"The Hurt Locker" is the bomb.

Last week I saw The Hurt Locker, and, to begin with, it is an excellent movie that deserves to be seen on the big screen. I had noticed it playing in a few select theaters in Los Angeles last month, as well as its incredible 98% rating on the aggregate site rottentomatoes.com. So when it finally came to Fresno I rushed to see it, knowing full well that movie gems don't stay long in this city. In fact, all that is wrong with Fresno can be summarized by the simple fact that this great movie is playing on a single screen in one theatre, while the retarded new GI:Joe movie and G-Force, a movie about GUINEA PIG soldiers, are literally playing in every single movie theatre across town on multiple screens! Cabron.

Anyway, the film takes place in Iraq in 2004, roughly one year after the invasion. It tells the story of three soldiers of Bravo company who belong to a U.S. Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit, whose job it is to dismantle improvised explosive devices (IEDs). As we have all come to learn from reports on the warfront, IEDs are a major cause of death among soldiers and civilians, so the team has a very dangerous assignment, which makes for an extremely suspenseful movie.

To be clear, The Hurt Locker is not a true "war film." Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Paths of Glory, Patton, For Whom The Bell Tolls are classics of this genre, offering bold statements on the act of war by emphasizing its atrocities and bravery. The Hurt Locker really does not render an opinion on the war in Iraq itself, but rather explores the mindset of the soldiers who have enlisted to fight it.

In the movie, Bravo Company is headed by Staff Sgt. Will James, a cocky yet understated team leader who gets a rush from donning a bomb suit and walking out to diffuse an IED, much to the chagrin of his fellow sergeant and specialist. His character reminded me of some of the surgeons, ER and critical care doctors I've worked with. Faced with life-or-death situations on a regular basis, these types acquire callous and irreverent attitudes from the knowledge that life is short and fleeting, and in scenarios where most people panic and cannot think straight, their minds are sharp and actions deliberate. Subtlety and restraint are all but lost on them, yet to call them reckless thrill-seekers is to overlook their remarkable talents. But I digress...

There was so much that I liked about this movie. The story was very well-paced, with moments of great suspense. Seriously there were scenes in this movie where James approaches a suspicious something, an illegally parked car, a pile of debris, and the tension was so high my palms were sweaty (another aside, walking out alone in the bomb suit, he totally reminded me of the scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey where Dave, in his space suit, goes to turn of HAL.) The performances were also top notch. While the cast is made up of relatively unknown actors, save for cameos by Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes, the characters are well developed and complex, and their relationship is a battle unto itself. The action in the movie was pretty exciting too.

The Hurt Locker is directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who also directed Point Break, a kick-ass movie about surfing/sky-diving bank robbers chased by FBI agents played by Keanu Reeves and Garey Busey. It's probably surprising to many that a woman could direct such high quality action films, which I guess just goes to show that gender norms are for the birds. My favorite scene in Point Break was when Reeves takes aim at Patrick Swayze but can't bring himself to shoot him, and instead lies on the ground screaming in frustration and shooting his gun high in the air. The scene was lampooned to great effect in Hot Fuzz.

In conclusion, this movie does not begin to address the tragic folly that is the war in Iraq. And I think that there are some people who would even argue that this movie is a form of military propaganda, because it does not explicitly state that war is hell, as so many other films have already clearly demonstrated. But that would be an unfair critique. The message of this movie is that war offers a strange attraction to those who enjoy to live life on the edge. And if you enjoy films that keep you on the edge of your seat, definitely go check this one out. BOOM!!

"Public Enemies" comes through like gangbusters

This week I saw "Public Enemies", the newest film by Michael Mann. I really like Mann's movies, which include "Heat", "Last of the Mohicans", "The Insider", "Collateral", "Ali" and "Miami Vice", so I was looking forward to seeing this one. In fact, the night before the movie premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Holly and I went to the theatre eagerly to buy tickets. The vendor literally laughed in our faces. "Tickets were sold out months ago!" Pendejo. 

Anyway the movie is about John Dillinger and the war between bank robbers and the lawmen during the Great Depression. So the film has a lot of potential, given that "Heat" was a fantastic cops & robbers movie with THE best bank robbery and shootout ever filmed. But to my surprise, the bank robbery scenes were the least interesting parts of this movie, which is not to say it was a let down. Rather, the movie's greatest suspense came during the jailbreaks and narrow escapes.

A bit about Mann's movies. They are macho but at the same time very thoughtfully executed. They feature tough guys, tough women, sophisticated action sequences, curt dialogue, booming sound and occasionally sublime cinematography. His more recent films have been shot digitally to capture a more realistic look, like something you might have filmed with your home camcorder, but actually looks good. The end result of Mann's attention to realism is a more moving visual experience, compared to the ostentatious Transformers, Harry Potter or other movies loaded with CGI visual effects.

Dillinger is of course played by Johnny Depp, who does a good job. He is smooth yet down-to-earth with honor-among-thieves principles. His girlfriend Billie, played by Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, is terrific. She is sweet but no lay-down Sally, as her penchant for the bad boy brings her, and the audience, into the exciting underworld of crime.  Billy Crudup plays J. Edgar Hoover, who takes the old-timey high pitched speech of the 30s to a new level. Alas, the scene stealer in this movie is Baby Face Nelson, played by the same guy who played Tommy in "Snatch" (remember "before ze Germans get here"). Nelson is the crazy Scarface-esque mofo who remorselessly shoots innocent people, a foil to Dillinger, the suave modern Robin Hood handing out cash to the poor. Christian Bale plays Melvin Purvis, the G-man on the hunt for Dillinger. I don't know about you, buy I'm a little Bale-d out, especially after seeing "Terminator Salvation". As an aside, the Terminator series should have been terminated after T2 grumble grumble.

Throughout the movie, you enjoy the wild escapades of Dillinger, his girl and his cronies. But gradually you feel the weight of the law, and it's not long before the crimes catch up with them. In "Miami Vice", Colin Ferrell, in his infinite undercover cop wisdom, warns the bad guy's girl "Probability is like gravity: you cannot negotiate with gravity." Naturally the era of the tommy gun-toting bank robbers came to an end, just as the days of the gun-slinging outlaws ended when the wild west's frontier was claimed. But as you'll see, it was a fun ride while it lasted...

A blog is born

Hi there! This is my new movie blog, thanks for visiting. Holly suggested I start one of these after listening to me rant about movies for the millionth time. Now that intern year is over and I've got some more free time, I decided to give it a shot. We'll see how long it lasts...

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