Comments on: An Appeal to Action Fans: Pick ‘Hurt Locker’

By: Craig Kennedy

Craig Kennedy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:31:54 +0000

I exaggerate because heavy-handedness is a huge pet peeve of mine when it comes to movies. It was definitely mediocre in comparison to its meaningful pretensions, though in the big pictured compared to all the other movies that come out in a given year it was not bad.

It was much better than Crash.

By: W.J.

W.J. — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:21:05 +0000

The hit-you-over-the-head themes and TV-movie-of-the-week “realism” aside, I didn’t think “In the Valley of Elah” was that bad. Tommy Lee Jones was particularly good in it (with NCfOM, he had a great year). And though you could still feel Haggis’ heavy hands and greasy fingerprints all over it, it was less blatantly obvious and manipulative than “Crash.” Finally, the cinematography by Roger Deakins is beautiful and appropriately understated–though it’s justifiably overlooked when compared to the other films he lensed. Overall, I can’t look down on Elah. It’s not a masterpiece by any standard, but it certainly wasn’t “mediocre.”

Interesting to note: Mark Boal co-wrote (EDIT: the story) Elah (was based on).

By: Jeff McM

Jeff McM — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:18:08 +0000

I think the point of calling Haggis a dunce is to condescend to him.

By: Alexander Coleman

Alexander Coleman — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:15:46 +0000

Coincidentally, I just revisited In the Valley of Elah last night for the first time. It's still highly annoying in places, but I was struck by how much of the cast came to be seen in No Country for Old Men. Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and even Barry Corbin, who in each film has a quiet conversation with Jones. And then there's Roger Deakins. (Elah has some effectively rendered cinematography.) It's not the worst movie ever made, but as any kind of crime procedural/thriller, it's an outright failure. I'll give Haggis one thing, I think he means what he says, at least, so there is that. Much like Crash, it's a picture where a couple of the performances mitigate at least some of the more egregiously schematic characteristics of the film.

By: Craig Kennedy

Craig Kennedy — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:10:06 +0000

Have you made it your mission to bust my balls for routine blog hyperbole lately Matthew?

By: Alison Flynn

Alison Flynn — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:37:45 +0000

I wasn’t a big fan of In the Valley of Elah. Tommy Lee Jones’s performance was phenomenal, in my opinion, and that made the movie for me.

But I know several people who really loved the movie. 65 isn’t a great metacritic score but it’s still in the acceptable green zone (I think). Maybe it’s yellow, mixed to average reviews. I’ll have to check.

By: Matthew Lucas

Matthew Lucas — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:22:19 +0000

I still think “In the Valley of Elah” is the best of the Iraq war films. I love it. Calling Paul Haggis the “class dunce” is a bit condescending, no?

“Hurt Locker” is excellent though. It’s reminiscent of “Battle for Haditha” (which I also have a great deal of respect for), but more accomplished.

By: joel

joel — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:55:41 +0000

Hey, the Iraq War hasn’t been a complete loss for reflective artwork that is equally entertaining and smart. HBO’s 2008 mini-series Generation Kill is on DVD/Blu-ray and it was very good. From the same folks that brought you The Wire. Sure it clocks in at 7 hours, but it’s seven hours better spent than watching any of 2008’s Iraq War-inspired movies. Hell, it’s seven hours better spent than watching most of the mainstream movies that have come in the first half of this entire year.

Otherwise, I’m very curious about The Hurt Locker. I think Bigelow is a decent director of mainstream fare and I enjoy the guilty pleasure that is Point Break, so hopefully this will fill the void that Summer has so far left in my (good) action movie-loving heart.

By: Alison Flynn

Alison Flynn — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:52:32 +0000

I’m definitely interested in this and it sounds like it will be another beacon in the summer of our discontent.

And I didn’t see the first Transformers, so why start now?

By: Craig Kennedy

Craig Kennedy — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:46:27 +0000

Like I said, I think the hype might be getting a little much and I hesitate to add to it, but this is a very good movie and it deserves some of the box office love of Transformers.

I think there are some cliched bits and it sags some when it starts getting psychological, but who knows. I saw it back in January and maybe a fresh perspective will re-open my eyes.

I’d like to see cultural pseudo-warriors like Jeff Wells proved wrong. If Locker stiffs, I’ll be forced to conclude he’s right and that people really would rather stick their heads in the sand than be engaged by the world around them.

By: Alexander Coleman

Alexander Coleman — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:31:39 +0000

"I think what we have here is a dead shark." --Woody Allen I've been wanting to see this for what feels like an eternity. I recommend taking a view of Bigelow's earlier action work, perhaps especially the underrated Point Break (one of the best, sharpest films of the modern kinetic "action" genre). It will make you all the more excited to see The Hurt Locker, which looks amazing. I've been wanting to see an Iraq War film which created an intricate, detailed environment, and didn't reflexively posture. At this point, The Hurt Locker is this year's The Dark Knight or Broken Flowers for personal anticipation for me from the dog days of summer. I agree with the concept that the Iraq War isn't the easiest sell--people primarily reach for "escapism"--but you're entirely correct that the mediocrity of those films were possibly just as decisive in their commercial (and critical) undoing. The Hurt Locker may actually be the perfect melange: unlike those films, it's a summer release, it's being marketed as a smart action film, and it happens to take place in Iraq. And any Robert Aldrich fan should probably be looking for references to 10 Seconds to Hell. I'm happy to see you championing this, Craig. I'm hoping I can at least marginally hold back expectations whenever I'm able to finally see it.