September Tapes

Rating:
Summary: FAKE DOCUMENTARY LOOKS REAL AND SCARY
Review:

Although it looks and feels like a documentary, SEPTEMBER TAPES (First Look) is an unsettling movie that purports to be a quest to find the truth about the terrorist attack of 9/11 and those responsible.

A year after September, 2001, three men with fake documents go deep into Afghanistan. With the help of hired translators, bounty hunters and arms traffickers, they find answers to questions they weren't even asking.

Slow going and talky at times, the sudden and surprisingly visceral action scenes jolt and are greatly enhanced by the harrowing location filming and the terrific surround sound design. Extras include 40 minutes of bonus footage and commentaries.

Too bad more attention wasn't paid to making the script as gripping as some of the action cinemtography. It could've been unforgettable.




Rating:
Summary: Must see
Review: A must see DVD. I have never seen anything like this. It is simply the best. Vey tragic, very scary, and real.

Rating:
Summary: Never been angrier at a "film."
Review: Any American affected by 911 and the seriousness of the subsequent wars will be offended by this pretentious piece of garbage. Just another film maker who finds war to be an exciting little game played by children. I guess the next move for these filmakers will be to dramatize what it must have been like in the two towers. Maybe they can strap a camera on the back of someone and jump off a building just to get a 'cool' shot. If I were to meet the people responsible for this Jerry Springer inspired trash I would love to accompany them as we visit some of the family members. This call this film a disgrace is giving it too much credit.


Rating:
Summary: a total pointless wild goose chase
Review: done by a stupid moron. but some of the sections are very good. this moron is the typical naive and childish guy roaming in the terrorists country for nothing to gain but to lose.

Rating:
Summary: Not A Documentary, But Well Worth Watching
Review: Harrowing, obsessive quest of a photojournalist in lawless Afghanistan. Although it's a movie, it seems like a documentary. The on-site filming and the use of actual Afghan police and other locals heighten the documentary "look & feel" of the movie. The Dolby/DTS 5.1 soundtrack ROCKS! The gun battle and the chase scenes will have you feeling like ducking for cover from the bullets and rockets. You'll hear the rockets whoosh from your front to rear speakers and then explode behind you. You'll hear the bullets whiz from L to R and front to rear speakers. The explosion of the 2,000 lb bomb" will give your subwoofer a resounding workout. The final scene sheds welcome light on the main character's relentless pursuit of Osama Bin Laden. The director's commentary and the MAKING OF features are well WORTH watching too -- very enlightening (and entertaining).

Rating:
Summary: The Action scenes might be real
Review: I hope this is the right movie... I watched a VCD copy of this and it makes me think of the Blair witch project in Afganistan, with guns. The action scenes might be real though. I have been in combat and the look pretty authentic for the most part. Its OK for the most part but it does get pretty corny.

Rating:
Summary: Why the hate here?
Review: I just finished viewing this. I can't understand it. The folks here so far are pretty low in the ratings, with the exception of a couple. This is inside a place none of us may ever see in our lives. 2 men risk their lives (albiet, selfishly. It was mentioned by them that it was for the initial 25 million dollar reward Bush offered to catch Usama). But, regardless of that, we now have a view of life in a war zone. Caught live in action. Yes, the whole Bin Laden thing was a wild goose chase. But, ultimately , that did not turn out to be the important issue here. Watching this you can see both sides of the story. The anger towards Americans, but also the non-violent side as well. I will give away only one point of the movie to make this case. Our American 'guide' winds up in the custody of the local police. Once in custody he was off camera. Now, he's faaaaar away from home. He's in a place where he is supposed to be hated. He is off camera. One would be led to believe that he would wind up 'missing', right? They let him go a few hours later with a warning. That's it. They actually told him to BE CAREFUL. I have been forcefed that all of 'those' people are 'killers'. That's what my man Bush has been trying to tell me. I saw dangerous thugs in this movie. Our men worked with them, brushed up against them, and received help from them. Maybe we should reevaluate what we see on our news. While there is a good share of intense violence over there, it's not what we would come to expect. The camera goes deep into enemy territory. And, a lot more is revealed than the simple 'We Found Usama' stuff. No, we see their culture. The poverty. Sometimes the fear. And we see that a lot of them wanted Usama a lot more than we did. This is not the most important piece of history regarding the 9/11 disaster. But, it deserves to have a place of honerable mention. Don't shove this away because these other reviewers wanted more action and blood. There's truly plenty of that. But there's so much more to carry this. As a documentary , it is a little thin. As a reality check, it has a lot to offer.

Rating:
Summary: takes blair witch to a whole new level
Review: i was lucky enough to see this movie at a screening in l.a., and i was blown away. the movie is shot documentary style, and centers around a journalist (and his translator/guide), whose doing a story on the hunt for bin laden. but, it doesn't take advantage of the events of 9/11. it has real depth and the fact that they really filmed in afghanistan 6 months after that fateful day should make the behind the scenes material as suspensful as the movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Unique Look Into War Torn Afghanistan
Review: Is it real or make-believe? Regardless this independent film offers a stunning, tension filled ride through the streets of war torn Afghanistan. Filmed in a documentary filmstyle with hints of bravado it will definitely hold your attention from beginning to end.

The film begins with a reporter Don Larson (George Calil) aboard a plane destined for Kabul. His goal is to capture video coverage of the Al-Qaeda operatives and to possibly get in on the bounty for Bin Laden. He is young, exuberant and bold in his pursuit of the men he believes to be responsible for the 9/11 attacks and he does not back down from questioning by Afghani supporters of the attacks. Larson places himself and his crew into all sorts of hairy predicaments fully aware that his life is at stake such as an arms deal gone wrong, an ambush by Afghani police and a shoot out with unknown assailants in the complex mountain areas bordering Pakistan. Acting as Larson's interpreter is Wali Razaqi, an American of Afghani descent and the often unseen camera man follows their every move. The footage is both chilling and authentic and the actors bravely insane.

Although the filming style of this movie is its draw I found the writing to be absolutely effective. The characters are allowed to be more than war mongers in pursuit of blood. The script allows for Calil to be the action hero as well as a very vulnerable and afraid man. Calil is excellent in this role and stepped out on a limb in order to play it. But it is the ending of this film that really hits home and ties the tangled web together with more than just tape.


Rating:
Summary: The Blair Witch Almost Meets Osama Bin Laden
Review: My advice: don't waste your time or money on this one.

If you were expecting a serious treatment of September 11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and/or Osama Bin Laden, then you will be utterly disappointed with the September Tapes.

On the other hand, if you enjoy excessively dramatized documentaries that ooze with hokey dialog, transparent story lines and bogus sentimentality...