Stay Frosty

War is a drug. Those compelling words are the steppingstone for Kathryn Bigelow's film, 'The Hurt Locker.' Do yourself a favor, see this movie on the the big screen. It would be an injustice to confine the film to a 40 inch viewing. Shot on location in Jordan, 'The Hurt Locker' is a treatment of reporter, Mark Boal's script, and this is where parallel universes start to become eerily twilighty. In 2008, HBO rolled out a series, 'Generation Kill.' This was adapted by the 'Wire' duo, David Simon and Ed Burns from a book by Evan Wright who was embedded in Iraq (2003) with the 1st battalion Marine corps. Mark Boal the 'Hurt Locker' author was embedded in Iraq with a bomb disposal unit. 'Generation Kill' captures the first phase of the Iraq war in 2003. 'The Hurt Locker' is present day. Both stories are true and filmed in a stylized documentary mode. Who knew that the 21st century word, 'embedded' would provide the world with two stark hellish reports of invasion and war. Evan Wright's Marines are alpha; the bulls in your high school; the nightmare swagger of your worst dreams. Boal's Ordnance unit are glaciers in a crumbling deranged arena. One of the many points of interest is that 'The Hurt Locker' already garnering a s'load of awards is directed by the aforementioned, Kathryn Bigelow. I can't ever recall seeing a film of this genre carved out by a woman. However, interestingly, four of the seven episodes of 'Generation Kill' were directed by Susanna White. Can these women strap it on? Yes they can. Can they bring it? Indeed. I was watching a Western the other night, and the lead postulates to his sidekick that he is never going to be a quick draw, a good gunslinger because he had feelings. And that was the quintessential difference between them. Well, the 2 directors, Bigelow and White, redefine the psychological landscape of war with all it's crippling associations; they show us the claustrophobic world, the Humvee journey; it's their opera (s) and in their desert backdrop, there is crying allowed. Two powerful visions with classic range. Keep the glasses on them, boyz.