A question about "The Hurt Locker"

[IBlackKiteI]

I thought it was fine and understood why Americans liked it... however once I saw the part with the British chaps I just thought "No, fuck you. You arent super soldiers, fuck this I am leaving." because the British sniper that went up there got killed really fast then the Americans go up to the exact same sniper rifle and lay down in the exact same place and manage to stay there for fucking ages without being killed.

The exact same place! For much MUCH longer! All it did was reinforce that bloody stereotype that American soldiers are the best on the planet and always do the best and save everyone else.

Nitpicking much?

Im not American, I didnt see the scene as all that pro-American or anything.

Also, the British are shown as badass guys wearing raggedy-ass clothing who managed to kidnap this guy, and even if the movie trys to show Americans superior throughout the film its counted by them being gung-ho self centred class-A wankers.

No it doesnt and no it doesnt. What you described is most certainly not badass, unless you think homeless people who kidnap other people are badass. And no, they showed ONE American guy being an ass but it showed him have a decent(ish) side when he thought that kid had been killed.

Let us agree to disagree.

 

[Jewrean]

Because, to Americans, it hits home.

This. In-fact just because it won so many Oscars is the reason I say the movie is absolutely terrible and shit. Winning awards shouldn't be just based on what nation your from, it should be universal and I could care less about American soldiers. Frankly, I care more about the civilians living in every country that America "liberates" over the soldiers.

Similarly, I get pissed off when Americans complain about 9/11 when they kill that many innocents in a standard month. Serves them right really.

And yes I did mean to hurt peoples feelings. Hypocrites the lot of ya. Complaining over a couple of thousand people dying when you take hundreds of thousands? For shame.
[/rant]

All it did was reinforce that bloody stereotype that American soldiers are the best on the planet and always do the best and save everyone else.

I too hate this when SAS have more training and experience then most elite American soldiers. It's basically a pissing contest and opinion-based rather than actual facts.

 

[Cyan.]

Not quite sure what you mean by this.
The Oscars is just a group of people who decide which films from the year they really liked. Just so happens that their opinions are held in very high regard. How can you rig a small group of people choosing films?

Oh please... Could you make a more misguided and ignorant statment?

OF COURSE the oscars are rigged. Governments want to control people opinions in every way, which of course, includes the media. I thought this was common knowledge.

Hell, the director of Hurt Locker HIMSELF was caught out trying to solicit votes for his damn movie.

Flat out wrong. They weren't portrayed like this at all. The main character has compassion towards them. Beckham and the family that he stumbles into are portrayed in a very positive light. The only Iraqis that are viewed negatively are the ones that are making IEDs and stuffing humans with bombs - something that actually happens and is carried out by scumbags.

See, here is where its funny.

They fooled you. They fooled you hard.

 

[Kortney]

They fooled you. They fooled you hard.

Uh huh..

Or, you could write something a little coherent?

Care to explain what you mean.

 

[Cherry Cola]

*gasp*

You mean... The Oscars are bullshit?

I didn't know!

Oh wait, I've known for years

OT: I didn't care much for Hurt Locker.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Hell, the director of Hurt Locker HIMSELF was caught out trying to solicit votes for his damn movie.

Pleeeeeeease tell me that you are joking now.

 

[Private Custard]

Hell, the director of Hurt Locker HIMSELF was caught out trying to solicit votes for his damn movie.

Ummmm, I'm pretty sure Kathryn Bigelow is a woman........as well as a fairly average director!

 

[run_forrest_run]

You, my friend, are 100% correct. Mind you I thought it was shit, not average. It was no where near the standard of Up and certainly not District 9, the movie of that year. Apocalypse Now is the best war movie ever, followed closely by Deer Hunter. It isn't.

 

[KiKiweaky]

Ye I didnt really get it either, the guy who enjoys taking off his gear and putting himself in even more danger than he's already in is frankly ridiculous. I was watching it going 'what is he doing now, why did he throe that smoke grenade there?'

Stuff like that just bugs me about films, the sniper part, which in another film would have been really cool and have made a great scene was just a waste of time imo. Yes because bomb disposal teams receive sniper training and can make kills from over a mile away :/ I really didnt get why it was put in there.

Pointless things like that are the sort of things that make me wonder, how did this get such good reviews. One part I did think was really cool, is when yer man go's home and you see how he's having trouble coping. So he ends up going back that kinda made me think, maybe some people just enjoy doing shit like that.

 

[Cyan.]

Pleeeeeeease tell me that you are joking now.

Not one bit, however...

Ummmm, I'm pretty sure Kathryn Bigelow is a woman........as well as a fairly average director!

Yes, it seems that in my haste to provide you all with hatred enducing material, i made a minor error.

It was not the director, but the PROCUDER of the film who was caught trying to solicit votes.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-02/-hurt-locker-producer-barred-from-oscars-for-campaign-violation.html

Still, my slight typographical error does not change how rubbish the film is, and how rigged the oscars are.

The oscars are about as accurate as MTV's "hottest hits".

 

[godofallu]

By giving it best picture you figure they are trying to compare the movie with other best picture winners like Slumdog Millionaire, or Million Dollar Baby, or No Country For Old Men.

The thing is there weren't many good movies that year, so being slightly above average is all that was needed to take first. It's a good movie, but in no way can compare to the others I listed above.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

There are times where it is appropriate, but I don't think this is one of those times.

More people need to watch The Wire.

The show may very well be objectively better than Firefly, but if I enjoyed Firefly more, that makes it a better show for me (opinions, gotta love 'em).

I think it is possible to recognize whether or not one's personal tastes are unduly influencing objective appraisal. I prefer several shows to The Wire, but I would never put any of them up against it in terms of writing or overall quality.

All of this started when someone dismissed The Wire as "best show" in favor of Firefly. If you really watch television with an eye for unique and intelligent storytelling, that statement is cringe-worthy. That's my piece.

 

[Breaker deGodot]

Because, to Americans, it hits home.

This is something that's actually going on, right now. My cousin is actually in the US military at this moment, searching for IED's. And that's what makes it stick out more than another Pixar movie, a movie I never saw, a comedy/action about a war that happened around seventy years ago, and another scifi making social references (granted, I loved all those movies, except A Serious Man, which I previously stated I never saw).

Exactly. Granted, I wasn't too happy about it winning Best Picture either (I was hoping for a Pixar win), but it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative; Avatar.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

See, I saw it in theaters knowing absolutely nothing about it. It was just on an impulse and I had seen one trailer for it so I decided to go see it. You probably didn't get the same experience because it was massively hyped up and you saw it at home and didn't get the theater experience. I will admit that I watched it again on my TV at home and it wasn't anywhere near as good as the first time I saw it. But Basterds had its insanely good parts, but there were times when nothing happened for half an hour. District 9 was really good, but at times it got silly. You have to think... what do the film critics think? They don't like sci-fi, and they certainly don't like comedies and Basterds' lightness of tone at times and alternate history probably killed it. I honestly can't think of another '09 movie that was as good.

But at least be glad that Avatar didn't win.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

There are times where it is appropriate, but I don't think this is one of those times.

More people need to watch The Wire.

The show may very well be objectively better than Firefly, but if I enjoyed Firefly more, that makes it a better show for me (opinions, gotta love 'em).

I think it is possible to recognize whether or not one's personal tastes are unduly influencing objective appraisal. I prefer several shows to The Wire, but I would never put any of them up against it in terms of writing or overall quality.

All of this started when someone dismissed The Wire as "best show" in favor of Firefly. If you really watch television with an eye for unique and intelligent storytelling, that statement is cringe-worthy. That's my piece.

I respect that, thanks for the stimulating discussion, good sir.

 

[HuntrRose]

I shall quote from elsewhere.

Well, see it again. And ask yourself what makes him do all the crazy shit he does. What makes him have trouble talking to his wife? Why does he have trouble buying cereal? Why does he go back?

If you think it takes two viewings to figure that stuff out, you were probably utterly baffled by Inception and surprised when the fat guy got eaten in Jurassic Park. Sorry if that's a spoiler for anyone.

Not for me, but the person I answered didn't seem to get it.

Now, does this really make it okay for you to act the elitist "I-am-so-much-cleverer-than-everybody-else" jerk? Or maybe you should get of that high horse and act like a decent person instead?

As for the movie, sure it uses scenes reminiscent of other films. Sure it could have worked better as a miniseries with more character buildup and all that. But it's not. It's a movie. And as such it has certain limitations. Personally I think it did great within those limitations, and unlike 99% of all movies it actually gave food for thought, making it a great movie.

 

[VanityGirl]

Avatar is a bigger budget scifi verion of Hurt Locker.


I'd rather watch Avatar because I like getting my eyeballs raped by visuals.