The Hurt Locker [Blu-ray]

Good but not the best (2010-03-09) Rating: 4/5


Avatar was hosed! No way was this as good, and did not deserve the Oscar.

Other than that, the movie was interesting and vivid. I thought the "flow" was not that good. But, I enjoyed it enough to watch ONCE - Avatar will be on my "rewatch" list forever! That's the proof of a good movie.
An action movie where you dread the action. (2010-03-09) Rating: 5/5
"The Hurt Locker" has just won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture and it truly earns it. Here is a war movie that takes no real position on war, and especially no position on the Iraq War, and simply shows the mental and physical brutality and beauty of conflict.

You know the story by now. It centers around a bomb disposal and disarmament team in Iraq who throw themselves into harm's way on a regular basis in order to make life safer for their fellow soldiers and civilians. The team receives a new member, played by the fantastic Jeremy Renner, who is something of a wild card. Soon he and everyone else are pulled into his own personal brand of insanity as he comes to realize that without the war, he's nothing.

It's a simple concept and wonderfully executed by Kathryn Bigelow and her team. It was filmed on location in the Middle East and you really get a sense of what life is like that part of the world for our soldiers and the civilians who live there. You bear witness to some of the day-to-day tragedies that happen (admittedly not as much now as they did in 2004 when this movie is apparently set), like a man forced into a suicide bombing. It's a harrowing look at an unpleasant reality.

I mention in the title of the review that it's an action movie where you dread the action. This is entirely true. You really start to become quite fond of the three bomb techs, and when the bullets start flying and things start exploding, you worry about them. You want nothing more than for them to go back to their base, nice and safe, and not venture out into the dangerous world. It's something I've not come across in an action-type film, and I'm glad to see it here.

Was this actually the best movie of 2009? Well, yes. It won't have the long-term influence of "Avatar", but it is overall better than that film. I'm glad it won and I'm glad I've seen it.
Philosophical question, gritty answer (2010-03-09) Rating: 5/5
The movie starts with a quote from Chris Hedges about why men go to war : "...War is a drug"
War has a way of refueling itself, no wonder it's much harder to prevent a war than starting it.
The movie is an intricate kaleidoscope of possibilities, nothing is what it seems, friends/ foes, in the rush of the ticking clock when onlookers can be either, appearances mingle and shift, and there's no time for deep thinking, death is at your throat all the time.

Stg. James is not a regular soldier, he is a skilled technician and great at what he's doing!
Rarely the mess of Iraq war has been analyzed so deeply with so much honesty and depth. The script is brilliant!
This is not a feel bad movie (In the Valley of Elah is a great movie but you feel you need depression meds after watching it!). It's about these kids that we send there, trying their best to stay alive in a hostile and culturally incomprehensible environment.
The question is how are they going to find their way back into the "civilized" society?
It's shot like a documentary, you are there with them making life/death choices every second.
There are a lot of great details and nuances you can read into, as the love/hate relationship of the general population, can't decide if they want to take their dollars or kill them at any moment! There are quick gems of acting from Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce.

It did remind me of an old movie with Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones, "Blown Away" where they tried to analyze the relationship bomber/bomb defuser. I'm not sure if there is a Stockholm syndrome in the bomber/defuser relationship but for sure the defuser has to learn to think as a bomber in order to stay alive.

In the larger order of things, if you don't understand where the terrorists come from, you'll never stop them.

The quote is thrown in as a riddle, the viewer is challenged. What would you do? Which wire would you cut? Which one is the bad guy? The enraged bomb defuser that risks his life to stop the ticking, the "by the book soldier" that only does what he was told, the insurgents that plant the bombs because they don't want americans there in the first place?
The characters are all as complex as life, there is not one dimension to any of them, and the climax of the movie comes when an innocent gets dragged against his will into the insurgents' fight. It's a tragic and powerful moment!

What about the masterminds of this war? the people that send in these kids where they are not wanted, the insurgents that don't shy away from spilling their people's innocent blood?
Whose addiction is it?!
BORING! (2010-03-09) Rating: 2/5
Not worth all of the Oscar hype AT ALL. I mean, it was an interesting movie, but it was not as fast-paced as I had hoped...in fact, it was even a little boring in parts. The hype for the lead actor, Jeremy Renner, was not really well-deserved either. I have seen him do a much better job in some other films. Oh well.
Good and entertaining, for sure. Best, cant agree (2010-03-09) Rating: 4/5
I like this movie a lot. The directing and acting are great. I had agreed with many veterans that many scenes in the movie were simply far from reality. How could a team of three had to do a duel in the desert with the terrorists for, hours? I could appreciate how it won the Oscars. Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down are much better. In short, highly watchable but didnt deserve the glory it got.