The Hurt Locker

Blessed by some near-perfect direction by Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker is a marvel of filmmaking. Its weird, as i was watching this film i found it somewhat average but when the film ended, i felt like i had witnessed art. The story is of a man(played greatly by Jeremy Renner) who is addicted to war and addicted to the power and adrenaline rush of battle. War is his true love, however dangerous and cruel as it could be. Why do we care: because it's real. It's a real statement about this war culture and Bigelow and writer Mark Boal dont fear away from this truth. The film isn't really about bombs and explosions but about truly finding out who one is.

A well-acted film, Bigelow never exaggerates or forces the audience in any way. Renner is a marvel and Anthony Mackie continues to do great work.

This film is tied with Inglorious Basterds for the lead in this year's film war. Bigelow vs. Tarrantino so far

Grade: A/A-

Official Top Ten of 2008

1. "The Wrestler": Aronosky and Rourke dominate the year, in my book.
2. "Rachel Getting Married": Demme and Hathaway are not that far off.
3. "Doubt": Perhaps the best acted film in years and years.
4. "The Visitor": A real pure masterpiece and underrated film.
5. "Slumdog Millionaire": A great and rare modern love story that is unique.
6. "The Class": A French film that makes the top ten and it was deserved.
7. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona": Woody Allen's european career is starting well.
8. "Paranoid Park": Three Words: Gus Van Sant. Always a standout.
9. "Milk": Five words: Gus Van Sant Sean Penn. A great film for civil rights.
10. "The Dark Knight": Finally, a comic book film in my top ten.

Inglorious Basterds

This is another great Tarrantino film here. Tarrantino seems to know exactly how to create meaninigful and creative writing and he really knows how to create characters that are unique, interesting and inspirational for his actors. This is a modern look at World War II and Tarrantino takes different genres to tell the story of a group of people kicking some nazi ass. He kiils Hitler in this film and it doesnt seem cheezy or whimsical. It's just cool. Tarrantino just makes cool movies and i think the word cool in film should be copyrighted by him

Let me tell you something else; the acting is great. Great roles here by the supporting cast, highlighted by a awe-inspiring clinic done by Christoph Waltz. This could end up being one of my favorite characters and performances of my life. He is just too smart for everyone else. I just might like Tarrantino's character more than Waltz's performace, not to take anything away fro waltz.

Overall, this is a tremendous film here, adding to Tarrantino's collection and mine. A definite top ten and one of my favs this year. So far, it is the winner, and it will be tough to top.

Grade: A/A-