Posted on 12/03/2012 4:00:01 PM PST by drewh
Of course it took billions of dollars over 10 years and a multitude of people - many who gave their lives - to make this mission a success. Bigelow and "Hurt Locker" screenwriter-producer Mark Boal have accomplished the difficult feat of taking all that time, travel, investigation and frustration and depicting it thoroughly but also efficiently.
The attention to detail, to getting it right each step of the way, is evident in everything from the dialogue to the production design to the lighting.
This is pure, unadorned storytelling, an effort to recreate what happened with absolute authenticity and zero excess. Methodical and detached as it is, "Zero Dark Thirty" may actually leave some viewers a bit cold; there are plenty of moments of danger in crowded streets and claustrophobic questioning rooms, but some of the legwork is tedious and it doesn't always pay off.
But the drama is inherent from the very beginning and sneaks up on you by the end. We know what happened, and we know why it matters.
Bigelow's extensive staging of the May 1, 2011, raid is a prime example of virtuoso action filmmaking. Set in the dead of a moonless night - hence the title, inspired by military jargon - the Navy SEALs' mission is both massive and intimate, a mix of ominous aerial shots of stealthy Black Hawk helicopters and infrared vision in dark bedrooms and corridors. Every bit of effort and emotion has led to this lengthy sequence, and we're invested, too.
There's no riding off into the sunset once the mission is complete, no swell of inspirational music; Alexandre Desplat's score is suitably understated, too. Just a few heartfelt hugs and some tears, all of them hard-earned.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailybulletin.com ...
I do not believe Zerobama & his administrations “official” account of OBL’s death & immediate “honorable” burial at sea, so as to provide ZERO evidence to the American public. I think it’s all BS....always have, always will. I’m more inclined to believe that local neighbor who says OBL never lived there, he never saw him or his cronnies & died long ago. I don’t believe a word that comes out The Kenyan’s mouth. Never have, never will. :((
I agree, it’s a propaganda puff piece. So many, many things don’t add up about the “reported” story, yet the media and political world is super quiet about this film. I smell a rat.
she was in this movie “The Debt” last year where she played a Mossad agent going after this Nazi war criminal. A decent film, but she did do a nude scene in it, just fyi.
What a story this would be, a non-flaming liberal female director winning back to back Oscars?
yes it’s BS, Osama was gone a long long time ago. You folks have already mentioned all the suspicious stuff surrounding this debacle.
It was a political stunt, nothing else.
Having a president directly involved in the film making would be a bigger story.
“One day at a time” ain’t just for the recovering any more. It’s life in America..
(((
Sadly, an apt description.
You mean co- President Valerie ‘the human stonewall’ Jarrett? :)
I won’t see it, either. I refuse to support anything from Hollywood.
Ahh ok, well... now there will be another BS movie. I’m sure it will be entertaining, but fictional all the same.
So, have you gotten your glitter heels yet?
Wouldn't this have been the same sit-room where the live video images of the attack on the Benghazi embassy would have been viewed?
She looks very capable to me. Good luck to Jessica Chastain
Stand Down In Benghazi is going to be a great movie.
Could this be what Sandy had in his pants - some documentation of him overriding Albright?
These people are despicable. Susan Rice reminds me of Jamie Gorelick - right in the middle of responsibility for horrendous disasters for this country.
J. Hoberman talks up the NYFCC some interesting information: In the acting awards, Sally Fields (Lincoln) finally defeated initial front-runner Anne Hathaway ( Les Miserables) for Best Supporting Actress on a fourth ballot while, in a rare second ballot win, Matthew McConaughey (Bernie) beat out Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) and Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln).
The closest and most surprising race saw Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea) edged Jennifer Lawrence (The Silver Lining Playbook) and Emmanuelle Riva (Amour). Last years winner Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) was a factor throughout, tying for the lead on several ballots. (This race was by far the most polarized; only three of the 16 ballots cast for Lawrence or Chastain cited both actresses.)
By contrast Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln), possibly the most feted actor in NYFCC history, led on every ballot but still required three rounds of voting to best the closely bunched trio of Jack Black (Bernie),Joaquin Phoenix (The Master), and Denis Lavant (Holy Motors). And: Greig Fraser was named Best Cinematographer for Zero Dark Thirty, beating the initial favorite, The Master on the third ballot. (In a simple, up and down vote, the critics declined to acknowledge Fraser for his work on Killing Them Softly.) Although heavily favored, Tony Kushners Lincoln screenplay needed four ballots to win over those for Zero Dark Thirty and Moonrise Kingdom.
The Masters relatively poor showing in this race presaging its ultimate fate. An early favorite for Best Director, Paul Thomas Anderson was overwhelmed by Kathryn Bigelow on the second ballot, with Ben Affleck(Argo) finishing a distant third. (Strikingly, Steven Spielberg, who failed to get a single first ballot votes, was never in contention.)
By this time, it was evident that Zero Dark Thirty would run the table and, indeed, The Master finished third for Best Picture behind Argo, although it took three ballots for the obviously exhausted voters to decide the winner. http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2012/12/03/field-barely-beat-hathaway-weisz-barely-beat-lawrence/#comment-1194918
They would have been smart to make it an unbiased film because their audience is conservatives. No liberal is going to waste his time watching a movie about bin Laden. The only way they’d go to the theatre is if it were about Obama and Osama were just a bit part.
Post #19 and now this one. YOU are on a roll tonight! I love it! ROTFL!!!!
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