20100820:
I was watching this movie today with a friend, but she didn't really like it and so we stopped watching it partway through.
Although I had only seen the first two or three scenes, I was confused on why the movie had gotten so much praise.
Certainly each scene I had watched was filled with tension, but they didn't seem to be tied together.
And even before questioning how the scenes relate to one another, I actually didn't understand the context of the first scene by itself. Who were these soldiers, and why were they setting off and/or detonating bombs; the movie didn't seem to give me these answers in the first scene. But, giving the film the benefit of the doubt, I might had missed some important detail which would have answered my questions.
In any case, if someone were to ask me about my favorite war movie, I could not imagine myself ever thinking about The Hurt Locker. On that note, Saving Private Ryan (1998) would be the first movie which pops into my head. Similar, if someone were to ask me about movies that should win Best Picture, I'd find it difficult to propose The Hurt Locker. Movies that enter my mind here are Schindler's List (1993) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).
previous Movie post (The Blind Side) : next Movie post (Wedding Crashers)
[20100824][20171110 Edit]
20171107:
Leading up to the release of a series called The Long Road Home, National Geographic was showing various military-related movies and documentaries. In any case, one of the films they showed was The Hurt Locker. Having only partially watched the film on a previous occasion (20100820), I decided to go ahead and give it a watch.
Overall, I'm glad that I did, since it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being. With that being said, it was filmed with a natural, unfiltered look and at times the footage felt too raw and dirty.
After I read through my previous entries, I wanted to go ahead and address them here:
Before: Does the first scene explain itself?
After: No, but it's a cold open and doesn't need to. The situation becomes more understandable as the movie progresses.
Before: The scenes don't appear to be tied together.
After: Watching the movie again today (20171107), I'd say the first several scenes that I saw before (on 20100820) are actually closely tied together.
Before: Who were these soldiers? Why were they setting off and/or detonating bombs?
After: The answer after this viewing still wasn't absolutely clear, but I gathered that clearing bombs was necessary for the U.S. troops in Iraq to secure the area.
Before: This movie doesn't seem Oscar-worthy.
After: While I would still not personally rank The Hurt Locker as a great movie, I could see why it resonated with viewers and subsequently won Best Picture.
[20171110]
20220701 Comment:
I was browsing for movies to add to my Watchlist and I couldn't remember if I had seen all of The Hurt Locker or not. While it turns out I eventually saw the entire movie, I hardly remember a scene from it. In particular, I don't remember how the movie ends.
Instant Comments:
1: I recognize this actor, but I don't know his name. [Guy Pearce]
1: This person can't possibly die.
1: Oh, I was wrong. [Apparently he wasn't the film's primary actor.]
2: "What's the best way to go about disarming one of these things?" "The way you don't die, sir."
2: What a bummer for Colonel John Cambridge (Christian Camargo)
2: It wasn't clear to me how Colonel John Cambridge would die but I knew that he would.
2: Oh, that's... what's her name... [Evangeline Lily]
1=20100820, 2=20171107
Watched 1st half 20100820 (DVD)
Watched 20171107 (Cable TV, National Geographic Channel) (censored English audio via silence [e.g., "You piece of ____!"], censored English caption via character [e.g., "You piece of %%%%%!"])
The Hurt Locker (2008) Kathryn Bigelow. 131 min.
Relevant Links:
The Hurt Locker (IMDb.com)
The Hurt Locker (RottenTomatoes.com)
The Hurt Locker (Wikipedia.org)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Step Brothers (2008)
20100814:
The movie had several hilarious moments. I'm laughing just thinking about some of them right now. On the other hand, I felt the plot wasn't that strong, because I had a hard time believing the scenario of the first half of the movie. However, I'm not upset, because I have lower expectations for plot when watching comedy movies. Also, the interaction between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly creates the comedy, not the reason why they're interacting. I guess at some point I treated the movie as a bunch of related comedy skits.
It's getting late, so I'll finish up by saying that I like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) better than Step Brothers, which also starred both Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Between the two plots, the plot for Talladega Nights was more coherent than the plot for Step Brothers.
previous Movie post (Despicable Me): next Movie post (The Blind Side)
[20100814][20191126 Edit]
20191126:
Watching the movie today, I didn't have any complaints about it. In particular, I didn't have any complaints about the plot. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.
Instant Comments:
2: 39 and 40 year-old sons.
2: Hahahaha. Laid-off vs. fired. Salmon.
2: Hahaha. Hahahaha. He's giving his dad a hypothetical and his dad shouts "Shut the fuck up!"
2: Hahahaha. Will Ferrell begins tearing up.
2: He mentions beer, but they were drinking non-alcoholic drinks at dinner.
2: Smile. "And I have to admit, for a little while, I sort of joined in as well."
2: Smile. The nutsack.
2: Smile. The near accident.
2: His story is so rehearsed he can't remember how to continue after being interrupted.
2: Haha. He punches him.
2: Hah. "I want to roll you up and shove you up my vagina."
2: Hahaha. That kissing is hilarious.
2: Smile. Brennan told Dale to open his eyes after he had already unshealthed the sword - which is arguably the cool part.
2: "Exactly the same."
2: Haha. "Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus."
2: Starts spilling Good Will Hunting.
2: She mounts him and then she goes pee in a urinal.
2: $80,000 doesn't seem like a lot relative to whatever he probably makes.
2: Coordinated sleepwalking.
2: He keeps his mixtape on him.
2: Hahaha. "Boats and hoes."
2: Haha. Haha. Their awkward hug.
2: Haha. Hahaha. "It's okay that mine's not movie quality."
Credits:
1: A little after some credits roll, it cuts to them beating up the school kids. Then credits resume. Then at the end of the credits, they're shown getting up from bed and sleepwalking.
2: Passport.
Watched 20100814 (Netflix, Instant) (Streaming until 20100818)
Watched 20191126 (Netflix, Instant)
Step Brothers (2008) Adam McKay. 98 min.
Relevant Links:
Step Brothers (IMDb.com)
Step Brothers (film) (Wikipedia.org)
Step Brothers (RottenTomatoes.com)
The movie had several hilarious moments. I'm laughing just thinking about some of them right now. On the other hand, I felt the plot wasn't that strong, because I had a hard time believing the scenario of the first half of the movie. However, I'm not upset, because I have lower expectations for plot when watching comedy movies. Also, the interaction between Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly creates the comedy, not the reason why they're interacting. I guess at some point I treated the movie as a bunch of related comedy skits.
 |
| Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) and Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) |
It's getting late, so I'll finish up by saying that I like Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) better than Step Brothers, which also starred both Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Between the two plots, the plot for Talladega Nights was more coherent than the plot for Step Brothers.
previous Movie post (Despicable Me): next Movie post (The Blind Side)
 |
| Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen) |
[20100814][20191126 Edit]
20191126:
Watching the movie today, I didn't have any complaints about it. In particular, I didn't have any complaints about the plot. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Netflix determined the movie for me as a 98% match. I decided to give the movie neither a thumbs up nor a thumbs down.
Instant Comments:
2: 39 and 40 year-old sons.
 |
| Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins) |
2: Hahahaha. Laid-off vs. fired. Salmon.
2: Hahaha. Hahahaha. He's giving his dad a hypothetical and his dad shouts "Shut the fuck up!"
2: Hahahaha. Will Ferrell begins tearing up.
2: He mentions beer, but they were drinking non-alcoholic drinks at dinner.
2: Smile. "And I have to admit, for a little while, I sort of joined in as well."
2: Smile. The nutsack.
2: Smile. The near accident.
2: His story is so rehearsed he can't remember how to continue after being interrupted.
2: Haha. He punches him.
2: Hah. "I want to roll you up and shove you up my vagina."
2: Hahaha. That kissing is hilarious.
2: Smile. Brennan told Dale to open his eyes after he had already unshealthed the sword - which is arguably the cool part.
 |
| Alice (Kathryn Hahn), Tiffany (Elizabeth Yozamp), Tommy (Lurie Poston), and Derek (Adam Scott) |
2: "Exactly the same."
2: Haha. "Your voice is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus."
2: Starts spilling Good Will Hunting.
2: She mounts him and then she goes pee in a urinal.
2: $80,000 doesn't seem like a lot relative to whatever he probably makes.
2: Coordinated sleepwalking.
2: He keeps his mixtape on him.
2: Hahaha. "Boats and hoes."
2: Haha. Haha. Their awkward hug.
2: Haha. Hahaha. "It's okay that mine's not movie quality."
Credits:
1: A little after some credits roll, it cuts to them beating up the school kids. Then credits resume. Then at the end of the credits, they're shown getting up from bed and sleepwalking.
2: Passport.
Watched 20100814 (Netflix, Instant) (Streaming until 20100818)
Watched 20191126 (Netflix, Instant)
Step Brothers (2008) Adam McKay. 98 min.
Relevant Links:
Step Brothers (IMDb.com)
Step Brothers (film) (Wikipedia.org)
Step Brothers (RottenTomatoes.com)