Hey U Guys

It's been my experience that reading a lot or hearing loads of feedback on a movie can at times, ruin it, or leave you with a bit of a bad taste in your mouth.  I can honestly say that with The Hurt Locker, everything I have heard or read about it, I have to agree with.

I was engrossed in this movie from the beginning.  As it starts, it grabs onto you and won't let go until the ending credits roll.  The cinemetography is frenetic and shaky giving the viewing the feeling of chaos.  If you had a hard time watching The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield, you may have a hard time with this as well.  It definitley feels like a bit of a roller coaster.  White knuckling it through parts, then taking a deep breath to relax and then being thrown into another turn and having to hold tight again.

There's early Oscar buzz for Jeremy Renner's portrayal of Staff Sergeant William James.  I don't disagree.  He plays this role with a deadpan nonchalant yet focused attitude.  He keeps himself distanced looking at things with a technical eye.  While the burden of his chosen life and profession doesn't so much show on the surface, you can feel how it wears on him.  On the flip side, you can also see the rush he gets from it.  At one point he removes his protective suit to disarm a trunkload of bombs.  When told to pull back, he tosses out his radio and keeps forging ahead driven by a need to figure out and disarm the device.  Renner is able to portray the stress, while infusing it with some sort of dry humor. Intended or otherwise. It's a delicate balance and Renner is able to pull it off.

In an interview during a Q & A session Renner and his co-star Brian Geraghty talked about how all of the acting was done prior to filming.  What is actually on film is just reaction to what is happening around them.  Instead of filming 60 second takes, they would film straight for 10 minutes. Those are the takes that are in the final cut.  Using this process really lends to the film.  It's not chopped up jumping from scene to scene, perspective to perspective.  There are these long tension filled shots, which pulls the viewer in even more.

The film is also riddled with bit parts by well named actors.  Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Evangeline Lilly all have parts but none take away the spotlight from Renner and company.

The Hurt Locker is an gripping, and incredibly intense.  I didn't feel the 2 hours and 10 minutes that the film clocks in at.  People have said they don't want to see another Iraq war movie.  I will reiterate what has already been said. It's not a "war" movie.  The war is just the back drop.  The true story lies in the characters, to which each actor tells his own characters' story.  This was an excellent film and should be seen.

Be sure to read my recap of the premier in Modesto, CA where Renner and Geraghty attended, signed autographs and conducted a Q & A with the audience.