MOVIE: The Hurt Locker

adam · Jul 2009

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDHGF4tDdKc[/ame]

Has anyone seen this? Jay Evans and I are headed there to see it after work tonight. Tinseltown in Vancouver if any one else is interested. 730PM start time.

It's a safe bet to anyone who hasn't seen the movie that there'll be spoilers from here on out. Read on at your own risk.

I_luv_Pixels · Jul 2009

yeah its awesome!

Cheez · Jul 2009

Saw this at this year's SIFF. Pretty good. A little long in the tooth, but a solid picture.

Illusions · Jul 2009

adam wrote: »

Has anyone seen this? Jay Evans and I are headed there to see it after work tonight. Tinseltown in Vancouver if any one else is interested. 730PM start time.

It's a safe bet to anyone who hasn't seen the movie that there'll be spoilers from here on out. Read on at your own risk.

Pay special attention to the ending and what the monologue given says and how they do the camera cuts. You'll want to assume one thing, but after careful consideration you'll realize that he meant something entirely different...

and possibly far more depressing

PixelMasher · Jul 2009

watched this a while back, its pretty awesome. felt similar to generation kill in some parts, which is awesome, not a standard action flick.

Tumerboy · Jul 2009

I just saw the preview a few days ago, can't wait to see it.

adam · Jul 2009

Illusions wrote: »

Pay special attention to the ending and what the monologue given says and how they do the camera cuts. You'll want to assume one thing, but after careful consideration you'll realize that he meant something entirely different...
and possibly far more depressing

Er.. that

the one thing he loves is his army duties?

rasmus · Jul 2009

Thought it was pretty great, atleast visually. That sniper battle was awesome. A treat for the eyes and with some nerve-wrecking scenarios. Less so for the character relationships (after the hideous Jarhead, though, this was a revelation) Props also to the main guy's acting. Good too in the sense that you could never be sure who would live and who wouldn't. In the end I thought it had it's own angle, and I can buy that, though I struggled to see how it's somehow "pro-war" or "propagandist" as some critics seem to have said. Sigh, critics, can't they just enjoy the splendour of dust blowing off a distant vehicle in a shockwave?

LoTekK · Jul 2009

There are critics calling it pro-war? That's mad. It's about as pro-war as Generation Kill, if anything.

Illusions · Jul 2009

adam wrote: »

Er.. that
the one thing he loves is his army duties?

Yes that...I originally thought he was talking about his kid, up until they did the cut straight to him having re-enlisted in another year long tour of duty as a bomb tech

adam · Jul 2009

Yea, it was actually pretty heavy handed. If I had one critique it would be the ending of the movie was completely detached from the rest of the film in its "typical hollywood ending". It was even filmed differently, it seems. $:\$

Jay Evans · Jul 2009

Agreed, the very end seemed almost a bit outta place, loved the sniper battle, the unexpected bomb vest ending, the supermarket. All awesome scenes.

BigHoss · Jul 2009

I'll have to look for this the next time I'm at the rental store. Looks kinda cool.

Tumerboy · Jul 2009

So I finally caught this yesterday, and I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed.

I was hoping for something more like Blackhawk Down or Generation Kill. And I do NOT mean more action. Throughout the whole movie, I didn't give a shit about any of the characters. BHD which had like, 3 times the # of main characters, was able to make me care about each and every one, (same with Gen Kill, though they had 8 hours to do it).

I was just uninterested in them as people.

Also, while the actual bomb squad bits were very cool, the non-bomb squad action bits (sniping battle, alley chase, etc.) were lackluster. The sniper battle annoyed me because here are these bomb techs, who, while having gone through basic training, are NOT professional snipers, who show up, and take over sniping duties for a group of apparent Brittish spec ops who SHOULD be trained in proper sniping. James goes out of the base, on his own, still wearing BDU pants, and invades someone's house?! WTF? That was retarded, as was later, when the 3 of them decide to storm 3 separate alleys, by themselves. . .

by the end I was checking my watch every 15 minutes or so, which is never a good sign.

Not a horrible movie, definitely some good parts, but overall, kind of disappointing.

thomasp · Jul 2009

some really good scenes in this movie, the connection to the three main characters was a bit lost tho between the action-bits. 7/10 on my scale.

Marcus Dublin · Jul 2009

I finally caught this yesterday and enjoyed it from beginning to end. I'm not sure what it's like to be in the military but the banter between the soldiers felt genuine. The action scenes were well shot, paced, and edited. They really made you feel like you were in the thick of things and what it's like to be in those situations.

All in all this was a terrific piece of cinema and it's on my premature best of 2009 list. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for something with a bit more substance and heart.

MOVIE: The Hurt Locker

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