United 93 is very good

Seeing as how the movie's just about out of theaters, I should have mentioned it sooner, but I just got around to seeing United 93 a few days ago, and it's very, very good. Writer/director Paul Greengrass plays it smart by telling the story in as straightforward and realistic a way as possible, with a pitch-perfect sense of what tone to take. I haven't seen the TV movie version of this, but this theatrical presentation is an example of Hollywood doing things right, using big-budget resources and craftsmanship instead of big-budget schlock and grandstanding. Watching it is definitely an uncomfortable experience, filled not with suspense but with dread and helplessness but also, when we see the choices made and actions taken by the passengers on Flight 93, that small amount of hope that comes from knowing that there are good people in this world who, by doing what was necessary in a dire situation, prevented 9/11 from being even worse than it was.

Very early Oscar prediction: this movie wins Best Editing.