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)
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)
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