jlthornb51

This is a fascinating film and the cast is uniformly excellent. Katherine Stewart is extraordinary as Alaina and really brings that character to life. She makes the surreal experience of the character feel very real, and her emotionally restrained portrayal gives the film depth. Quite a powerful lead performance.

The imagery in this film is haunting. To see our republic torn apart by civil war with all its savage violence is disturbing and unforgettable. The performances are superb with Kirsten Dunst stunning as a journalist who has seen too much. Much like what the candidacy of one particular person running to return to power has done, war between Americans unleashes the sociopathy in society. The fighting is mostly senseless and without direction, with no one seeming to know what they are fighting for. The violence is sudden, jarring, and horrifying. No politics is discussed except what is clearly in the minds of viewers. A clarion call that no one who pledges retribution against his political opponents and to become a dictator on day one should ever be given power again. We have so much to lose and too much to cherish as Americans to risk giving one man's ego the opportunity to burn it all down.

Criswell is one of the more disturbing memories of my childhood. I remember him staring into the camera and pronouncing in stentorian tones something outrageous or terrifying. I must have been around 7 years old and he made a real impression on me, basically scaring me to death. His 5 minute show must have come on after something I watched on a regular basis or as I was switching channels. It's hard to believe he made a career of this nonsense but in the early days of television, he was one of those odd people who somehow entertained viewers. Korla Pandit, a strange Indian organist who never spoke is another bizarre character I recall. It's no wonder I've suffered from anxiety most of my 74 years when I spent hours of my childhood mesmerized by this sort of weird programming.