2009
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Hurray! Another film in the 1001 Book that was directed by a woman. That brings our total to what...like 10? Actually, don't tell me. It will just depress me.
While I was looking for pictures for this post I came across an article titled "Here's Why 'The Hurt Locker' is the Worst War Movie of All Time." Apparently, it is incredibly inaccurate in its depiction of what its like to work on an army bomb squad. I was about to launch into a review about how I didn't find this enjoyable but it may be important to see...that really knocked the wind out of my sails.
Ahem...onwards. Sergeant First Class William James is assigned as a new team leader of EOD unit in the Iraq War. However, his unorthodox way of doing things lead to dissension in the squad. Fill in the blanks with the familiar war themes.
The filmmakers do a tremendous job of building suspense and the visuals are surprisingly stunning, given the environment. On the other hand, I'm not sure this movie really did anything particularly new for the genre. But hey, I don't really like the genre to begin with, so perhaps I'm not the best judge.
RATING: ***--
Interesting Facts:
First film to win Best Picture that was directed by a woman.
Lowest grossing Best Picture winner of all time.
I really loved this film...I wasn't expecting to but I thought it was just a solidly great film, full of suspense and a great story, with interesting characters that I cared about.
ReplyDeleteYeah I read that as well and I was a bit disappointed to be honest with the inaccuracy of it.
I don't know about it not bringing anything new...I think Jeremy Renner's character is quite an unconventional war hero. His motivations and outlook on the war are different to what I've necessarily seen before.
Sorry, failed to engage me at all.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting the development of the main character. I think the point is that he ends up becoming an adrenaline junkie. War destroys you in so many ways that you are no longer able to lead a normal life. It's a similar concept to "Deer Hunter". On the other hand, I've also felt it was a bit too long.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the genre either but I kinda enjoyed the fact that the first film directed by a woman to receive the Best Picture and Director awards was from a so "manly" genre.
Well, perhaps he is pretty unconventional. But then I read about unlikely it was that any person in that situation could have that trajectory and I stopped being so impressed. Agreed Alex. All war movies are like 45 minutes too long as a general rule.
ReplyDelete