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`Zero Dark Thirty' Is Massive, Meticulous and Authentic (film of OBL Capture Operation)
Associated Press ^ | 12/03/2012 01:21:34 PM PST | By Christy Lemire

Posted on 12/03/2012 4:00:01 PM PST by drewh

Of course it took billions of dollars over 10 years and a multitude of people - many who gave their lives - to make this mission a success. Bigelow and "Hurt Locker" screenwriter-producer Mark Boal have accomplished the difficult feat of taking all that time, travel, investigation and frustration and depicting it thoroughly but also efficiently.

The attention to detail, to getting it right each step of the way, is evident in everything from the dialogue to the production design to the lighting.

This is pure, unadorned storytelling, an effort to recreate what happened with absolute authenticity and zero excess. Methodical and detached as it is, "Zero Dark Thirty" may actually leave some viewers a bit cold; there are plenty of moments of danger in crowded streets and claustrophobic questioning rooms, but some of the legwork is tedious and it doesn't always pay off.

But the drama is inherent from the very beginning and sneaks up on you by the end. We know what happened, and we know why it matters.

Bigelow's extensive staging of the May 1, 2011, raid is a prime example of virtuoso action filmmaking. Set in the dead of a moonless night - hence the title, inspired by military jargon - the Navy SEALs' mission is both massive and intimate, a mix of ominous aerial shots of stealthy Black Hawk helicopters and infrared vision in dark bedrooms and corridors. Every bit of effort and emotion has led to this lengthy sequence, and we're invested, too.

There's no riding off into the sunset once the mission is complete, no swell of inspirational music; Alexandre Desplat's score is suitably understated, too. Just a few heartfelt hugs and some tears, all of them hard-earned.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailybulletin.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: binladen; hollywood; manhunt; moviereview
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To: drewh

I do not believe Zerobama & his administrations “official” account of OBL’s death & immediate “honorable” burial at sea, so as to provide ZERO evidence to the American public. I think it’s all BS....always have, always will. I’m more inclined to believe that local neighbor who says OBL never lived there, he never saw him or his cronnies & died long ago. I don’t believe a word that comes out The Kenyan’s mouth. Never have, never will. :((


21 posted on 12/03/2012 4:37:32 PM PST by ResisTyr ("Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God " ~Thomas Jefferson)
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To: lwoodham

I agree, it’s a propaganda puff piece. So many, many things don’t add up about the “reported” story, yet the media and political world is super quiet about this film. I smell a rat.


22 posted on 12/03/2012 4:37:37 PM PST by Scooter100 ("Now that the fog has lifted, I still can't find my pipe". --- S. Holmes)
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To: drewh

she was in this movie “The Debt” last year where she played a Mossad agent going after this Nazi war criminal. A decent film, but she did do a nude scene in it, just fyi.


23 posted on 12/03/2012 4:42:50 PM PST by jeltz25
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To: TigersEye

What a story this would be, a non-flaming liberal female director winning back to back Oscars?


24 posted on 12/03/2012 4:49:20 PM PST by drewh
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To: Chode

yes it’s BS, Osama was gone a long long time ago. You folks have already mentioned all the suspicious stuff surrounding this debacle.

It was a political stunt, nothing else.


25 posted on 12/03/2012 4:51:59 PM PST by Bulwyf
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To: jeltz25
She's hollywood's next superstar after this movie, i'm guessing. (if its that good) Sally Field will be tough to beat s Mary Todd Lincoln...


26 posted on 12/03/2012 4:53:13 PM PST by drewh
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To: drewh

Having a president directly involved in the film making would be a bigger story.


27 posted on 12/03/2012 4:55:21 PM PST by TigersEye (Who is John Galt?)
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To: GBA

“One day at a time” ain’t just for the recovering any more. It’s life in America..

(((
Sadly, an apt description.


28 posted on 12/03/2012 4:59:06 PM PST by Bigg Red (Sorry, Mr. Franklin, I guess we couldn't keep it.)
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To: Bulwyf
i was talking about Hurt Locker... pure BS
29 posted on 12/03/2012 4:59:26 PM PST by Chode (American Hedonist - *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: TigersEye

You mean co- President Valerie ‘the human stonewall’ Jarrett? :)


30 posted on 12/03/2012 4:59:48 PM PST by drewh
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To: lwoodham

I won’t see it, either. I refuse to support anything from Hollywood.


31 posted on 12/03/2012 5:00:23 PM PST by Bigg Red (Sorry, Mr. Franklin, I guess we couldn't keep it.)
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To: Chode

Ahh ok, well... now there will be another BS movie. I’m sure it will be entertaining, but fictional all the same.


32 posted on 12/03/2012 5:01:56 PM PST by Bulwyf
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To: drewh

So, have you gotten your glitter heels yet?


33 posted on 12/03/2012 5:03:30 PM PST by Bigg Red (Sorry, Mr. Franklin, I guess we couldn't keep it.)
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To: drewh
If I recall, I saw photos of the white house situation room where Obama and his posse' were watching the actual event live on their computer monitors.

Wouldn't this have been the same sit-room where the live video images of the attack on the Benghazi embassy would have been viewed?

34 posted on 12/03/2012 5:08:11 PM PST by Hot Tabasco (Jab her with a harpoon.....)
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To: drewh

She looks very capable to me. Good luck to Jessica Chastain


35 posted on 12/03/2012 5:12:15 PM PST by dennisw (With age comes wisdom.)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Stand Down In Benghazi is going to be a great movie.


36 posted on 12/03/2012 5:12:18 PM PST by TigersEye (Who is John Galt?)
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To: UriÂ’el-2012

Could this be what Sandy had in his pants - some documentation of him overriding Albright?

These people are despicable. Susan Rice reminds me of Jamie Gorelick - right in the middle of responsibility for horrendous disasters for this country.


37 posted on 12/03/2012 5:20:31 PM PST by Aria ( 2008 & 2012 weren't elections - both were a coup d'etat.)
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To: jeltz25; All
for those who are interested in such things...

J. Hoberman talks up the NYFCC – some interesting information: In the acting awards, Sally Fields (“Lincoln”) finally defeated initial front-runner Anne Hathaway ( “Les Miserables”) for Best Supporting Actress on a fourth ballot while, in a rare second ballot win, Matthew McConaughey (“Bernie”) beat out Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”) and Tommy Lee Jones (“Lincoln”).

The closest and most surprising race saw Rachel Weisz (“The Deep Blue Sea”) edged Jennifer Lawrence (“The Silver Lining Playbook”) and Emmanuelle Riva (“Amour”). Last year’s winner Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”) was a factor throughout, tying for the lead on several ballots. (This race was by far the most polarized; only three of the 16 ballots cast for Lawrence or Chastain cited both actresses.)

By contrast Daniel Day Lewis (“Lincoln”), possibly the most feted actor in NYFCC history, led on every ballot but still required three rounds of voting to best the closely bunched trio of Jack Black (“Bernie”),Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master”), and Denis Lavant (“Holy Motors”). And: Greig Fraser was named Best Cinematographer for “Zero Dark Thirty,” beating the initial favorite, “The Master” on the third ballot. (In a simple, up and down vote, the critics declined to acknowledge Fraser for his work on “Killing Them Softly.”) Although heavily favored, Tony Kushner’s “Lincoln” screenplay needed four ballots to win over those for “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Moonrise Kingdom.”

“The Master”’s relatively poor showing in this race presaging its ultimate fate. An early favorite for Best Director, Paul Thomas Anderson was overwhelmed by Kathryn Bigelow on the second ballot, with Ben Affleck(“Argo”) finishing a distant third. (Strikingly, Steven Spielberg, who failed to get a single first ballot votes, was never in contention.)

By this time, it was evident that “Zero Dark Thirty” would run the table and, indeed, “The Master” finished third for Best Picture behind “Argo,” although it took three ballots for the obviously exhausted voters to decide the winner. http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2012/12/03/field-barely-beat-hathaway-weisz-barely-beat-lawrence/#comment-1194918

38 posted on 12/03/2012 5:23:48 PM PST by drewh
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To: drewh

They would have been smart to make it an unbiased film because their audience is conservatives. No liberal is going to waste his time watching a movie about bin Laden. The only way they’d go to the theatre is if it were about Obama and Osama were just a bit part.


39 posted on 12/03/2012 5:28:39 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: TigersEye

Post #19 and now this one. YOU are on a roll tonight! I love it! ROTFL!!!!


40 posted on 12/03/2012 5:30:36 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (Don't tax me bro! Tax that guy over there!)
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