The Hurt Locker

Jeremy Renner delivers a tour de force performance in this intense narration of the haunting, constant presence of potential death as a bomb disposal technician working for the US Army in Iraq. Receiving relatively little attention amidst the seasonal blockbusters, this is the first genuine Oscar-worthy film of 2009.

Renner plays James, the team leader of a 3 man group sent in to identify and disable improvised explosive devices. Their job is not glamorized, as is the case with so many of the other recent war-inspired films. In fact, this film gives the opposite impression; there is no explanation of the how or why each of the individuals ended up where they are, they are just desperately trying to survive in their own way while maintaining their sanity in the chaos of a hostile land.

James is more than a little unorthodox in his approach to his craft. His external bravado is his coping mechanism for a job that has no room for error. It is hard to determine whether his views are out of some sense of pride, or fear, and that is why the performance is so riveting. The uncertainty of safety permeates the universe that Katheryn Bigelow has created. Katheryn Bigelow has been mostly irrelevant since
she directed Point Break in 1991, but she has been working semi-regularly since then. This film starts and ends in her typical fashion; fast-paced and appealing to the action junkie.

What sticks with me the most is how horrific scenes become mundane routine for the brave men in uniform. Charred corpses, death, dismemberment, even justifiable homicide are all part of a random day's work. The visions and experiences are so unimaginable that they seem almost surreal. It is a torturous hell on earth, and they proceed day by day to cope in whichever way they can.

Cinematically speaking, it is well done. Not great, but definitely good. Slow-motion shots are integrated at an appropriate rate and the rest is conducted in real-time. There is a good mix of camera angles and modes. Bigelow makes good use of different methods and the film flows smoothly from beginning to end.

In the end, the sense of futility of modern-day combat is conveyed beautifully. Death does not choose when, it is an ongoing obstacle that just randomly chooses who and how. Although the film could have ended with a more realistic climax, the point is well received. Combat changes people and affects each individual in a distinctly different way. Each soldier has a story and a purpose, but that purpose may not be discovered until the moment of combat arrives.

I liked this film for what it was. It had a suspenseful story that wasn't too cliche, but it never quite delivered what I expected. I was impressed with the acting and the story, and with the quality direction that has won Bigelow multiple awards already this year. Renner makes a good choice with this one, and will move up as a solid leading man in the next few years. 8/10.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Anyone who follows film knows about Transformers and the legacy that Michael Bay created with Steven Spielberg two summers ago. After grossing (and netting) hundreds of millions of dollars, a sequel was as inevitable as its hot, young star getting a DUI. Now it's 2009 and we find that both eventualities have come to fruition. You would think that coming up with a feasible story about alien robots with two young, attractive leads and a military unit with state of the art weaponry would be fairly simple when coupled with a virtually unlimited budget, right?

This is not so much the case. Bay did listen to fans and delivered bigger, badder robots and flashier special effects and even an Audi R8 (Thanks Mike). What he must have forgotten, however, was to hire someone to write cohesive dialogue and a simple storyline that was not too far into the realm of absurdity. Simply put, as awesome as the effects were (and they were awesome), the film suffered due to its human actors and their weak lines and characters.

Bay boasted that Steven Spielberg was quoted as saying that this was the best of Bay's films so far. I would wholeheartedly disagree. There is some sort of fanatical obsession with cutting edge and sometimes top secret military equipment, and Bay has found a way to infiltrate the US Military inventory and show off some very impressive equipment. However, what he presents in this sequel flashes numerous instances of recycled material from his collection of other films - particularly the first Transformers. I was more than a little disappointed in how much material had been done before, in a remarkably similar manner.

Is he a great action director? Yes. That's where his kudos end. The characters in this sequel seem to be stuck in a perpetual state of frenetic motion. There is an excitement and energized element to the human characters - each scene is caffeinated and sped up, much to the chagrin of this viewer. Knowing that this short attention span method is Bay's bread and butter, I can overlook it. Also knowing that Bay relies on the big bangs for his bucks, the actors are not really the point of this film, instead they are story-moving filler. That said, there should have been less of an attempt (and it was noticeable) to personalize the connection with the characters.

The visual effects were astonishing. Nothing short of captivating and completely fulfilling. I appreciate that there were more action sequences and the battles were larger and longer than the first film. It just seemed that there were too many eye-roll inspiring interludes without the robots that made the run time seem far longer than 2 hours and 27 minutes.

Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox do their best to take their roles seriously, but Fox confirms what we've all long suspected - she is not an actress. The film crew should have used her more for what she is; eye candy, and they get an F- for costume design. LeBeouf on the other hand has a bright future in film, but he is going through his box office superstar phase, and should start showing his true talents in the next decade with some more selective roles. I would expect that he will have an Oscar nomination within 7-8 years.

The robots this time around are given a little more personality, which actually takes away from the visually stunning appeal of the movie. There are too many cliche urban hip-hop references that just make you ask "why?" and make you lose focus on the excitement of the action.

Would I recommend this film? Absolutely. It is your summer popcorn action blockbuster all the way. I just wish there was a little more emphasis put on the story and the dialogue. 7/10