The Hurt Locker

MUST-SEE: (Kathryn Bigelow) So, its taken me awhile to get up a review on this one, but don't think it's because I didn't like it. This film actually fascinated me to the point that I've been troubled with how best to relay my thoughts and be able to adequately emphasize how well I think it was done. It's the story of a gutsy branch of the armed forces in charge of seeking out bomb threats, diffusing them and collecting the evidence. Not to pun the profession, but each job is literally a ticking bomb. Potential danger exists with every second. Lives are at stake and the conditions are never controlled. It's a huge job carrying a lot of weight, and seriously overlooked. The Hurt Locker follows one particular group, led by its newest member, a cowboy diffuser played by Jeremy Renner. It's appeal for me is that it plays like a documentary, making the danger all too real and ultimately hard to ignore (or forget). The documentary film-style, one similar to District 9, or TV's The Office, offers something that is actually real somewhere. It's happening right now, and the tragedy we see on screen is a real person's heartbreak. Bigelow does a phenomenal job of keeping the line blurred between raw and entertaining. Can you really say you liked watching it, knowing that it's not just a movie? Be prepared for unbearable suspense, teeth-gritting anticipation, and some tears you won't know were coming. I'm not convinced it should have beat out Avatar's cinematic history-making for some of its Oscars, but I can't deny that it was a fantastic story, and uniquely told to the point its impact leaves a lasting bruise.