The Hurt Locker

So that was 2009's "Best Picture" winner. Alright. I can see the case. The Hurt Locker is a movie about a three-man bomb squad in Iraq. And the thing is, it's really only about those three men and the bombs they're disarming. There are very few supporting characters. There is very little narrative. We're not told much about any of the scenes we watch; typically, there's a bomb, and our boys must disarm it. They are often successful and sometimes less than successful. The whole thing just feels very realistic, and that allows the tension and suspense to maintain very consistently high levels. Off the top of my head, the only other Iraq War movie I can remember seeing is Jarhead, and that was a very different movie that took place 20 years ago during a very different war. Jarhead is about how boring and patience-testing modern war can be. The Hurt Locker focuses more on how exciting and dangerous modern war can be. Both are great films, and attempting to compare them is an apples and oranges type of exercise. I'm not sure if I loved the ending of The Hurt Locker from a movie narrative standpoint. However, I totally "get" the significance and meaning of it. I know that sounds vague, and if you haven't seen the movie yet, I'm sorry. (Also, see the movie.) Like the blurb on the DVD cover, I would say that this was a "near-perfect movie." So, you know, a nine on a scale of ten. I'm not sure if I think it was the best movie released in 2009. That said, it beats the shit out of Avatar.