On the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that let loose so much international violence, the public has a right to ask what really happened on that day. Here are eight points to ponder.

1. Questioners of the official account of 9/11 are often dismissed as “conspiracy theorists,” but this makes no sense. A conspiracy is just a secret plan, by two or more people, to commit a criminal or immoral act. The 9/11 attacks obviously involved a conspiracy.

2. Some people think that the truth of the official account blaming al-Qaida is obvious to every sane person. Not true. Polls suggest that less than half the world’s population shares this confidence.

3. If Bin Laden was the criminal mastermind, why didn’t the FBI charge him with the crime? In 2006 an FBI spokesperson explained: the Bureau had no hard evidence connecting him to 9/11.

Watching it in IMAX I enjoyed much of The House with a Clock in Its Walls based on John Bellairs’ 1973 fantasy novel, although seeing and listening to it did give me a slight headache. Starring Jack Black as the warlock Jonathan Barnavelt and Cate Blanchett as his bewitching gal pal Florence Zimmerman, this 104-minute, special FX-powered big screen extravaganza full of spooky (and sometimes gross - I could have lived without the scatological sight gags tastelessly pandering to immature viewers) visuals and a plotline dealing with death, Walls seem more for young adults than children per se.

PRESS CONFERENCE/RALLY

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

12:00 NOON

COLUMBUS, OHIO, OHIO SUPREME COURT

65 S Front St., Columbus, OH  43215

The Columbus Community Bill of Rights supporters will give a Press Conference to update all interested media where this landmark city ordinance initiative stands with the Ohio Supreme Court, and emphatically draw a line:  We can no longer default to the powers-that-be, if they fail to honor our democratic process and our inalienable right to protect our community.  Currently the court has a motion to reconsider their September 14, 2018 decision to keep the people’s initiative off the ballot based on a decision from a federal judge on September 19 to allow two unrelated initiatives on the November ballot. 

French director Rémi Kessler’s heartwarming documentary The Advocates takes an insider look at a compelling crisis that seems to be mushrooming across Los Angeles far beyond the confines of Skid Row: Homelessness. The 86 minute nonfiction film focuses in on a trio of L.A. organizers for whom the political is personal, as they work primarily for private organizations to assist the ever-expanding number of people living on the street. Sometimes there is public-private cooperation and people like these three activists are derisively referred to as “do-gooders.”

One would think that a documentary titled Stuntman would be an action-packed look at an intriguing, exciting profession. 1978’s Hooper, co-starring the recently deceased Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, and 1980’s The Stunt Man with Peter O’Toole were both features inspired by these daredevils and their derring-do. But director Kurt Mattile’s (2018’s well-received Poly-pop doc Bosko and the Rebirth of Tiki, which sold out at the Egyptian Theatre during its annual Tiki Night) nonfiction film about Eddie Braun and his whimsical crusade to execute Evel Knievel’s botched 1974 effort to cross the Snake River Canyon in a rocket-like contraption is a plodding, poorly paced piece.