commentopia What the World Is Saying A SERVICE BRINGING YOU THE BEST READERS' COMMENTS FROM TOP NEWS SOURCES ON THE WEB
SPORTS/ENTERTAINMENT ARCHIVES — MARCH 2010 [RETURN TO commentopia HOME PAGE]
MARCH 8, 2010 -- MARCH 21, 2010 THE HURT LOCKER SWEEPS THE GROUND AT OSCARS
For those of us who actually saw The Hurt Locker and might know a thing or two about combat in Iraq, Kathryn Bigelow did an amazing job capturing the psychological dynamic of the current conflict. There is nothing in that film that portrays the Iraqi insurgents as "freedom fighters" or the US as "big bullies." The film is actually apolitical. IMHO the film does nothing to "suede" or "pleather" public opinion. What the film does try to sway us toward is an understanding of the extreme adrenalin rush associated with the combat experience and the aftermath the lack of this rush can have on Soldier's lives. Film is an art form and like ALL great art forms reflects the human condition, and if that condition is defined by its place in history, politics will be part of that reflection. I would hope the Oscars recognize the true works of art for a given year instead of what sold the most popcorn and had the biggest explosions. Read the article NPR/When Oscar's Best Picture Really Isn't <> Hmmm............let's see................Kathryn Bigelow takes someone else's script and makes a pedestrian and derivative war movie that no one has seen or wants to see...............James Cameron thinks up Avatar, invents the techniques and equipment to shoot it and takes years of careful planning to put it up on the screen creating an international sensation...........tell me again...........WHY did Hurt Locker and Bigelow win..................? Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/Carpetbagger blog: Readers' cmments on the Oscars <> The story of Avatar was old hat but the film, as a Read the article U.K. INDEPENDENT/Bigelow scores historic first for female film-makers
<> The reason this film avoided the "Iraq Curse" is that finally it respected the bravery and service of the men and women in uniform. Not since Black Hawk Down had that been done onscreen, and not since then has there been a modern war-themed film that didn't drag along a political agenda -- which has led to Hurt Locker's success over all. Read the article HOLLYWOOD REPORTER/Why Oscars didn't embrace Avatar
HURT LOCKER TAKES FLAK FROM FRONT LINES
My little brother fought two combat tours in the 101st Airborne in Iraq and said the movie flaunted accuracy in every instance except the sense of tension that it does capture quite well ... Then again, he remarked that no one would ever want to see how it really is.... At least it brought attention to our men and women over there. Read the article THE LOS ANGELES TIMES/The Hurt Locker sets off conflict there. <> I agree with my fellow vets that you are so lame about this movie being "realistic". Who started that rumor? What were they smoking when they thought that up? Why couldn't you find a Silver Star winner to sit on the panel or even a Bronze Star with a "V"? You probably don't even know what I'm talking about. I am also a lawyer and a mountain climber and I have never seen a movie about the law or mountain climbing that remotely resembled reality but I still watch them and enjoy them and I don't have to listen to critics say idiotic stuff like wow, Vertical Limit is just exactly like climbing a real mountain it is so realistic! I also watch and enjoy war movies and Army movies and I don't expect them to be realistic except this one time when I listened to these false rumors about this movie. And I sure don't care whether the military "approved" or helped with the shoot. If they did, I would expect nothing but a propaganda piece. In any event, Hurt Locker sucked. It is not even in the same league as Precious. Read the article THE LOS ANGELES TIMES/The Hurt Locker sets off conflict <> I think that some of the critics are missing the point in this film. Many Iraqi vets have responded negatively. I'm sure there are some serious inaccuracies in military protocol and day to day activity. However, take any movie that involves a particular profession or walk of life, analyze it, and it will fall apart. Take police films, for instance. I have a police officer friend who has been on the force for 20 years. He's never had to fire his gun. Most police officers seldom use their weapons. That's why it's so hard on them when they need to face a gunman. Still, the police in many of our best movies use their guns like they use their flashlights. If Dirty Harry were real, he would have lasted about a week on the police force. Does that diminish the effect of the film? We suspend the disbelief for films. This is more than a movie about Iraq. It's a movie about a man who is devoted to the adrenaline rush, a man for whom pure danger rules his life. He is wired for violence and the need to face death at every turn. The people around him are frightened to death because this guy has no sense of order. He is loose cannon and those around him should have run for the hills, but the honor code keeps them there. Read the article IMDb/The Hurt Locker MARCH 1, 2010 -- MARCH 7, 2010 HERE'S LOOKING AT WHAT MAKES OSCAR RUN!
I could be wrong, but show biz has always been big business, and I'd bet that the politics and manipulation have long been an integral part of what goes into nominating and voting. I think what's grating now is that box office has become so much more important than art, that the politics are more blatant -- Harvey Weinstein's backstage machinations are well documented -- while the glow, mystique and glamour that used to balance that out is nearly gone. Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/ Jonh Farr: Are the Oscar's Broken? <> What nobody seems to be talking about is the economic factor in the Academy Awards. These days, and for many years previously, it isn't as important to WIN the Oscar, but to be nominated. Nominated, and in as many categories as possible. Read the article NPR/When Oscar's Best Picture Really Isn't <> There is no absolute way to determine the best picture in any given year. One could argue that the film with the largest ticket sales might be a good indicator. Or the one with the highest profit margin. Or the film that most critics agreed was the best. Or the film that producers or directors or actors or audience thought was the best. While the Academy Awards are considered by some to be the most prestigious of all film awards, others argue that they don't really reflect the sentiment of the audiences or the industry or some other group. Truth is--there is no way to determine the best film of any year. All you can do is decide for yourself. I know "My Fair Lady" won Best Picture of 1964, but I'd much rather watch "Hard Day's Night" instead. No matter which film wins any award, there will always be a sizable number of people who'll disagree and think the voting was rigged or warped or unfair, etc., etc., etc... That's life. Read the article NPR/When Oscar's Best Picture Really Isn't
RARE AS KRYPTONITE: A MILLION-DOLLAR SUPERMAN COMIC
Interesting that it cost ten cents in 1938. That actually seems like a lot during the depression. Twenty years later most comics were still only ten cents, for which I had to scrape and save in the fifties. They only slowly inched their way up in price over the subsequent decades. I remember when they went from ten to twelve cents, and that was a big deal. Read the article BOSTON GLOBE/Comic book of steel <> I hid my comic books from my Mom and I have many first editions: Incredible Hulk and Star Trek, and others. Also hid my baseball cards, football, basketball, hockey and other trading cards and I have those. Do not understand why so many Moms trashed their sons stuff. Guess I lucked out. Read the article SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/ Superman's debut comic book sells in NYC for $1 million <> With "golden age" comics from the 30's and 40's, they're so often incredibly scarce because so many were recycled during Patriotic Paper drives during WW2; then what was left over was often burnt up in comic book bonfires during the Anti-comic book, Anti-juvenile delinquency hysteria of the 1950's.
read more comments from THE INDEX
|
spectacle, was truly outstanding. There was a buzz as people came out of the cinema and the international box office take tells you what the paying public think of it. The Hurt Locker, on the other hand, plays almost like a documentary with a camera hand held almost from first frame to last. It was authentic in feel, it hit you in the guts. But entertainment? Absolutely not.
