Reviews

Do I trust the United States government? Hell no. But this show is ridiculous. There were many independent witnesses of what happened at the Pentagon and the WTC. There were pilots who were scrambled to follow the hijacked planes, and are still giving their testimonies. How do you explain all the phone calls people made from the planes to their relatives? I agree that the US govt used 911 as an excuse to invade Iraq, and they have done similar things in the past. The intelligence services during WWII knew that Pearl Harbour was going to occur - that has been pretty well established. But I don't believe that they would actually murder thousands of their own citizens. The Commission into 911 showed that the terrorists had been plotting their attacks on US landmarks for years, and they themselves admitted to it. I saw this show on the fifth anniversary of 911 - and what an insult to the casualties and their families.

I just saw the film on DVD. I thought Phoenix was great as Cash - he had the sound, the mannerisms, etc down almost uncannily. But I'm just surprised that Reese Witherspoon has received such praise for her portrayal of June Carter. Adequate performance, I guess. But I thought she was just a bit too genteel, too overworked, too well scrubbed for my liking. She never really seemed to LET GO. June was a salt of the earth, very natural, gravelly woman - with the voice to match. By the time she became involved with Johnny Cash, she'd already lived her own fairly turmoiled life. I just didn't get a real sense of that from Reese's performance. Maybe they should have gone with a lesser known actress who was a better match. More of a real woman than a Hollywood starlet. June just didn't really look that much like June, with her perfectly coiffed hair in every scene, and her higher pitched, thinner voice. June fully attacked a song, and she often wore her hair loose, thick and a bit disheveled. Sorry - I don't know what's wrong with me but it just didn't work for me.

The first time I really came to know about Johnny Cash was when I was reading a fifth grade class reader. The story didn't reveal the actual subject of the story until the end. It told the story of how Cash, hopelessly addicted and lost in an open area one night, experienced a real sense of God and an actual moment of hope and conversion, when he was at his most desperate and at his lowest point. I always thought that that was the true 'turning point' of his life - though, no doubt, June played a vital role in supporting and helping him through the process. I was just disappointed that we didn't see a bit more of that in the film. Instead, they focused on the 'love story' aspect.

Those are my two points of contention. But otherwise, a very entertaining and gripping movie.