Zero Dark Thirty

[GatorAvatar]

Best movie I've seen in ages. Kathryn Bigelow did an awesome job. The way they identified OBLs courier and how they trailed him followed by the raid on the compound kept the audience at the edges of their seats. Jessica Chastain was incredible and deserves the Oscar nomination.

[Tebowism0823]

Good to hear. I've been wanting to see it.

[StrangeGator]

There was a thread on this last week after a few of us saw it. Blew me away. Kathryn Bigelow got hosed by the academy. I think Jessica Chastain and Mark Boal might both win Oscars.

[Wuerffel5220]

Watching it tonight

[hgators]

Just left...wow!

[GatorAvatar]

There was a thread on this last week after a few of us saw it. Blew me away. Kathryn Bigelow got hosed by the academy. I think Jessica Chastain and Mark Boal might both win Oscars.

People who misread her use of torture in the movie are to blame. She doesn't condone torture whatsoever. She just lays down the facts the way she was told. Torture didn't lead to the identification of the courier. The evidence was already there, buried in the mass if evidence already collected soon after 9-11. Too bad the Oscar voters are dumb.

[StrangeGator]

People who misread her use of torture in the movie are to blame. She doesn't condone torture whatsoever. She just lays down the facts the way she was told. Torture didn't lead to the identification of the courier. The evidence was already there, buried in the mass if evidence already collected soon after 9-11. Too bad the Oscar voters are dumb.

It was brilliant how she showed it realistically without taking a stand one way or the other. It was portrayed as part of a days work.

[StrangeGator]

People who misread her use of torture in the movie are to blame. She doesn't condone torture whatsoever. She just lays down the facts the way she was told. Torture didn't lead to the identification of the courier. The evidence was already there, buried in the mass if evidence already collected soon after 9-11. Too bad the Oscar voters are dumb.

Funny that they would hold that against her but nominate the screenwriter, who also happened to be a journalist covering the story. He'll probably win. If it does win best picture, she does get to step up on the stage since she and Boal were the producers.

[GatorAvatar]

It was brilliant how she showed it realistically without taking a stand one way or the other. It was portrayed as part of a days work.

It was a very neutral objective story. I love that there was no overly reference to politicians.

[ursidman]

It was a very good movie - one of the best of the year. While watching it, i wondered why CIA used such a crude method of tracking the courier (stationing people along highways to discover his destination) instead of aerial surveillance or tracking device (risk of discovery I guess).

[Emmitto]

I was surprised at how invested I was in her quest at the end. The subtlety of her reactions during the raid prove that less is often more. Strong.

[StrangeGator]

I was surprised at how invested I was in her quest at the end. The subtlety of her reactions during the raid prove that less is often more. Strong.

It had been her life's work. She'd sacrificed everything, her personal life, her safety and had invested all the emotional energy she had. Then it was over. There was catharsis, but also the sense that she was suddenly adrift. She gets on the plane and the pilot asks her where she wants to go, she can't answer. It was powerful, both the writing and the performance.

[Wuerffel5220]

Thought it was well done, but I wasn't "blown away" like others were. Felt much more emotionally invested in a lead character and movie with "Flight"

[Emmitto]

It had been her life's work. She'd sacrificed everything, her personal life, her safety and had invested all the emotional energy she had. Then it was over. There was catharsis, but also the sense that she was suddenly adrift. She gets on the plane and the pilot asks her where she wants to go, she can't answer. It was powerful, both the writing and the performance.

Indeed. When she shed a tear I realized how connected I was. I like it when a worthy, impactful result is achieved without you being painfully aware of the process the whole time.

[StrangeGator]

Thought it was well done, but I wasn't "blown away" like others were. Felt much more emotionally invested in a lead character and movie with "Flight"

Much easier when it's pure fiction. You can manufacture an emotional response when you make up the entire story line. What was brilliant about ZDK was that it was to some degree a true story. BTW, "Flight" won't win many, if any awards. The academy is tired of that type of story, tired of Zemeckis and tired of Denzel Washington. I'm tired of it too. No plans to see it. Saw "Gump." Saw "Castaway." I don't let my buttons pushed that easily. At least Tom Hanks wasn't in it, though Denzel Washington is almost as over exposed. What is the point of having casting directors if writers and directors build projects around the actors they "build their films around."

[alphaOmegator]

Heard this was a Politically inspired movie. Nobody has discussed the movie as a political vehicle to project a positive picture of a particular prominent political figure. Anybody care to discuss(w/o pushing this thread over to Too hot, which is not my intention). I haven't seen the picture so I am merely passing on an opinion voiced by some...

[StrangeGator]

Heard this was a Politically inspired movie. Nobody has discussed the movie as a political vehicle to project a positive picture of a particular prominent political figure. Anybody care to discuss(w/o pushing this thread over to Too hot, which is not my intention). I haven't seen the picture so I am merely passing on an opinion voiced by some...

They were very crafty not to push it in either direction. I'm very aware of the political hot buttons here, but they portrayed torture without taking a stand either way. As one of the other posters observed, this is probably what cost the director a nomination for an Oscar. There was no prominent political figure on display. If you heard something like that, you were probably talking to a reactionary on one side or the other. I'm not neutral, but I am open minded and well informed. I walked away from the film feeling no different on the subject than I felt before.

I would point out that what we see here as far as "torture" is delivered by trained CIA interrogators instead of the very low level military personnel who were allowed to carry out humiliating treatment to "enemy combatants' in custody at other outposts. We didn't just lose our sense of humanity. We lost our chain of command in such duties. More than that, we lost our moral high ground.

[GatorAvatar]

It was a very good movie - one of the best of the year. While watching it, i wondered why CIA used such a crude method of tracking the courier (stationing people along highways to discover his destination) instead of aerial surveillance or tracking device (risk of discovery I guess).

I think Pakistan can detect drones. In addition, I think they also didn't want to spook anyone. I was also intrigued by the tall Pakistan-looking-like tall dude, particularly his reaction to the dead children in Osama's compound.

[ThePlayer]

There was a thread on this last week after a few of us saw it. Blew me away. Kathryn Bigelow got hosed by the academy. I think Jessica Chastain and Mark Boal might both win Oscars.

Bigelow hosed?
It couldn't be any worse than being married to James Cameron.

[StrangeGator]

Bigelow hosed?
It couldn't be any worse than being married to James Cameron.

Well she's now divorced from James Cameron. That can't be a bad thing.

[GatorAbe7]

Saw this last night, excellent. With Hurt Locker and now ZD30 Katherine Bigalow's work is the gold standard cinematic depictions of America's post-911 wars. Leaving the theater I was mentally logging other stories, events, or angles Bigalow can hopefully make another movie about.

[StrangeGator]

Saw this last night, excellent. With Hurt Locker and now ZD30 Katherine Bigalow's work is the gold standard cinematic depictions of America's post-911 wars. Leaving the theater I was mentally logging other stories, events, or angles Bigalow can hopefully make another movie about.

Bigalow and Boal were actually in the midst of another project when OBL was killed. Mark had been covering the hunt for OBL and had most of the ingredients for the screenplay, so they dropped what they were doing to make ZD30. I don't think we're going to have to wait very long.

Bigalow and Boal are a tour de force, maybe the best director and screenwriter collaboration since Sydney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsy.

Speaking of Tours de Force, Jessica Chastain stars in the #1 and #2 films at the box office right now. Didn't realize she was in Mama.

[gatormonk]

I'm going to see it tomorrow. I hope it's better than the Hurt Locker, though.

[G8RNTN]

Loved The Hurt Locker... Hope this is as good or better. Gotta get to see it.

[StrangeGator]

I'm going to see it tomorrow. I hope it's better than the Hurt Locker, though.

If you didn't like Hurt Locker, you should think hard before watching challenging films. Good movies don't spoon feed stories to you. You have to be an active participant and connect a lot of dots for yourself. If you're just into action, you can wait for the newest installment in the Die Hard franchise.

Sorry to give you a hard time, but Hurt Locker was brilliant. Film these days is like literature. If you like James Patterson, you probably wouldn't like Kasuo Ishiguro.

[gatormonk]

If you didn't like Hurt Locker, you should think hard before watching challenging films. Good movies don't spoon feed stories to you. You have to be an active participant and connect a lot of dots for yourself. If you're just into action, you can wait for the newest installment in the Die Hard franchise.

Sorry to give you a hard time, but Hurt Locker was brilliant. Film these days is like literature. If you like James Patterson, you probably wouldn't like Kasuo Ishiguro.

I didn't find it the least bit challenging and I don't need things spoon fed to me. I also don't need other people to tell me what I like. It's too bad you can't appreciate a difference of opinion.

[romeg8r]

This is good to hear. I was concerned it would be political propoganda. I'll go see it now.