I was able to view Ladder 49 twice this weekend. I want to start out my comments by saying WOW! What a wonderful movie this is! Yesterday, I went to Ladder 49 with a group of ladies from my Army Wife's support group. All of us have soldiers in Baghdad who have been away from home for 9 months now. I mention this because our reaction to this movie was very moving. As soon as the ending credits began to roll, all of my friends began to talk about purchasing some kind of award to honor our soldiers' service to our nation.

Ladder 49 is an emotionally powerful movie. It celebrates the life of a Baltimore City Firefighter, Jack Morrison, who is played masterfully by Joaquin Phoenix. We get to see about 10 years of his life and Phoenix did a wonderful job of transforming from rookie to seasoned firefighter. The special effects are impressive. Both audiences I sat with were completely captivated and involved in the movie. At the end, I wanted to stand and applaud! Makes me want to go to our local firehouse and thank those who serve here for all they do for our community and nation.

As an adult: I loved it!!! I want my husband to see it when he comes home for R&R later on this month. I want to tell all my friends and my adult son, the Marine, to go see it with all his buddies. But be sure to bring a tissue or 10 for this movie. There were even grown men sniffling near me.

As a mom: I would strongly advise you to find babysitters for your small children. This is rated PG-13 and even my friends all said they wouldn't bring children under the age of 13 along. Since this is a firefighter movie, there are depictions of death and near death experiences and all that goes along with fighting dangerous fires and saving lives.

I gave it an audience response of 89 out of 100. I think both audiences I was with thoroughly enjoyed the movie and were emotionally moved by this powerful movie honoring our firefighters. I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed this movie. I hope you will grab someone you love and a hanky and head off to see Ladder 49!

See you at the movies! Wendy