My big question: did the movie make Heath Ledger or did Heath Ledger make the movie?

united 93 is a rare film, one that needs no explanation or introduction. we know how it starts. we know how it ends. we’ve know, more or less, the broad facts of the plot.

what i didn’t expect, or really just comprehend, was my inability to disconnect. the film plays out like any airborne thriller, yet there is always the subtle reminder that this really happened. i flew less than two weeks ago and the first half of the film was chilling to watch simply because it was so normal. sitting in the terminal. talking on the phone. moving in and around the plane.

the other unexpected side of this film was how innately cinematic it was. yet, by a current blockbuster’s standards, it felt – for a moment or two – lacking in fantastic action. yet the simplicity and matter-of-fact, non-sensationalized approach to the storytelling is what made it so powerful. there were no unnecessary, tear drenched closeups or “what will they do next” underscoring. it presented the sequence of events very directly.

i had the gut feeling a number of times to get up and stop the dvd, when it got hard to watch. the only other film i’ve ever watched that caused me to feel this way was schindler’s list back when i was 14. regardless, i believe that this film needed to be made because it does put a face on the events of 9/11 that no documentary or replay of the twin towers video footage can replicate.

i’ve been a sucker for “independent” films lately. well, let me clarify. i’m not running to the tv, watching IFC and the sundance channel, but i tend to go to the fox searchlight and focus features movies. psudeo-mainstream. the only good movies that are making into movie theaters. you know what i mean. amazingly, most of the time you can tell just from the ads or disc packaging if its one of these flicks.

elizabethtown seems desperate to be one of these films. from almost famous director cameron crowe, it’s got that indie/classic rock soundtrack. with the wide-angle, scenic landscape photography. and the fun loving, troubled-yet-persistantly-lovable main actress. call it garden state (but so watered down you might find nemo inside). it had a very cat and mouse feel to it. she likes him, but he’s confused, then she won’t give in to him, so he leaves – bewildered and alone. then just when you think it’s over (spoiler alert), she leaves a note in his gift (see below) which reunites their burning passion and they live happily ever after.

regardless, i love kirsten dunst. she’s no reese, who i will marry…no matter what her husband says. i have a bunch of idealistic, romantic dreams that are revived when i watch movies like this. one is dancing with the girl of my dreams to a miles davis record in my living room. another is being given a gift like claire gives drew at the end of this movie. a personalized road trip book, detailed from the maps, brochures, and drawings down to the find-me-at-the-farmers-market scavenger hunt at the end.

and there you have it. its never good when the saving grace of a mediocre movie is a binder filled with maps.

i needed a good laugh last week and found it in little miss sunshine. i didn’t really know what to expect, and don’t really know how to describe it. the movie is at times heart wrenching and then laugh-out-loud funny. the back and forth between the two makes it both original and completely moving.

more importantly, if you’ve ever wondered if a VW bus can run without a working clutch, all your questions will be answered at little miss sunshine.