100 Movies Every Catholic Should See

100 Movies Every Catholic Should See

Weekly Watches

The Most Unflinching Film About 9/11

PLUS: A wilderness survival thriller and a quietly profound animated journey through an ordinary life.

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Zach Smith, Samuel Morales, and Joe Lollo
Sep 16, 2026
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United 93 (2006)

Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring David Alan BascheOlivia ThirlbyLiza Colón-Zayas.

By Zach Smith

United 93 is a legendarily bad hang of a movie. Nobody is booting this up when bored on a Tuesday. Nobody is begging for a rewatch. Paul Greengrass’ docudrama of the September 11th attacks is one I’d been avoiding for 20 years based on its reputation alone. Its greatness has never been in question (Greengrass was nominated for Best Director at the Oscars for it, and it was famously snubbed in Best Picture the year of its release) but its subject matter is enough to make anyone old enough to remember September 11th quickly give it a “nope.”

For the 25th anniversary of September 11th, though, I felt it was finally time to check it out.

It’s masterful.

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A guest post by
Zach Smith
Dubbed "the Tom Cruise of Virginia" by a leather jacket salesman in Florence, Italy, Zach Smith is a marketing director living in Virginia. He can be found most often on Instagram.
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A guest post by
Joe Lollo
Educator writing about my passions for inclusive learning, design, and popular culture (and preferably all of the above together).
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