On Netflix: “Turning Point: 9/11 and the War Against Terror”

I realize that for many people, spending five hours recounting recent American history and reliving the events that led up to the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 and the subsequent war may sound like a grueling experience.

It is, and that’s the point of this excellent new documentary series.

Timed for the 20th anniversary of the attacks, this series meticulously recounts how the attacks came about, the nation’s reaction to them and the next two decades of fighting a war in Afghanistan, a war that just ended with the withdrawal of American troops.

Veteran documentary director Brian Knappenberger was careful to present his information – comprised of new interviews with key participants and archival footage – in a way that sidesteps a political agenda.

No president involved with the war – Bush, Obama, Trump – comes out looking very well. In fact, the history assembled is one of mis-steps and mistakes.

Knappenberger’s series also keeps its focus pretty sharply on Afghanistan. While he shows how the attention of the Bush Administration strayed to its military foray into Iraq on the false premise of the nation’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, the director keeps bringing viewers back to the point: how did we as a country react to the attacks that were ordered by Osama Bin Laden while he was based in Afghanistan and protected by the Taliban.

The problem we faced, according to the documentary, is other than killing or capturing Bin Laden, why were we there? Other than that objective, our efforts seemed to be one of nation-building.

Knappenberger has some amazing interviews with people such as Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general under President Bush. Gonzales is asked about the “enhanced interrogation methods” that he authorized and one can tell the conversation still raises serious questions about their effectiveness and morality.

Ultimately, the story is one of often well-intentioned people reacting to a horrible event and getting so much of it wrong. The number of deaths and injuries of both troops and civilians, the squandering of millions of dollars and the outcome of re-shaping of American foreign policy toward that part of the world is staggering.

Often times I use the word “essential” to describe a film or TV series. This one is truly essential. It provides an in-depth understanding of one of the darkest events in our history, an event that changed the course of this country’s culture and attitude in so many ways.

In Theaters: “Malignant”

Director James Wan is one of the biggest names in contemporary horror films having helped create the “Saw” and “Insidious” franchises. I was curious about this new film as it seems to be one that has surprised many of my fellow horror fans.

This is a difficult review to write, though, as any discussion of the film that Wan chose as his inspiration would reveal to any knowledgeable horror fan the new film’s key plot-twist.

Annabelle Wallis is the star of the film, playing Madison, a young woman in an abusive marriage. Her husband’s latest attack on her has an unexpected outcome: someone breaks into their home and kills him in an especially grisly way.

This murderer seems to have some sort of psychic powers as well as a way of effecting electricity. Madison seems to be the center of the police investigation as the bodies begin to pile up. The police don’t want to believe that she is innocent, but also somehow linked to the murderer and she becomes the chief suspect.

Okay, I’ll stop right there. If I go any further I’ll ruin for you.

Once the big reveal happens, Wan ratchets up the violence for a memorable last act.

Now, this is indeed a pretty hard R for violence. Wan does exercise some restraint at key moments, which this old horror fan appreciated, but he more than willing to dish out the gore.

You’ve been warned.

I just hope Wan writes a nice check to the filmmaker who inspired this new film, but I doubt it.