# the Hurt Locker - THE new movie you MUST. SEE. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925 "2009-07-31T22:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/21 "2009-08-02T05:10:04Z")
I saw this a couple of weeks ago and was floored by how good it was. I wanted to start a thread but I didn’t think I could do it justice. I found out what the term “gut-wrenching” really meant. The constant tension of not knowing what was going to happen next made me nauseous, it was definitely stomach-churning for me. I walked out in a daze. For those who follow awards, I have little doubt in my mind that The Hurt Locker is going to be a name you’ll hear often come Awards season. Multiple Oscar nominations are a lock, I would bet on it. I would not be surprised at all if it were nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow), Best Actor (Jeremy Renner), Best Supporting Actor (though I’m not sure how they could choose between Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty), Best Screenplay (Mark Boal), and Best Editing (Chris Innis and Bob Murawski). At the very least. Not knowing what the competition will be, it’s hard to pin it to any wins, but if ever there were an opportunity to (finally) award a woman Best Director, this is it. > [@faithfool](#): > > I absolutely adore Jeremy Renner (since he played Dahmer realistically) and would watch him read an eye chart, so I’m sure I’ll see this. But until then I’ll whet my appetite by asking how his performance was. I’m hearing great, but I’d like to get some Doper’s takes on it too. Oh, this’ll make him a star, for sure. At the very least, highly-sought after. Even if the movie’s not getting much play or publicity now, wait a few more months for said Awards season and everyone will start hearing his name, over and over and over again. He was amazing. You start out thinking the character’s such a dick, but as you learn more about him, get to know him, your attitude starts changing, and by the end, you end up caring about him. I did, anyway. I’d actually never heard of Jeremy Renner, but I looked him up when I got home, and I’ll never forget his name now. Yeah, definitely look for a Best Actor Oscar nomination. I’ll turn in my pundit credentials if I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/22 "2009-08-02T05:24:00Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I’ll turn in my **pundit** credentials if I’m wrong. Ooops, that should have been prognosticating. I also meant to add that I had seen a couple of movies that [Renner](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0719637/) was in, but don’t remember him. He was in one of my favorite movies of 2007, **The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford** , but I can’t remember who his character was. I have to see it again. He was also in **North Country** , which I saw, but don’t remember. I haven’t seen the Dahmer movie. Now I want to see all his older movies. His next one is highly anticipated by me now. [The Town](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0840361/), directed by Ben Affleck, who proved himself a gifted director with the excellent **Gone Baby Gone**. It’s due next year. Edited to add, I haven’t seen either 28 Weeks movies. He was in **28 Weeks Later**. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/23 "2009-08-02T13:18:09Z")
800 metres doesn’t seem like an improbable shot if taken with a proper sniper’s weapon. You couldn’t do it with a normal assault rifle, but with a sniper rifle, sure. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/24 "2009-08-02T18:40:26Z")
Saw it last night. It was very good, but not the masterpiece the film snobs are raving about. The camera work was really shaky, which bugged me. I’m sure that was intentional, but it is a bit disorienting. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/25 "2009-08-02T18:48:19Z")
Thanks **Equipoise** for the specific breakdown. I like the guy so much that I was willing to let ABC make a fool outta me by sticking with The Unusuals (which I adored anyway) until they canceled it. He was as great in there as in everything else he’s done, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. I’ll be looking forward to seeing this. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/26 "2009-08-02T19:23:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Saw it last night. It was very good, but not the masterpiece the film snobs are raving about. Those of us who are raving are just “film snobs” eh? I don’t think I’m a film snob. Hey, I’m worried that Transformers 2 and The Hangover will leave the theaters before I get a chance to see them because I just haven’t had a chance to do that yet. Would a film snob admit to such low-brow desires? Way to dismiss people’s opinions. Why isn’t “very good” good enough? Why do you also have to translate our raving into “OMG MASTERPIECE!!” as if we’re saying it’s one for the ages, better than Citizen Kane, Casablanca and The Godfather rolled into one? We just think it’s a very good movie, one of the best of the year, but not of all time. Why do people do that? They can’t stand to see a movie raved about so they go out of their way to threadshit. Now I’m in a bad mood. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/27 "2009-08-02T19:57:27Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Why do people do that? They can’t stand to see a movie raved about so they go out of their way to threadshit. I didn’t go out of my way to do anything, I just gave my opinion. I liked the movie, and would say it’s worth the price of admission if anyone asked for my recommendation. I just pointed out that it wasn’t perfect, and then I gave an example of something specific (the shaky camera) that I didn’t like about it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/28 "2009-08-02T22:45:46Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 800 metres doesn’t seem like an improbable shot if taken with a proper sniper’s weapon. You couldn’t do it with a normal assault rifle, but with a sniper rifle, sure. Seconded. As a non-Infantry Marine, I was typically ten for ten or nine for ten from 500 yards shooting slow fire from the prone (laying down) position with an M16A2, using iron sights (no scope), no bipod, etc… shooting the Known Distance (KD) Rifle Course at a man-sized target. I was pretty good from that range, but no sniper. I have not seen the movie yet, but from what I read here, no problem given time to set up. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/29 "2009-08-02T22:47:45Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I saw this movie last week. Pretty good, very intense. A lot of nice cameos by some pretty big names. One thing that left me stumped was what the title meant? I don’t remember them ever saying it in the film. The problem with the cameos were that at a certain point, it was a good bet the person was gonna die in that scene - it took some of the suspense out of it for me Overall, I thought it was a pretty good movie and certainly a nice change during the summer blockbuster season. For me, Jeremy Renner is the main reason to watch this movie, he’s pretty darn good. For me, the most refreshing part was that it was neither right nor left and isn’t the least bit preachy. It’s simply a character study of a few people in a rather unique military unit. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/30 "2009-08-02T23:22:41Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I didn’t go out of my way to do anything, I just gave my opinion. No, you didn’t “just” do that. You also projected a straw man opinion (“it’s a masterpiece”) onto a non-existent demographic (the oh-so-illusory “film snob”). You didn’t like it as much as lot of other people–fine; but you weren’t content unless you brought it down a peg by creating a false comparison that nobody in this thread has introduced but which you felt obliged to needlessly hammer home (like Frostillicus before you). That’s why the lasting impression of your opinion isn’t that you liked it at all, but that you somehow resent the fact that people liked it more than you. You may not actually feel that way, but it’s exactly how your post reads. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/31 "2009-08-03T00:04:40Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > You also projected a straw man opinion (“it’s a masterpiece”) onto a non-existent demographic (the oh-so-illusory “film snob”). You don’t think the film snobs exist? I didn’t say they were necessarily here on this board, but trust me, _they’re out there_. And this is exactly the kind of movie they will latch on to like flies on shit. Does it deserve it? Maybe, as I’ve stated in every post it’s a good movie. But some of the effusive sentimentality I’ve read for it brings back nightmares of things like Susan Boyle and makes me want to shoot myself in the stomach. Anyway this is a somewhat pointless and masturbatory argument - and if I’m gonna be masturbating on the Internet, there are better sites for it. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/32 "2009-08-03T01:32:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > You don’t think the film snobs exist? I didn’t say they were necessarily here on this board, but trust me, _they’re out there_. And this is exactly the kind of movie they will latch on to like flies on shit. Does it deserve it? Maybe, as I’ve stated in every post it’s a good movie. But some of the effusive sentimentality I’ve read for it brings back nightmares of things like Susan Boyle and makes me want to shoot myself in the stomach. Except you made those statements in a thread where people are praising the movie, and you act surprised that people assume that your post was directed at them? At best it seems to me that you need to know your audience better, or at least be clearer about who you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/33 "2009-08-03T03:34:27Z")
I saw it a couple of weeks ago, right when it came out- I thought it was brilliant and almost perfect. I hope it doesn’t get forgotten at awards time. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/34 "2009-08-05T15:21:23Z")
I saw it last Friday. I was on vacation, and someone at work recommended it to me. This is definitely NOT a summer vacation movie! It was a white-knuckle ride from start to finish. It was the first ten minutes of Saving Private Ryan, but for two hours. Wow. Add to the list of possible Oscars Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, maybe. What I thought was most interesting was the change in dynamic between James and Sanborn, with The Specialist acting as a kind of mediary. The last scene with Sanborn blew me away. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/35 "2009-08-05T16:48:25Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > One thing that left me stumped was what the title meant? I don’t remember them ever saying it in the film. [QUOTE=Renner] For me, it was a thousand different things and when I first saw it I thought that’s just a really fucking cool title. Page one, “The Hurt Locker, what is this about?” And then it became a casket, I thought of it as a casket or a hospital bed, not as a place. And after shooting it, it was an emotional and spiritual place of pain and despair and loneliness and loss. This is personal stuff, this is for me, this has nothing to do with the movie, that is what it seemed to represent because we were all in the hurt locker, somehow. There was an outhouse for 200 people that were all in diarrhea that’s the hurt locker! Get me out of this suit, were all going to the hurt locker, you know what I’m saying. So it was a lot of things for a lot of people. You know it doesn’t matter what I think so much, it’s how one interprets it. That is why I love the movie title, I love the characters because it’s so rich, and they are not one note, and there is room for interpretation. I love that. [/QUOTE] .. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/36 "2009-08-05T17:42:02Z")
I really want to see this movie, but I don’t think I will be able to handle it. This looks like the kind of film that will keep me awake at night for hours. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/37 "2009-08-05T17:48:23Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I really want to see this movie, but I don’t think I will be able to handle it. This looks like the kind of film that will keep me awake at night for hours. I saw it Friday and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. There are some really disturbing images in it. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/38 "2009-08-05T18:05:02Z")
After reading the OP, I haven’t read a single follow up post, and I will personally break the jaw of the first nitwit that comes up to me and says a single word about this film. I will wait for The Little around the corner from my house to advertise it. Then I will make me some gooey rice krispy treats with too much marshmallow, and I will walk to the theater by myself and enjoy a great flick. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/39 "2009-08-05T19:38:52Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I saw it last Friday. I was on vacation, and someone at work recommended it to me. > > This is definitely NOT a summer vacation movie! It was a white-knuckle ride from start to finish. It was the first ten minutes of Saving Private Ryan, but for two hours. Wow. > > Add to the list of possible Oscars Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, maybe. > > What I thought was most interesting was the change in dynamic between James and Sanborn, with The Specialist acting as a kind of mediary. The last scene with Sanborn blew me away. Funny you say score. There were times when I thought the score might have been a sort of filmmaker’s inside joke. At times it was so badly “indie-film” that I figured it must have been meant for comic relief (giving it the benefit of the doubt - I thought it was intentionally nauseating in its affectation of genuine emotion). As for Bigalow, why does _Point Break_ get tossed around as if it’s something to be proud of? Still that being said, cut the last five minutes and I think the movie is good. As for realism - in some ways this movie seems no more realistic than the upcoming _G.I. JOE: Rise of C.O.B.R.A._ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925/40 "2009-08-05T19:58:39Z")
Hmm, well I guess we deisagree on two points about it. I’d have to see it again to assess the score, but I remember liking it. Actually, it may have been more the sound track as a whole that I liked. As for realism, I wouldn’t know since I’ve never been in a situation even remotely like that. But Renner, who got actual EOD training for the role, swears it was very realistic. And certainly the screenwriter, who did EOD duty, wanted to recreate the experience of being there. The movie was shot in Jordan, sometimes just a few miles from the Iraqi border. And the actors occasionally got shot at by locals. The people that played Iraqis were actual displaced Iraqi actors. What did you find unrealistic? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hurt-locker-the-new-movie-you-must-see/504925.md?page=3)