Grade: A-
Kudos to director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal for putting together a great story that must have been a tremendous challenge. Consider that Osama Bin Laden was killed just over 18 months ago. There must have been an amazing amount of research put into this screenplay. To do that research, write a story, edit and edit again and then make a movie in just 18 months is astounding.
The story begins with the September 11th, 2001 attacks – during the opening credits. We are then taken on a 10 year journey of interrogations, bombings, more interrogations, back door deals, etc. This is not an easy story to tell because there are so many details and names. Names that I can’t even pronounce much less remember from one scene to another. However, I thought they did a good enough job of connecting the dots, sometimes repetitively, so that I didn’t get too lost. ( I’m also trying to take notes for peetimes which is distracting in and of itself. )
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To reiterate: thumbs up on the story for keeping it connected. Someone less talented might have made an incoherent mess out of this.
The acting was top notch. Director Kathryn Bigelow gets a full tank of gas out of mostly unknown actors. Jessica Chastain – Maya – does a superb job. Looking back on it I’m very impressed that the script didn’t put the actors in impossible, and unbelievable, situations where they really had to *act*. Mostly they just have to do their job and occasionally get angry and frustrated. So while the story focuses on Maya it has very little to do with who she is, only what she does. That’s a whole new story to explore. And while that may happen some day that’s not what this story is about. It’s about the men and women who worked, and died, to track down Osama Bin Laden.
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This app provides info about movies, reviews, ratings from people who have seen it before and after viewing. It has links to info about the movies. It let's you know when there will be a lull in the action and how long it will last. If you want to know what happens during that time, you can check the brief synopsis (you have to click a link, so no accidental spoilers). It has a timer you can set (silent) to alert you to a break. It also tells you whether there is anything extra during or after the credits. It's really a wonderful app. I've subscribed for a couple of years to support the developers, but I noticed some of the links to provide feedback didn't seem to work today. They also made it free, with voluntary donations to see the pee-times. If you haven't tried it, I encourage you to do so, and subscribe if you like it. I really hope the app is supported so it can continue to be maintained!
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Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂
Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.