota-raised Barkhad Abdi). They get a lot closer to the Alabama than the previous day and water hoses spaced all around the boat are activated to keep the pirates away, but one is broken and despite one crew member desperately trying to fix it, the pirates make their way to that part of the boat and hook their ladder onto it so they can climb up. It is crazy to think that four men in one small boat can overpower a crew that outnumbers them in a boat that is 508 feet and 6 inches long (footnote, Wikipedia).

As he sees the pirates boarding the ship, Tom Hanks' expression is of pure fear and he does a brilliant job of portraying it. Expect a few acting nominations on the way for him in the near future. Phillips tells his crew to hide in the engine room and not to come out no matter what. He and a couple other crew members are in the control area where they steer that boat. The pirates find them and asks Phillips where the rest of his crew is and he replies with, "I don't know!" He tells the pirates that he will help them search the boat and suggests they start from top to bottom since the engine room is at the bottom and will give the crew members plenty of time to shut the power off so they will be hidden.

There is an intense scene where one of the pirates has a gun pointed at the head of one of Phillips' crew member when he won't tell them where the rest of the crew is, but no blood is shed...at least not for awhile.

After a standoff between the pirates and the crew members, Phillips offers them the $30,000 in their vault and the lifeboat on the Alabama if they just leave them alone, but after he is explaining how to work the lifeboat, they won't let him leave and take off with him in it and the movie continues on to show us how he is eventually rescued by the Navy Seals.

Something interesting that Greengrass does is he never cuts back to Keener at home worrying about her husband who is in peril. In fact, the only time we see her is at the very beginning.

The ending of the movie is very effective and another great scene from Hanks. He has an interesting accent as the real Captain Phillips from Massachusetts. It was a bit distracting at times because he sounds a lot like Mayor Quimby from The Simpsons!

The (one-hit) Wonders

That Thing You Do!

Director: Tom Hanks

Cast: Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Steve Zahn, Tom Hanks, Johnathan Schaech, Ethan Embry, Charlize Theron

Released: October 4, 1996

Oscar nominations:

Best Original Song - "That Thing You Do!" (lost to "You Must Love Me" from Evita)

You!

Doing that thing you do!

Breaking my heart into a million pieces

like you always do!

And you!

Don't mean to be cruel!

You never even knew about the heartache

I've been going through.

Well I'm trying and try to forget you girl!

But it's just so hard to do!

Everytime you do that thing you do!

It's probably been well over twenty years since I last saw this movie or heard the song, but I can still sing along to every word; it all just came flooding back to me. I'm pretty sure my family owned the soundtrack (don't quote me on that, but it wouldn't surprise me) and the song is played at least a million times during the movie, so it's no wonder (no pun intended) that I haven't missed a beat (again, no pun intended). Even though I don't remember hearing this song on the radio, it must have been played on popular radio stations because I read it was released as a single. 

It was robbed of an Oscar win for best song. "You Must Love Me" from Evita won instead. The other songs nominated were "Because You Loved Me" from Up Close and Personal; "I've Finally Found Someone" from The Mirror Has Two Faces; and "For the First Time" from One Fine Day. Now I think all those songs cancelled each other out because they were all from romantic or romantic-adjacent movies (two of which starred Michelle Pfeiffer!). So I wan't familiar with "For the First Time" so I went to listen to it. Kenny Loggins sings it and I immediately recognized it when it started playing it. I think it was on a compilation CD of movie songs I owned (back in the heyday when people used archaic artifacts like CDs -ask your ancestors, kids). Funnily enough, this CD also included "I've Finally Found Someone." I don't think of "Because You Love Me" being from a movie; I think of it as a single from Celine Dion's grammy-winning album, Falling Into You. I feel like "You Must Love Me" only won because Madonna sung it and was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now if "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" (which wasn't even nominated) had won, I would have been fine with that because that song slaps. "You Must Love Me" is a boring, insipid ballad. What I'm simply trying to say is that from the five nominated songs, "That Thing You Do!" should have won. 

I saw this movie in theaters with my dad. He was a teenager in the '60s, when this movie is set, and played in a band, so of course this movie was made for him. This movie is basically about a small town (Eerie, Pennsylvania) band who are discovered and soon become a national sensation with their hit song, the same as the title of the movie, That Thing You Do! 

Guy (Tom Everett Scott) is asked to fill in as the drummer of a band who his friends are in (I guess Guy isn't initially in the band because he works at his dad's appliance store, I'm not really sure) after the drummer, Chad (Giovanni Ribisi), breaks his arm right before they're supposed to play at the Mercyhurst College Talent Show. The other band members include lead singer, Jimmy (Jonathan Schaech); lead guitarist, Lenny (Steve Zahn); and the bass player (Ethan Embry). For some reason, he is credited as T.B. Player as in The Bass Player, so he wasn't given a name. I'll just refer to him as Ethan. 

This band must have just formed after Jimmy wrote a song called "That Thing You Do!" (you might be familiar with it) and wanted to perform it at the talent show. I say that because when Guy comes over to practice with them after he's replaced Chad their band still doesn't have a name. Jimmy has suggested The Heardsmen and The Chordvettes. As you can see, he likes being creative with how he spells the name. I'm sure there's a word for that, but I have no idea. When Guy asks if they're only playing the one song at the show and Jimmy confirms that, he replies, "Wonderful", emphasizing the "won" sound. Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye (Liv Tyler), is there and she lights up when she hears him say that and tells them they should call themselves The Wonders. Jimmy also likes this idea, probably because he can spell it in a creative (and let's be honest, really dumb) way. On a notepad he writes it as THE ONEDERS. Of course, the other band members thinks it reads as "Oh-nee-ders." They will later write it as One-ders, which is a little better, but why not just write it as 1-ders? Actually, scratch that. Now that I see it, it looks awful written that way. Later, they will spell it correctly, but personally, I think The Wonders is not the best name for a band. Why? Because of one-hit wonders. What if you only have one hit and you're called The Wonders? (And this is pretty much what happens to them.) That's just asking to be mocked. 

They're practicing "That Thing You Do" and it's a slower-paced song than what we will eventually know and love it as. 

At the talent show, Guy brings his girlfriend, Tina. She is played by....wait for it....Charlize Theron! This was one of her first movie roles and I did not remember she was in this at all. I probably didn't remember because she was in this before she was famous and she's not in it that much. She's not really impressed that Guy is playing in a talent show and doesn't seem to be into this whole thing at all. Charlize has bigger and better things ahead for her! 

When it's the One-Ders turn to perform, Guy starts playing the drums really fast and at first there's confusion because that's not how the song is supposed to go, but the rest of the band goes with it and this is probably the best decision Guy ever made because it's going to change all their lives. First of all, everyone loved the song and they won first place - a whopping $100 split four ways. I supposed back in 1964, that was a lot of money. Maybe? 

There's an applause-o-meter chart with different rankings that a girl uses her arm to point to a ranking after each performance depending on the audience's reaction. (Obviously a very scientific method. The rankings include: "You Stink", "Not Terrible", "Good", "Extra Good", "Super", and "Wicked.") Not surprisingly, they got the highest score. 

They later play at an Italian restaurant (of all the random places) and some guy asks them where he can get a record of their songs. This gives Guy the idea for them to do just that. He has a relative "in the record industry" who records church music and he could record their songs for them and sell them for a dollar a piece. They play their songs in a church while his uncle is using some very old-fashioned technology to record them. His uncle is played by Chris Issak of "Wicked Game" fame (you know, the song). 

A guy who introduces himself as Phil Horace comes down to the appliance store to talk to Guy about the band. He wants to take them to rock 'n' roll shows to play their music, specifically "That Thing You Do!" He tells them he can get that song on the radio and if the radio doesn't play the song within ten days he'll tear up the contract. 

We see a scene of Tina at the dentist. She's a first-time patient and is very attracted to her handsome dentist. Later, we will later find out she ends up with him. I'm not really sure what the point of having her in the movie was for; it's no wonder I don't remember Charlize Theron at all in this. I heard the director's cut is two and a half hours (way too long!) and I'm sure we get a lot more backstory with her character. 

The band members (and Faye) are wearing ear pieces, listening to the radio so they don't miss it should their song be played on the radio. Guy is working at the store and his dad yanks it out of his ear and tells him to go help the two women who are looking at stoves. Faye is mailing a letter when a song has just finished and the DJ announces the next song as being from "a local Eerie band" and that they just won the Mercyhurst Talent show. She starts screaming and shrieking and running down the street like a maniac, but her enthusiasm is infectious. She sees Ethan who is coming out of a store and they are shrieking in joy together. They run into the appliance store where Guy's telling the two women what colors the stoves come in and Faye tells him to turn on the radio, so he does. In fact, they go around the whole store turning on several radios. Now you can hear the music more clearly; before it sounded a little more muddled. Outside the window we see Lenny and Jimmy pull up and park right in the middle of the street and run in. Guy's dad and sister (who also works at the store) don't look very happy, but his mother, who is sitting in the back where she's doing some paperwork, is smiling and grooving to the music. This is the best scene in the movie; you can't help but smile when you watch it. It's gotta be pretty exciting when your song is played on the radio! 

Later that evening, Guy calls Tina to ask if she heard the song which played three times on the radio that day and she said she didn't and points out she's heard that song many times already. She doesn't seem to care that his band's song was on the radio. Not the most supportive girlfriend! 

Because of their radio success, they've been invited to play at the Orpheum in Pittsburg (the closest big city to them). This is a big deal for them, but unfortunately it turns out to be a disaster. Right before they're about to start, they notice the mikes not working (didn't someone do a sound check?), then when it's turned on, it gives that awful screeching sound and the entire audience are holding their hands to their ears. Once that's corrected, they start playing the song, but then one of Guy's cymbals fall and it's not a great performance. They're lucking that this was pre-Internet/social media or otherwise this would become viral!

The next day, Phil takes Guy to meet a man named Mr. White who is with Play-Tone records and was in town to catch the show. He is played by Tom Hanks and I didn't catch the characters' first name, but according to Wikipedia, it's Amos. He wants to release their record and add The One-ders to their record label. He's also the first person (outside the band and Faye) to get the pronunciation of the band correct and after he becomes their manager, his first order of business is to have them spell their name as The Wonders so there's no more confusion. Many of the label's bands and artists will be touring state fairs and he wants The Wonders to be one of those bands. 

Their record will be released nationally and they will be doing a lot of promoting of it, mostly on radio shows. Mr. White tells them they will be touring until Labor Day (I think it's the beginning of summer when they start), but Ethan tells them he joined the Marine Corps so he has to report to South Carolina at the end of August, but he can stay with the band until then. Maybe this is the reason Ethan Embry isn't given a name in this movie? But he's still in quite a bit of the movie. Mr. White decides the band needs a gimmick so he give Guy a pair of sunglasses to wear while he's performing and has given him the nickname "Shades". 

Their song ends up hitting #93 on the Billboard 100 charts. It was right below "Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis Presley. I paused the movie to look at the other songs, but I didn't recognize any of them. You're probably wondering if they perform any other songs besides "That Thing You Do!", and yes, yes, they do, but honestly, I don't even remember how they go. I think we hear two other songs. 

After getting a montage of them touring many of the fly-over states, Mr. White tells them that there's been a change of plans and they'll next be flying to Los Angeles because their song has become "the fastest-rising single in the history of the Play-tone label." Not only that, but they also have the number 7 record in the country. Not bad for an amateur band! 

As they're leaving to get into the car to take them to the airport (they're currently in Wisconsin), they are attacked by a mob of screaming girls. One of them even jumps on the car. Honestly, it's so embarrassing and we've seen this from the Beatles to One Direction. (Okay, I know One Direction is old news by this point, but I can't think of anything more current.) On the plane, Mr. White tells them he can get them to appear in a motion picture and The Hollywood Television Showcase. Jimmy is the only one who doesn't seem to care about any of that. He just wants to get into the studio to make some music.

The movie they have a cameo in is some lame film called Weekend at Party Pier and they're wearing sailor outfits, playing their instruments outside of a shrimp shack. The main actors, playing characters named Rick, Anita, and Goofball (what is this? The Archies?) are dancing in front and when they have lines, the music stops, but everyone keeps dancing or pretending to play their instruments as though they're still hearing it. There is no way this is being released in theaters; this has to be a TV movie. I would say it's going to straight to video, but I don't think video rentals were a thing back then (just like they're no longer a thing now, heh). Jimmy thinks what they're doing is pretty lame and I have to agree with him. 

Guy gets the chance to meet his hero, a jazz player named Del Paxton when he goes to a jazz bar and is introduced to him by the cocktail waitress (played by Rita Wilson). The old man gives the young musician some sage advice: since bands come and go, he's "got to keep on paying, no matter with who." You could also call this foreshadowing. (Because The Wonders won't last, spoiler alert!)

When they're about to be on the Hollywood Television Showcase, everyone is there except the unnamed bass player. Nobody knows where he is, so Mr. White just brings in a new member named Scott Pell who goes by the nickname Wolfman. I guess since he knew they would be losing their bass player anyway, he had somebody waiting in the wings. It's funny that this guy gets a name and nickname and poor Ethan Embry's character didn't get either! By the way, he was at Disneyland. I guess he didn't take this band that seriously! 

We see some acts/interviews before them and one is astronaut Gus Grissom and he is played by Bryan Cranston and as someone whose favorite show is Breaking Bad, this was very amusing to see. So I did a quick deep dive on him (Gus Grissom; not Bryan Cranston): he was a pilot in the United States Air Force and was selected by NASA for Project Mercury, which trained and launched astronauts into outer space. (Yes, I got this from Wikipedia.) The movie The Right Stuff is all about Project Mercury and Fred Ward played him in the movie. Sadly, Grissom died long before the movie was released in 1983. I noticed on his Wikipedia page that he died at the age of 40 in 1967 in Cape Canaveral and right away I knew he died of something going wrong on a launch. And, yes, during a pre-launch test, the command module interior caught fire and Grissom and two other astronauts were killed. Anyway, back to something a little more light-hearted...(or maybe not, but at least nobody dies in a horrific way in this movie...)

While they play their hit song, we see the camera zoom in individually on all the band members with their names on the bottom of the screen. When they get to Jimmy, there's added text that says, "Careful girls, he's engaged." I mean, c'mon, why do they need to add that? It's not like these girls would have a chance with him anyway! Jimmy sees this on the monitor and he's not singing enthusiastically as he once was.
He's not very thrilled by this. 

We get a funny moment where Guy's family and Chad (the original drummer that Guy replaced) are watching the show on the TV and his mom yells, "Quiet down, I'm trying to hear it!" even though nobody is talking. 

Afterward, in the dressing room, Jimmy yells at Faye, asking her where she got the idea they were engaged and that's "the last thing [he] needs." But it wasn't Faye who told the producers to write that on the screen (I don't think she would even have the authority); it was Mr. White. Oh, and if you're wondering why Faye has been following them around the country even though she's not in the band, there's really no good reason aside from the fact that she's Jimmy's muse. A sad-looking Faye addressed Jimmy in front of everyone and tells him she's breaking up with him and "I have wasted thousands and thousands of kisses on you...shame on me for kissing you with my eyes closed so tight." In my mind, I can see Peter Jackson watching this movie and when he sees Liv Tyler looking so sad he knew right away he had found his perfect Arwen! And also because Liv Tyler is so, so pretty and would make the perfect elfin princess. 

The band ends up breaking up because Jimmy wants to record his own music, Leo has gotten married (and soon divorced) and Guy ends up with Faye. Throughout the movie we see little snippets that he likes her, so it's not a big surprise that they end up together.