‘The Hurt Locker’ Download and Reviews
“The Hurt Locker” Movie Details
The Hurt Locker tagline: You’ll know when you’re in it.
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| Directors: Kathryn Bigelow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 8.0/10 out of 36,794 votes |
“The Hurt Locker” Movie Review
“The Hurt Locker” Plot Summary
Iraq. Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.
One of the best war films of the past 25 years…
Gut-wrenching, pulse-pounding, out of this world tension, just mere exterior descriptions of what Kathryn Bigelow’s new film, The Hurt Locker is. Written by Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker overflows with intensity, passion, and reverence. In the wake of 9/11, filmmakers have struggled to create a piece that is socially accepted and respected. Only two films have succeeded in this task over the past eight years; Paul Greengrass’ beautiful United 93, depicting an open interpretation of the final moments of the doomed plane and now, Bigelow’s film will join the short, elite list
This character-driven tale tells the stories of three army soldiers who are a part of the most dangerous of jobs to offer in the military, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), in plainer terms, they disarm bombs. Staff Sergeant William James played ferociously by Jeremy Renner heads up this story as a soldier facing death every moment of the day. With his wife and child at home and often displaying unorthodox behavior, James seems fit for a war soldier. Sergeant JT Sanborn, played by Anthony Mackie is a by-the-book man, living his days at war while incurring losses along the way. Specialist Owen Eldridge played by Brian Geraghty is young, bewildered, and thrust into a situation unknowing of the impact it would have. What these three men bring to their respective roles educates the viewer of the horrors of war. Forget what you think you know on CNN and your local news, Bigelow is running the show with Boal out on assignment and Renner, Mackie, and Geraghty as our anchors. The crews of the picture are the tools in building this powerful vessel. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd uses his four camera use to keep us feeling like a first-person account of the events of the film. The mesh of Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders score and the sound effects team makes for a more suspenseful experience. Filming in Jordan was the choice of Bigelow to give it a more authentic feel. ‘If you’re going to make a film about the Middle East, make it in the Middle East.’ Bigelow said to me after the film. It paid off big time because I always felt like I was there in the battle zone, enduring pain, torment, and dehydration. With a NY & LA release set for Friday, June 26th, The Hurt Locker’s deserves all the praise its been receiving and should be experienced by any movie lover. The Oscar Prospects might look a little grim based on the summer release but with no real first-half of 2009 contenders, Bigelow and her film have strong chances of taking a spot amongst the final five come end of the year. Renner and Mackie will also be strong contenders in their respective categories. The strongest possibility for an Oscar has to be for writer Mark Boal. The research he did for the film alone will keep Boal in the minds of voters. The Hurt Locker’s striking cinematography, crisp editing that keeps it at a heart palpating pace, strong performances, directing, and writing is enough to take this film in consideration for your viewing. Brilliant, simply brilliant.****/****
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‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ Download and Reviews
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” Movie Details
Close Encounters of the Third Kind tagline: Close Encounter of the First Kind – Sighting of a UFO. Close Encounter of the Second Kind – Physical Evidence. Close Encounter of the Third Kind – Contact. WE ARE NOT ALONE
 Close Encounters of the Third Kind DVD Cover |
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Team Leader |
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” Movie Review
“CE3K” Plot Summary
After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Fantastic
A utilities worker named Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) has an encounter with a UFO (in a great scene). After that he begins to have ‘visions’ of a mountain. Also a single mother (Melinda Dillon) and her young son also have their home ‘investigated’ by aliens while they sleep. They also start to have visions of the same mountain. It seems UFOs and strange appearances are happening all over the globe. Naturally the government tries to cover it up. Why are the aliens here and what do they want?The same year George Lucas released ‘Star Wars’ this movie came out. While ‘Star Wars’ was about warfare and destruction this film is a very gentle, lyrical movie about a peaceful encounter with aliens. The government DOES try to cover everything up but, unlike later movies, they have no interest in destroying the aliens–only to make contact. That’s a very positive message…but this movie has serious problems
The human characters are never fully realized. Dreyfuss and his wife (Teri Garr) seem to have a very dysfunctional marriage with three truly obnoxious kids. You don’t like any of them. As for Dillon we know NOTHING about her–just that she’s a single mother. That’s it. This is writer-director Steven Spielberg’s fault–he doesn’t develop any of his characters. But this was one of his first movies so it can be forgiven. Also there are gaps in logic and numerous scenes in which three or four people are talking at once making it impossible to figure out what’s going on. And WHY is the TV ALWAYS going at Dreyfuss’ house? It is needed in one sequence but most of the time it’s just more annoying background noise
That aside this film is great. The sequences with the aliens are used sparingly until the end–which makes sense. And the special effects are just superb–they even work by today’s standards! The last half hour or so at Devil’s Tower, Wyoming is just jaw-dropping. The acting is actually pretty good. Dreyfuss and Dillon are very good (considering they’re just reacting to nothing) but Garr is whiny and annoying. Also French director Francois Truffaut does a rare acting role here. Vilmos Zsigmond did the astounding cinematography (the nighttime scenes are just beautiful) and John Williams added a great score. And the tune used with the aliens was a BIG hit in 1977! Worth seeing for the special effects and some truly great sequences. Just ignore the lousy ‘dramatic’ scenes with Dreyfuss and his family. Try to see it in a theatre. I give it a 9.
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‘Drag Me to Hell’ Download and Reviews
“Drag Me to Hell” Movie Details
Drag Me to Hell tagline: Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future. But in three days, she’s going to hell.
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| Directors: Sam Raimi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 7.2/10 out of 42,987 votes |
“Drag Me to Hell” Movie Review
“Drag Me to Hell” Plot Summary
A loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse, which turns her life into a living hell. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.
Good? Yes. Epic? No.
A bank employee is forced to make a tough decision — denying an old woman an extension on her home loan. While this may have helped her career, it jeopardized her life. The old woman, a gypsy, puts a horrible curse on the woman, where an evil spirit (a lamia) will drag her soul to hell in four days
Many of us were waiting for Sam Raimi’s return to horror (aside from his production work for Ghost House), and here it is. For me, personally, it was an experience that was both welcoming and disheartening. any of Raimi’s old tricks are back, but some of his new tricks are present too, much to my chagrin
A good friend informed me that the first fifteen minutes of the film are ‘epic’, a word that is not to be used lightly. In this, I strongly disagree. While some of the later scenes were very intense and quite fun (the parking lot scene, for example), the first fifteen minutes were largely a waste of film. The introduction with the Mexican family serves only a minimal plot purpose, and we are treated to a bit too much bank employee exposition
What are the old tricks and new tricks I refer to? Let me lay it out for you. The old tricks include: the return of the Delta 88, some great camera shots (again in the parking lot scene), a demonic dance, a possessed goat, and a very subtle cameo by Ted Raimi that you’ll miss if you don’t recognize Ted’s voice. Sadly, Bruce Campbell was not available for the film to make a cameo. The new tricks? Computer generated animation. I have expressed my disapproval of CG in countless reviews, but it’s even more sad from Raimi, who is known for his camera techniques and stop-motion work. Sure, this isn’t low budget, but animated fire doesn’t scare me
Overall, while I didn’t find the film to be groundbreaking, it is well worth a view. Raimi includes plenty of his splatter effects (blood, drool, and other bodily fluids) and generally gives us a good ghost story, particularly for working in the PG-13 framework (which is a mistake). The end is also satisfying. Compare this to Stuart Gordon’s ‘Stuck’ and it seems that Raimi has the more lasting impact on horror
As of this writing, the film is in the cheap seats, so by the time you read this, it will likely be out on video. Be sure to rent this. The film likely didn’t make as much in theaters as expected, especially with the overbearing media campaign (which was enough to turn me — a Raimi fan — off). Let’s help them recoup their losses on the video sales. No doubt the special features will make this well worth it.
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