where: CINE ARTS @ PLEASANT HILL in Pleasant Hill, CA
when: Saturday, July 18th, 2009
show: 10:25 pm
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $4.00 junior Popcorn + $3.50 Diet/Zero Coke + $4.00 Bridge Toll = $21.50
auditorium: 1, "The Cine-Dome"
seat: 4th row, 21st column
In the hot summer sun, in an hostile desert environment, you find yourself alone and helpless! And, despite the sweltering heat, you must wear a heavily-padded cumbersome suit that only serves to magnify the effects of the blistering heat of summer on your own body. The salty sweat from your eyebrows sting your eyes, compromising your vision but you cannot wipe it off. Time is a luxury that you simply cannot afford as your body's temperature rises gradually to an hyperthermic level and as all eyes are trained on you, including those of your enemies-- you feel your heartbeat pound down these grim reminders. Your margin for error is nil. Your previous successes mean nothing today--right now! as you entrust your life, as you always have, in the Hands of Capricious Fate.
Welcome to the daily life of the U.S. Army's elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD ) Squad stationed in Iraq, set in the summer of 2004.
A three-man bomb squad gets a new member, Staff Sgt. William James ( Jeremy Renner ) whose unconventional, devil-may-care maverick attitude puts him at great odds with his fellow crew. Improvised Explosive Devices ( IEDs ) are part of the daily life in Baghdad. To make roadways safer for both the Iraqis and the Americans, bomb squad units searh for, locate, disarm and dispose of such devices as part of their daily routine as they anxiously count down the days of their rotation, and hope and pray for the best. In this claustrophobic paranoia run rampant, each member must display unquestionable trustworthiness. His own men detest him as Sgt. James' attitude and actions only increase the odds of them all being sent to "the hurt locker." But Sgt. James has his own reasons for being ( to paraphrase ) all that he can be in today's Army.
predictions: Oscar nominations for Best Actor ( Jeremy Renner ), Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow ), Best Screenplay ( Mark Boal ), and Best Picture.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) The bomb wagon and the first explosion; 2.) The new member with his own modus operandi ( M. O. ) ; 3.) The taxi driver; 4.) The eight bombs pulled out of concealment; 5.) The Hyundai Sonata and the would-be bomber; 6.) Pinned down by snipers; 7.) Post battle celebration and camaraderie ; 8.) Bomb house dissection and Col. John Cambridge ( Christian Camargo ); 9.) Looking for "Beckham" ( Christopher Sayegh ) alone at night; 10.) Talk with Guard ( Ryan Tramont ) at Liberty Gate; 11.) Hunting for bombers and rescuing Spc. Owen Eldridge ( Brian Geraghty ); 10.) The helpless "suicide bomber" ( Sohail Al-Dabbach? ); 11.) The kite in the sky; 12.) The talk in the HumVee with Sgt. J. T. Sanborn ( Anthony Mackie ); 13.) Talking to the wife in the kitchen, and to the baby in bed; 14.) The ending scene.
audience reaction: They were well entertained by this suspenseful and, at times, funny movie.
recommendation: This is a well-crafted movie which downplays action as it focuses primarily on the human drama. Go see it.
spoiler alert! At times, the Sgt. James role seemed too caricatured to be believable.
fyi: For Muslim terrorists to use The Koran as an authoritative basis for their "Jihad" against the Infidels, I surmise that the following excerpt serves as a motivating force:
"Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. Allah does not guide the wrongdoers." Al-Ma'ida ( The Table sura [ chapter ] ), 5:50 & 51
But, now, compare and contrast it with the following excerpt 24 chapters later:
"Be courteous when you argue with the People of the Book ( i.e. Jews and Christians--my note ), except with those among them who do evil. Say: 'We believe in that which is revealed to us and which was revealed to you. Our God and your God is one. To Him we surrender ourselves.'" Al-'Ankabut ( The Spider sura [ chapter ] ), 29:44-46
The Muslims don't believe in the Christian concept of The Holy Trinity although The Koran shows Allah referring to Himself in the FIRST PERSON PLURAL in many passages--read it and see for yourself. This Christian concept of The Triune God can best be explained in this way: One God, the Father plus One God, the Son plus One God, the Holy Spirit does NOT equal three Gods ( Father, Son & Holy Spirit ); but One God, the Father times One God, the Son times One God, the Holy Spirit EQUALS One God, the one and only Supreme ( i.e. Complete ) Being! ( 1 + 1 + 1 = 3--polytheism; 1 x 1 x 1 = 1--monotheism. These are logical yet simple mathematical equations that Muslim [ and Jewish ] scholars fail to take into account.)
Please don't let me get into the "Paradise where virgins await the faithful" argument as mentioned in the Al-Waqi'a ( That Which Is Coming ) sura (chapter 56 ) as I'll just open up another "can of worms"--I didn't become the Top Student in my World Religions class in college for nothing.
word of advice: Thank a veteran.
tidbits: Can you just imagine an hypothetical terrorist bomber, So-Dam "El Kabuum" Inseyn buying a cell-phone?
CSR ( customer service representative ): Welcome to Paradise Virgins Mobile. How may I help you today?
So-Dam Inseyn: I would like to activate this cell-phone today!
CSR: Sure, I can help you with that. Would you like to take advantage of our special on roaming charges?
So-Dam Inseyn: No, I just need one charge. And I would prefer that it does not roam around--I just want it to sit still!
CSR: Okay, how about our Friends and Family plan?
So-Dam Inseyn: I pray that they don't get involved in this.
CSR: What about our Calling plan?
So-Dam Inseyn: Do you have a One-Way Only calling plan?
CSR: Huh ...?
And there was this wanna-be terrorist who, as part of his initiation into al-Qaida, was ordered to go around the block and blow-up an American Ambassador's car with the ambassador sitting in it. But the terrorist cell leader didn't hear an explosion. Presently, the wanna-be terrorist came back covering his mouth and in seeming pain. "What happened," asked the leader. "I did exactly what you told me to do," said the initiate, "but the tail-pipe burned my lips!"
In the grocery store scene, no Madonna music was playing in the background and I, for one, was glad!
