Favorite Movie - Zachary Gottlieb

It is very difficult for me to pick my single, most favorite movie out of the vast variety of movie styles and genres. There are several movies, both old and new, that I thoroughly love watching. But for the sake of this assignment, I will unwillingly select my “favorite” movie. The last movie I saw that is now among one of my favorites, is The Hurt Locker. This movie was first only played at select theatres, and it is a rather low budget film. However, director Kathryn Bigelow manages to create an powerful, gripping war movie that almost perfectly depicts the tragedy of war. It is based on the accounts of Mark Boal, a freelance journalist who was embedded with an American bomb squad in the war in Iraq. The movie has some of the most suspenseful war scenes I have ever seen, and Bigelow perfectly depicts the lives of American soldiers who are in a bomb squad. This truthful movie is very accurate and it still creates powerful emotions within the viewer through its gripping depictions of daily life in a bomb squad. This is not your average blood and guts war movie. There are graphic, violent, action packed scenes, but the movie also has a much more meaningful purpose of revealing the tragedy of war. The movie shows the impact of war on these young soldiers; war’s ability to transform a “normal” person’s mental state. With its authentic acting, moving dialogue, accurate scenery, riveting action, intense plot, and realistic sound effects, The Hurt Locker is a must-see movie.