Bombing Experience
In the last few years, there has been a rather obvious trend that has emerged regarding films which are set against the contemporary backdrop of the current Iraq War as well as the political realm of the war on terror. Recently, we have seen films like Home for the Brave, In the Valley of Elah, Stop-Loss, Rendition and Lions for Lambs. All of these movies dealt with that subject matter and they all have another element in common: none of them were at all warmly received by the public or the critical masses. It just seems that people today don't want to watch a movie about the current Middle Eastern crisis. What this movie does is that it succeeds where the others have failed: it drops the labels and politics in order to focus on the intimate characters, and it is a move that is deeply appreciated.
The film focuses on the bomb disposal unit that is deployed in Baghdad, Iraq. Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) is brought in as the new leader of his unit, which feature Sergeant Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) who has the love/hate relationship with his new CO's unorthodox tactics, and Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) who's mental state is a little more fragile but still sees things to respect in the new Staff Sergeant.
As I said, the main reason why this film is at a much higher level than all of its predecessors is because of its stripped down way of delivery. Director Kathryn Bigelow has serious credentials in this type of field, having directed films like Point Break, K-19: The Widowmaker, and Near Dark. Not only are these serious action movies, but they are also films that focus on the characters within them, getting the audience invested in their plights and augmenting the tension the scenes put them in. Bigelow allows us to get a real feeling for these guys and their personalities are endearingly felt. Then, when their jobs as bomb defusers begin, the suspense has us wound tight and in a high state of anxiety.
Renner has been a face that has popped up in so many places that he may be described as the youngest character actor working today (Joseph Gordon-Levitt may be an alternate choice). Here he takes a good natured man and makes him a figure to care for and his actions always have a conscious reasoning and likable quality. Mackie delivers some quite emotional scenes in his time and Geraghty truly carries most of the psychological weight and his character is always one wrapped in a fascinating mystery. It is interesting that these three men offer the film's greatest insight into the mind of the army, especially when bigger stars like Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes offer little in their scenes.
Even with all that, I don't want to completely oversell this movie. The film stops short many times at becoming a great movie because of Mark Boal's screenplay. Most of the time he does a well enough job of creating the framework for the film to follow through on. However, his script more times than necessary meanders into uninvolved subplots and linger on scenes that soon wear out their credible welcome. Boal worked with Paul Haggis's In the Valley of Elah, and while much of that screenplay's errors lie with Haggis, it still shows where Boal's writing is, a world that has an intriguing genesis but questionable follow through.
Again, The Hurt Locker isn't a great film, but it is one that is pretty good, especially considering where the genre has been in the past. Here is a film that focuses on a great field of characters and is executed extremely well by its well qualified director, but unfortunately is hindered greatly by its mediocre script. Still, I'm not going to deny that this is one of the best films the year has to offer, and we finally have a movie that does the soldiers in these types of films proud. I only hope that we can find the same accomplishment on the political side. ***1/2 / ****; GRADE: B+
Bad Moon Rising
I've made it no secret to people that when it comes to a certain genre of films, I find myself having a soft spot in
my heart. Specifically, this is the epic, sci-fi picture that is packed with its extravagant shots of huge spaceships among vast amounts of space and glances into elongated and claustrophobic corridors inside. I just can't help myself from loving these films, particularly because these are the only types of movies that truly benefit from the huge canvass of a movie theatre. However, this film isn't one of them; it's a much more smaller and intimate film than one might realize. Still, that doesn't mean the quality is diminished nor should you miss this one in the theaters.
In the not too distant future, Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an engineer on a three year contract for mining the moon in order retrieve helium absorbed in the surface and then send it back to Earth to help with the energy crisis. His on board companion, as usual, is the interactive computer system GERTY, voiced by Kevin Spacey. While on the job, Sam has an accident and when he awakes from unconsciousness, he finds a surprise: there's another body moving around that looks exactly like him.
With such a limited scope, the biggest selling point on whether or not the film will work is how well the its leading star handles the material. Rockwell is a fine actor who's been doing great work for a while. Here he puts on a phenomenal one man show and lays out the deep psychology of this character in a fascinating way. He never becomes dull and breathes excitement in every scene as he showcases the dynamic personalities that he conveys. It's an amazing performance that fortunately will deliver the acclaim that he has deserved for a long time. Also to note here is that Spacey's cold tone is a perfect match for the mood created.
Director Duncan Jones creates an eerie and atmospheric setting that always engages the audience. His original story, that was adapted by Nathan Parker, sometimes functions well as a mystery puzzle piece, but works more effectively when it dives into the psyche of its leading character and flushes out the deep emotional baggage the film can carry. Jones offers a chilling vision, draped in a cool resonance with occasional bursts of high energy that ultimately satisfies. Perhaps him being the son of David Bowie has something to do with that.
This is one of the many small films that I ultimately highly recommend. It might not be for everyone, but for those who are intrigued by an intimate character study that is set against the science fiction genre, then this is definitely the film for you. It succeeds on nearly every level it wants to take, and Rockwell is the main reason for that success. It may not be big, but it still struck that soft part in my heart. **** / ****; GRADE: A
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