Up for Oscar contention, The Hurt Locker follows three US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) men who are in the same unit for the last month and a half of their tour in Iraq. The main character, Sfc. William James replaces one of the original men in the unit who gets killed in duty at the start of the movie.

The Hurt Locker is a look at what these men do for us everyday they are out there. Death can happen everyday at any moment. The pressure and stress is just unbelievable, the suspense and intensity best captured by director Kathryn Bigelow (who directed one of my favorite action movies, Point Blank).

The movie never really diverges from taking a close look at the three core men in this EOD unit. James is basically a lunatic, he feeds off of the adrenaline of diffusing bombs, much to the chagrin of Sargent Sanborn and Spc. Owen Eldridge. The two “sane” men in the unit pretty much pray that James won’t get them all killed. It’s an interesting dynamic in extreme conditions. They bond like brothers, they are forced to trust each other, but James is really the wildcard that Sanborn and Eldridge fear.

The movie plays out like a slice of time which I think is it’s greatest fault. The movie just kind of ends, it feels like you entered a room in the middle of a conversation that you pick up, but after two hours the people walk out of the room leaving you behind to continue the story. That said, there is some expert filmmaking at work here and all of the actors do extremely well to sell every scene; whether they are taking enemy fire, holding their breath to disarm a bomb that could wipe out an apartment building or blowing off steam at the base. There are some of the most suspenseful scenes in a movie that I can recall in a really long time. At it’s best times The Hurt Locker is a visceral experience, at the worst of times it can be a dragging experience. The highs and lows of the movie change from scene to scene in such a dramatic way that it can feel a bit drawn out, I think 10 minutes or so could have been trimmed out (the wrestling scene comes to mind). But that kind of fits with the nature of the film, in the Army most of the time you aren’t doing anything. The term “Hurry up and wait” certainly applies.

I give it a hearty recommendation.

9is the animated feature that was released 9/9/2009. Pretty sweet marketing timing on that one. It is Shane Acker’s first full length movie that he got to make thanks to his brilliant short film (which can be seen on the DVD).

9 expands his short film about these 9 small rag dolls that seem to be the only living things on earth. Something has wiped out most life and the dolls come together to survive and figure out what to do. Each one has their own personality and 9 is the last one to become self aware (as the case may be). It’s a darker film than most animated pictures these days, which I really appreciated. It’s not that grown up, but it’s definitely not a Disney picture, it is rated PG-13 for it’s more intense action scenes where the dolls fight off robotic creatures, bent on their destruction.

I really love how this movie looks and animates. The creature design of the enemies are really cool, each of the 9 dolls looks distinct and full of life even though they don’t have eyes (more like camera lenses). Each doll was made by a man who got better and better at it as he went on and it shows. Even better is the environments that resemble a 1920’s post-war Europe. The lighting is very carefully crafted as is the direction.

It’s a simple adventure with a good moral story that’s very enjoyable to watch. Different and beautiful I give it a hearty recommendation.

The hype for James Cameron’s Avatar was about as high as you can get for a movie. 12 years since his last theatrical movie, Cameron is back in the full on sci-fi realm that made him famous. With Avatar, Cameron and his team bring new advancements in 3D viewing tech, which I think this movie will most be remembered by. Not the actual plot, but the tech running it.

The reason being that the story in Avatar brings nothing new. It’s been done before and the plot beats are very predictable. That said, it doesn’t detract from the movie that much because the story and characters presented to us are very well done. Dramatic scenes hit with weight and the action scenes are equally thrilling. Sure you may deduce what happens at every turn, but it’s still a marvel to see it unfold before you. An unbelievable amount of care was put into this movie.

Far in the future, Jake Sulley is a paraplegic marine placed on Pandora to do reconnaissance work on the indigenous people, the Na’vi. His twin brother was set to do the mission but was killed, so they ask Jake to fill his shoes. Literally. An “avatar” was made using a combination of Jake’s brother’s DNA and that of a Na’vi, creating a vessel for Jake’s mind to control on the surface of Pandora. Humans can’t breath unassisted on Pandora, but remote controlling this avatar lets humans walk about freely and integrate into the Na’vi society. Now, Earthlings have been staking out this planet for awhile. There is a extremely valuable mineral on this planet that the humans want and need the Na’vi to move to get to it. And if they don’t want to move then the military is going to take it in full force. So now Jake starts learning and growing with the Na’vi (who look like big blue cats) and Jake’s allegiances start to shift. You can probably see where this is going. The Na’vi are like Native Americans and the humans are the white man, ready to claim the land as their own since “savages” don’t know what their doing and are too dumb to figure it out.

So the CG and 3D tech is really the star of the show. Avatar needs to be seen on the big screen in 3D to really get it. All of the CG work is of the highest quality, Cameron and the 2,000 or so people spent 4 years creating a planet and eco-system. Terrain, plant life, animal life and of course all of the tech that the humans use (weapons, ships, life support, etc). Most of the movie is CG, but after awhile you forget about it and just marvel at what’s in front of you. The blending of real people and every digital creation is masterfully done and the 3D effect is used to create depth instead of “things coming out of the screen at you!” that so many 3D films do. This makes the movie screen look like a window, where all this stuff is taking place. I didn’t think the 3D was going to be this good, but there are some mind boggling scenes all throughout the movie. Cameron’s careful direction is very precise and meaningful, you always feel grounded in the world and never disoriented. Walking through lush, glowing jungles, flying around on the back of some crazy creature or full on scenes of war are all stunning. The very first scene in the movie is a great example. It’s a room where people are being woken up from deep sleep, drawers are being pulled open and groggy people float out of them while being advised on where they are and what to do. It looks like you are looking into a room that extends 200 feet out, the drawers that people are coming out of look like they take up actual space, people are floating in front of and behind various machinery. Another favorite of mine is any scene that takes place in the cockpit of a ship or mech. It looks like you are sitting being the pilot, looking through the canopy of the ship into space. The glass on the canopy looks completely real, like it’s jutting out in front of you protecting you from the dangerous atmosphere. There is some crazy perspective elements for scenes inside mechs too, where parts are out of focus that makes other stuff just pop, like the rearview mirror where you can see the pilots eyes looking back at you.

So Avatar is a solid movie wrapped in amazing special effects. Will it work as well at home? Without a 3D capable TV, I don’t think so. The real problem is that Hollywood is going to shove 3D into everything and it’s going to be a train wreck. Just look at the trailer for Piranha 3D. It looks horrific, as a movie and in terms of 3D. It takes restraint and serious talent to make this new level of 3D work as well as it can. The added ticket price for 3D showings is artificially inflating the box office for this, but the fact remains that a lot of people are seeing this and really enjoying it. Me being one of them.