Movie reviews by bryan Kimenyi

Best motion picture of the year * The Hurt LockerPerformance by an actress in a leading role* Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)Performance by an actor in a leading role* Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)Achievement in directing* Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)Performance by an actor in a supporting role * Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)Performance by an actress in a supporting role* Mo’Nique (Precious)Best animated feature film of the year* UpBest Documentary Short Subject * Music by PrudenceBest Short Film (Animated)* LogoramaBest Short Film (Live Action)* The New TenantsAchievement in art direction * AvatarAchievement in cinematography* Avatar, Mauro FioreAchievement in costume design* The Young Victoria, Sandy PowellBest documentary feature* The CoveAchievement in makeup * Star Trek, Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel HarlowAchievement in film editing* The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski and Chris InnisBest foreign language film of the year * El Secreto De Sus OjosAchievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) * Up, Michael GiacchinoAchievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) * “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from Crazy Heart Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone BurnettAchievement in sound editing* The Hurt Locker, Paul N.J. OttossonAchievement in sound mixing * The Hurt Locker, Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray BeckettAchievement in visual effects* Avatar, Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. JonesAdapted screenplay * Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious)Original screenplay* Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) The Oscars were here just last week, and to tell you the truth, I like most of you was surprised “The Hurt Locker” took Best Picture and five more awards including Best Director (making Kathryn Bigelow the first woman to win best director) and Original Screenplay. It was definitely a night for “Hurt Locker” as it nabbed many of the technical awards that were expected for “Avatar,” the blockbuster that was directed by Bigelow’s ex-spouse James Cameron. The Dude, Jeff Bridges, won best actor for his portrayal of an alcoholic country singer in “Crazy Heart” while Sandra Bullock won best actress for portraying a nurturing mom in the football drama “The Blind Side”. Today we bring you reviews of some of the winners that night, including that of “The Hurt Locker”, a movie that I only got to watch because it scooped most of the awards! The Hurt Locker (2009) Why I got to watch it after it won all those awards? The reason is that I’ve come to dislike movies shot in Iraq or Afghanistan. They all have the same story, terrorists, suicide bombers etc all things we see on news. But I think, if you’ve not watched it, you should give it a shot. The Hurt Locker begins with a phrase,…war is a drug, and you’ll indeed see how addicted some individuals in the movie are. Set in the summer of 2004, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) of Bravo Company are at the volatile center of the war, part of a small counterforce specifically trained to handle the homemade bombs, or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), that account for more than half of American hostile deaths and have killed thousands of Iraqis. A high-pressure, high-stakes assignment, the job leaves no room for mistakes, as they learn when they lose their team leader on a mission. When Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) takes over the team, Sanborn and Eldridge are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in the fog of war, appearances are never reliable for long. Is James really a swaggering cowboy who lives for peak experiences and the moments when the margin of error is zero or is he a consummate professional who has honed his esoteric craft to high-wire precision? As the fiery chaos of Baghdad swirls around them, the men struggle to understand and contain their new leader long enough for them to make it home. They have only 38 days left in their tour of Iraq, but with each new mission comes another deadly encounter, and as James blurs the line between bravery and bravado, it seems only a matter of time before disaster will strike. Precious (2009) This is a movie about a ‘person’ who was raped, overweight, abused, illiterate, etc. It’s not a black movie or a white movie, it’s a ‘real’ movie about doing the right thing, standing up for yourself, being strong and seeing the true beauty of life. I loved every second of it and many parts had me laughing my head off mainly because of Mo’Nique who won the award of best Performance by an actress in a supporting role. Get it if you’ve not watched it yet. Ends

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Movie reviews by bryan Kimenyi