So basically my housemate Steph starting her own blog made me remember i had set one up ages ago and totally forgot about it, probably through an alcohol induced haze my mind just pushed it to the back, in priority order; behind what drink to drink next, what film to watch next or just random daydreaming. But now here it is, a film review for you!
The wonderful thing about the Oscars is that some great films are all released in close succession in the run up, to try and peak for the awards bash, so I shall review one of those films, one that was nominated for a few awards and pretty much cleaned up and punched James Cameron straight in the crotch, The Hurt Locker.
Believe it or not some misguided fools told me beforehand that it wasn't that good, so i almost didn't watch it...needless to say I am glad I don't ever listen to anyone...ever. Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war drama is so totally badass I don't know if I can really do it justice. To give you some idea, imagine Sly Stallone giving Jean Claude Van Damme a piggy back, whilst duel wielding M16s and shooting grenades out his ass (YEAH, that kinda badass).
It is centered around a US army bomb squad in Iraq, and their constant duel with the guerilla explosives they deal with on a daily basis. I was really excited from the first minute, as i thought the incredible Guy Pearce was going to be in it, and he is undoubtably one of the most kick ass actors I have ever seen; but around 8 minutes in he gets his face blown off by a bomb. Way to go Guy, you noob. But to my delight he was replaced by everybody's favourite kind of protagonist... the man with giant shiny titanium balls who seems to want to get blown up. What a breath of fresh air. Staff Sergeant William James (played brilliantly by Jeremy Renner) is that man, a seemingly loose cannon who is so talented he manages to get away with being a dumb shit approximately 100% of the time. Anthony Mackie (who I have kept my eye on ever since She Hate Me) plays Sergeant JT Sanborn who is trying to come to terms with the loss of his mentor (the pile of bones and flesh that is now Guy Pearce) and at the same time trying to keep a leash on the bulldozing dick weed William James who he has now found in his squad. Thats the basic premise of the film, and it works, brilliantly, and heres why...
Bigelow does an amazing job at simulating the tension that the characters are feeling; seconds from death at every turn, at any second, and the bleak setting where anybody could potentially be a mad shoe bomber, and any object could essentially be rigged to blow their asses clean off. She performs a brilliant juggling act between paranoid red herring threats and the very literal, obvious threat of a bomb going off to pump the "shit your pants" gauge to maximum in almost every scene. My favourite being the scene where the squad are pinned down with some seemingly fucking useless SAS soldiers, being kept down by sniper fire. The steam coming off the sand, distorting the view, the constant threat of having a bullet say hello to the inner membranes of their brains, the rapidly depleting supplies of liquids (which you kind of need in the middle of the desert) all add up to create a hot box of tension that would have had me on the edge of my seat, if i wasnt laying in my bed whilst i was watching it. But needless to say it was some tense shit.
I will try not to ruin the plot too much for anybody who hasn't seen this film yet, but to help you convince you, I will massively spoil the ending (yeah i know, I'm a dick), i kind of have to just to explain how ball crushingly awesome it is. We have all the soldiers making it through their tours, finally managing to get out of the hell hole that they were in, and we are with Staff Sergeant William James at his crib. Imagine you were him, you have just stared Death in the face daily for a year and a bit, and every time given him the finger and pissed on his gran; you make it home to your super hot wife and baby son, what would you do? kick back with a beer and watch some tv? have some sweet post war sex? yeah me too. But nooooooo, not William James, NO!! he decides TO FUCKING VOLUNTEER AND GO BACK INTO THE FREAKING WARZONE! wtf? thats some massive fucking nads right there. All hail William James, the biggest badass of this years Academy nominated films.
Well basically yeah, go see this film, if you haven't already, and even if you have, watch it again damn you. I insist. And just as a side note: nothing against Avatar, it was great to look at and all, but anybody who claims it got snubbed at the Oscars by this film, is a massive tool. The Hurt Locker was better written, better directed, superiorly acted and just plain better than Avatar. James Cameron's wet dream flick was ok, i enjoyed it, but mostly because of the last 40 minutes where everyone gets shot. The actually story is Cameron taking the plots of Pocohontas, Millers Crossing, The Last Samurai and The Last Mohican and adding Giant Smurfs. thats it. Get over it. Avatar won the awards it deserves, for special effects and all that. But to put it in terms you can understand, Hurt Locker is like a 8ft tall bear and Avatar is a canary. And the bear is fucking the canary, in the face.
Anyway, till next time
Peace
Adversity before blogging.
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