Thursday, January 14, 2016

The Hurt Locker (2008)



Number Rolled: 3
Movie Name/Year: The Hurt Locker (2008)
Tagline: You’ll know when you’re in it.
Genre: Drama
Length: 130 minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies: Voltage Pictures, Grosvenor Park Media, Film Capital Europe Funds, First Light Production, Kingsgate Films, Summit Entertainment
Producer: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Jenn Lee, Tony Mark, Donall McCusker, Jack Schuster, Greg Shapiro, Kirk Shaw
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Mark Boal
Actors: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly, Christian Camargo, Christopher Sayegh

Blurb from Netflix: Kathryn Bigelow directs this gripping drama following one of the U.S. Army’s elite explosive ordnance disposal teams operating in Iraq.

Selina’s Point of View:
War movies are not often at the top of my list of movies to watch. That’s weird because I always seem to enjoy them.

Enjoy is not really the right word, but I can’t think of a better one.

In all honesty, war movies that are made well scare the fuck out of me. I watch as the characters are exposed to horrible things and immediately think about the people I care about that have been in war zones. It chokes me up a bit. I’m a firm supporter of the military and I have nothing but respect for anyone who enlists, but I would also prefer my loved ones remain safe.

Bah. Sorry. I could rant about that for a while, so I’ll just move right on.

The Hurt Locker was a very good movie. The acting was well above average and the plot/script brought me so far into the story that I experienced every emotion right along with the characters.

I had a couple of minor issues. None of which actually lessened how much I liked the film.

Some of the camera movement was jerky where it should have been smooth and there were aspects of some scenes that were disjointed and difficult to follow. Other than that, I can’t really find much wrong with the movie.

I was curious as to way it was called The Hurt Locker, however. At no point in the movie is it made clear. According to an explanation I found by BBC News, a “hurt locker” is GI slang for severe injury. As I write this it’s 4 am, so no one on my friends list is awake to ask. I’m going to have to just go with that for now.

Cat’s Point of View:
I watched this movie with my husband; back when it first came out on DVD. I’d remembered that I’d liked the film; but, of course, I watched it again to refresh my memory as to why.

Oscar wins and nominations aside, it has stuck with me a bit. Though, it is pretty impressive that this movie beat out Avatar (2009) for the Best Picture that year.

For your usual nugget of trivia – ironically, it was James Cameron (Titanic, Ghosts of the Abyss, Avatar) whom convinced Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days, Zero Dark Thirty) to make this movie, as she was focused on another project originally.

I’m not a big war movie fan. I can watch them without feeling like I’ve been burdened with some onerous chore –they’re just not my preferred cup of tea.

At the same time, I hold high respect and admiration for our service men and women that put their lives on the line day in and day out far from home. Perhaps that is one of the tempering factors for me – if they can endure all of it as reality, then I sure as hell can sit through a couple hours of a sneak peek into that world.

That being said, this movie felt a bit like a window into reality rather than a contrived piece of fiction. The situations were gritty and visceral. There was plenty of suspense, and there were spurts of action.

Some sections felt a bit slow, but that could possibly have been intentional to maintain the mood of the movie.

Of course, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe as big and explosive as it is these days, actors Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later, The Bourne Legacy, Kill the Messenger) and Anthony Mackie (Real Steel, Runner Runner, Love The Coopers) are practically household names as Hawkeye and Falcon.

When this movie was released, that wasn’t entirely the case. (There are a few more Marvel connections in this film – can you find them?) Though, there are a few more well-known actors among the cast; such as Ralph Fiennes (In Bruges, Great Expectations, Spectre) and David Morse (Disturbia, World War Z, Horns)…they just didn’t get as much screen time.

I haven’t forgotten Brian Geraghty (The Guardian, Open House, Flight). During the first few minutes he was on screen, I had a little debate with myself. “Is that who I think that is?” Turns out, I was right. He can be seen on the multi-show Chicago franchise on NBC, primarily on Chicago P.D. (2014-).

I don’t know that I would watch this movie a third time, personally – but it is an excellent film.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 98%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 84%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4.5/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score4/5

Movie Trailer: [ The TRAILER does this weird wibbly-wobbly-wavey thing that induces vertigo. The MOVIE does not. ] 

1 comment:

  1. This was an incredible movie! SO REALISTIC! It depicts the life of our Troops vexmovies and their experience in EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal)...how they suffer, the stressful issues they experience. It's probably the most real to life movie I've ever seen of Iraq. I wish the entire American viewing audience sicario putlocker would watch this movie. Amazing attitudes and crazy courage, OUR TROOPS HAVE! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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