THE HURT LOCKER—Directed and produced by Kathryn Bigelow/Written and produced by Mark Boal

(G) I know that this film is tied with AVATAR for the most Oscar nominations (nine each) this year, but I just can’t understand what the Academy members are looking at in their analysis. This is definitely a case of comparing apples to oranges (you decide which is which). Indeed, if I had to make any straight comparison, I would have to say that each movie dragged a little (maybe even was simply too long, for its own good) and was too dependent on dazzling us with technique.

AVATAR (as I already stated in my previous review) was worth watching in large part because of the special effects and especially the 3-D innovations. This movie (directed by Cameron’s ex-wife) piqued my interest because it is presented, in its entirety as a documentary, using hand held cameras and out of focus shots. I guess that the effect (for most of those Academy members who were involved in the nominating process, apparently) is supposed to be that we feel the immediacy and the realism of being in the Iraq War Zone. For me, I thought it was too much of the same thing, and I LOVE documentary films. I’m sure that there are many actual documentaries that had similar motives, but did not have the advantage of a second, third or twentieth take.  This movie, for me, was novel at best for the first ½ hour. Then, it became tedious.

(B) Ditto on the “I don’t think this was the best picture of the year.”   First of all, I have to state honestly that I did not even see Avatar. So, I won’t make any comparisons. However, I agree that it was tedious. After the first hour I felt uncomfortably obligated to watch the whole film, just so I could try to figure out what I was missing. Another problem for me is that I just don’t like this kind of movie. I want to be entertained. If I want to delve deeply in the psychology of warfare, I will read a book or watch a documentary.  We are giving this one two binoculars, not nine Oscars.