Jason KingThe Hurt Locker (9/10)
February 18th 2010 20:41
:
Superb War Film - Watch Out Avatar
Category: No Category
REPOSTED AS FILM FIMALLY RELEASED IN AUSTRALIA.
The Hurt Locker, winner of the 2008 Venice Film Festival SIGNIS Grand Prize, is a riveting and suspenseful portrait of the elite members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad, soldiers who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives in one of the world's most dangerous jobs. Three EOD members battle insurgents and each other as they seek out and disarm deadly bombs in a thrilling race against time. A heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat look at the effects of combat and danger on the human psyche, The Hurt Locker, meaning a place of ultimate pain, is based on the first-hand observations of journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. It is a gripping portrayal of real-life sacrifice and heroism and a layered, probing study of the soul-numbing rigors and potent allure of the modern battlefield.
This is by far the best film made showing soldiers in Iraq and is quite possibly the best war movie I have ever seen. It is intense, passionate, incredibly shot, personal, deep and a film that will capture you in the first five minutes and leave you wanting more by the end.
This film is so good for this year's Oscars it is going head to head with director Kathryn Bigelow's ex husband's film that you may have heard of - it is called Avatar and James Cameron is Kathryn Bigelow's ex husband. This film is going purely on it's credibility and brilliance in production and story. It has only made less than $20MIL worldwide while Cameron's Avatar is well over $600MIL and is now the highest grossing film of all time (on unadjusted figures). But when it comes to the Oscar's $$ amounts are not voted on and it is based purely on critical votes from members of the Academy and they deemed this film so good it has garnered an equal nine nominations with Avatar.
My predictions on the Oscar's between the two will be pretty close.
* I can see Avatar taking out best picture but it will be damn close.
* I would be very pleased to see Jeremy Renner win best actor, and considering no one got nomiated in acting for Avatar it's win win for Hurt Locker for already being nominated.
* James Cameron has to recieve the best director - The Hurt Locker is brilliant but Cameron has revolutionalised film making and the box office.
* Best Original Screenplay will go to Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker.
* Avatar for Best Art Direction.
* Best Cinematography for The Hurt Locker.
* Best Editing to Avatar.
* Best Score to The Hurt Locker and not Avatar, although Up could beat them both.
* Best Sound Editing to The Hurt Locker.
* Best Sound Mixing to Avatar.
* Best Visual Effects - hands down Avatar.
Score - 6 to Avatar and 5 to The Hurt Locker - not too shabby in my opinion. But back to the review.
Jeremy Renner is just brilliant in this film. He is so internally driven and living his character he is chilling. No one can fugure him out in the film and a lot of people will find it hard to understand his drive from the cinema. To him the poster rings true - war is like a drug. We all live our mundane lives with nothing really propelling us forward except maybe our next holiday or the need for money or the love of our children. But when analised this is all quite boring and Matrix like - are we living the life or living the dream. Are we actually awake in the real world or dreaming it - to Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) he is only alive when faced with possible demise. His new team are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in war, appearances are never reliable for long. Is James really a cowboy who lives for an adrenaline rush and the moments when the margin of error is zero or is he a consummate professional who has honed his esoteric craft to high-wire precision.
When you first meet Staff Sergeant William James you won't like him, you have already met his team from the start and you know what happens when the shit hits the fan in a bad way, it is like Staff Sergeant William James does everything wrong and you assume pending disaster but he is an enigma and his different methods are what save the team numerous times. This guy is GI Joe of bomb squad but realistic.
Kathryn Bigelow has created her opus, from making action films Point Break, weird end of the millenium film Strange Days, to crap films like Blue Steel and K:19 has had an alligning of the planets and skillset in this film and made a film that is unparalleled in this genre. It has a bleak and grey looking canvas of the Iraqi desserts and towns and this adds to the sense of despair. Why on earth these soldiers are even there we will never know - oh ok - oil
But seriously - the EOD's are only there because the bombs are being planted to stop the US from being there - remove the US and no need for bombs in the streets. I know there is more to it than that but when you break it down......
Bigelow's use of hand held cameras and docco styled shooting plant you in the streets next to the characters, the opening 8 minutes of the film will set you up for one of the best experiences there is. The use of slow mo and attention to detail is what gives this film its soul and intense realism. I have included below, after the trailer the first 8minutes of this film so you can experience the brilliance of the cinematography and decide from this whether this film is for you.
The film also has some exceptional small parts acted by Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes and we should not forget the strong supports of Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty. I felt the pain of the entire war through watching Geraghty and the life shattering things he has to be a party to and/ or witness. The internal struggle the two supports have is an important strength of this film. What lengths would you go to to ensure your own butt stays safe?
Watch this film for brilliant cinematography and an overdue unpretentious masterwork from one of Hollywood's best female directors. The Hurt Locker certainly honors heroic bomb disposal squads, but it doesn't prove that the Iraq War is futile. Instead, as retired Master EOD Tech Jim O'Neil said, it proves that "sometimes the news isn't the bomb. Sometimes the news is the silence." Out now in the US and releasing in Australia on Feb 18th. MUST WATCH!!!
The first 8mins of the film is below:
The Hurt Locker, winner of the 2008 Venice Film Festival SIGNIS Grand Prize, is a riveting and suspenseful portrait of the elite members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad, soldiers who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives in one of the world's most dangerous jobs. Three EOD members battle insurgents and each other as they seek out and disarm deadly bombs in a thrilling race against time. A heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat look at the effects of combat and danger on the human psyche, The Hurt Locker, meaning a place of ultimate pain, is based on the first-hand observations of journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. It is a gripping portrayal of real-life sacrifice and heroism and a layered, probing study of the soul-numbing rigors and potent allure of the modern battlefield.
This is by far the best film made showing soldiers in Iraq and is quite possibly the best war movie I have ever seen. It is intense, passionate, incredibly shot, personal, deep and a film that will capture you in the first five minutes and leave you wanting more by the end.
This film is so good for this year's Oscars it is going head to head with director Kathryn Bigelow's ex husband's film that you may have heard of - it is called Avatar and James Cameron is Kathryn Bigelow's ex husband. This film is going purely on it's credibility and brilliance in production and story. It has only made less than $20MIL worldwide while Cameron's Avatar is well over $600MIL and is now the highest grossing film of all time (on unadjusted figures). But when it comes to the Oscar's $$ amounts are not voted on and it is based purely on critical votes from members of the Academy and they deemed this film so good it has garnered an equal nine nominations with Avatar.
My predictions on the Oscar's between the two will be pretty close.
* I can see Avatar taking out best picture but it will be damn close.
* I would be very pleased to see Jeremy Renner win best actor, and considering no one got nomiated in acting for Avatar it's win win for Hurt Locker for already being nominated.
* James Cameron has to recieve the best director - The Hurt Locker is brilliant but Cameron has revolutionalised film making and the box office.
* Best Original Screenplay will go to Mark Boal for The Hurt Locker.
* Avatar for Best Art Direction.
* Best Cinematography for The Hurt Locker.
* Best Editing to Avatar.
* Best Score to The Hurt Locker and not Avatar, although Up could beat them both.
* Best Sound Editing to The Hurt Locker.
* Best Sound Mixing to Avatar.
* Best Visual Effects - hands down Avatar.
Score - 6 to Avatar and 5 to The Hurt Locker - not too shabby in my opinion. But back to the review.
Jeremy Renner is just brilliant in this film. He is so internally driven and living his character he is chilling. No one can fugure him out in the film and a lot of people will find it hard to understand his drive from the cinema. To him the poster rings true - war is like a drug. We all live our mundane lives with nothing really propelling us forward except maybe our next holiday or the need for money or the love of our children. But when analised this is all quite boring and Matrix like - are we living the life or living the dream. Are we actually awake in the real world or dreaming it - to Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) he is only alive when faced with possible demise. His new team are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in war, appearances are never reliable for long. Is James really a cowboy who lives for an adrenaline rush and the moments when the margin of error is zero or is he a consummate professional who has honed his esoteric craft to high-wire precision.
When you first meet Staff Sergeant William James you won't like him, you have already met his team from the start and you know what happens when the shit hits the fan in a bad way, it is like Staff Sergeant William James does everything wrong and you assume pending disaster but he is an enigma and his different methods are what save the team numerous times. This guy is GI Joe of bomb squad but realistic.
Kathryn Bigelow has created her opus, from making action films Point Break, weird end of the millenium film Strange Days, to crap films like Blue Steel and K:19 has had an alligning of the planets and skillset in this film and made a film that is unparalleled in this genre. It has a bleak and grey looking canvas of the Iraqi desserts and towns and this adds to the sense of despair. Why on earth these soldiers are even there we will never know - oh ok - oil
But seriously - the EOD's are only there because the bombs are being planted to stop the US from being there - remove the US and no need for bombs in the streets. I know there is more to it than that but when you break it down...... 
Bigelow's use of hand held cameras and docco styled shooting plant you in the streets next to the characters, the opening 8 minutes of the film will set you up for one of the best experiences there is. The use of slow mo and attention to detail is what gives this film its soul and intense realism. I have included below, after the trailer the first 8minutes of this film so you can experience the brilliance of the cinematography and decide from this whether this film is for you.
The film also has some exceptional small parts acted by Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes and we should not forget the strong supports of Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty. I felt the pain of the entire war through watching Geraghty and the life shattering things he has to be a party to and/ or witness. The internal struggle the two supports have is an important strength of this film. What lengths would you go to to ensure your own butt stays safe?
Watch this film for brilliant cinematography and an overdue unpretentious masterwork from one of Hollywood's best female directors. The Hurt Locker certainly honors heroic bomb disposal squads, but it doesn't prove that the Iraq War is futile. Instead, as retired Master EOD Tech Jim O'Neil said, it proves that "sometimes the news isn't the bomb. Sometimes the news is the silence." Out now in the US and releasing in Australia on Feb 18th. MUST WATCH!!!
The first 8mins of the film is below:
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