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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I’ve been using RunPee for a few years now and it’s basically a requirement of going to the movies for me. The best part of course are the “pee times” that give you cues, synopses and times for when you can pee without missing the most important parts of the movie. There is also information about the credits- length, extras and if there are any extra scenes at the wayyy end. Super helpful to just know that it is or isn’t worth staying. There is a timer function that will buzz your phone when it’s a good time to pee. I also appreciate that the app is very conscientious about it being an app you use in a theater- dark background, all silent alarms etc. I will always enjoy the experience of the theater even if I could watch things at home- but I’ve even used it at home to check for things like after credit scenes or other information too.
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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.