That's a very grudging three stars, because — like Flight — there's more to chew on than I initially realized, but I still think it's kind of a crappy movie. Let me count the ways:

1) The first third in particular wore me down. I exceedingly dislike the way Bigelow transforms 7/7, the 2008 Islamabad Marriott bombing and the bombing of Camp Chapman into standard suspense setpieces (when will that explosive go off?). The latter particularly rubbed the wrong way: the longer Bigelow keeps intercutting between Maya's chat window and the guilelessly optimistic CIA officials awaiting their big break is downright sadistic. (It was just another gchat session UNTIL.) Is there intent here to make the viewer tensely ever-expectant of…

I feel deeply conflicted by this film. While I admire its scope I have great difficulties with the way it presents it, both in content and in cinematic quality.

Let me start by saying that Bigelow should earn nothing but respect for taking on such an ambitious project. I am not a big fan of hers as a director (and she betrays here weaknesses here as well), but I always admire artists who dare to push the boat out a bit further than the rest or take on a challenge with both hands.

Chronicling a decade long man-hunt for the world's public enemy number one is no small task. Mark Boal's script comes across as fastidiously researched, giving us a…

"It's her against the world." - The Wolf

Ah...I feel sick. That was officially the most intense cinematic experience I've ever had. Picture this: a black-box theatre that's more like a small screening room, every seat taken, surround sound. It opens with a black screen, with only the sounds of the weeping, panicking victims of the 9/11 attacks. It's uncomfortable, it's dark, and it's sure as hell upsetting. Welcome to Zero Dark Thirty, kids; the tone is set.

There's been much controversy over the use of torture to make the 'good guys' armour look more than just a bit tarnished, and the furore is justified. In the first 30 minutes, there are numerous instances of brutal, humiliating, unrelenting torture, that…

This movie commits two cardinal sins of film-making.

The first is that is doesn't build up the threat. What's at stake? We are all aware that this is based on allegedly real events, but the goal these characters are so vehemently pursuing doesn't feel important because the threat is never seen. He was allegedly responsible for many acts of terrorism in real life, but where is this *in the movie*? There's a quick allusion to 9/11 in the beginning, but that is just not enough. I felt the same way at the end as I did at the start because nobody was feeling any effects of the threat at any point throughout the entire story. Simply put, it feels like…

Zero Dark Thirty comes as one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year. Jessica Chastain has been nominated for an Oscar and multiple other awards. It's sparked debate with it's scenes of torture. There's a lengthy and very interesting debate about it in Dirk's review thread. All of this had me really curious what I'd make of it.

Well I gotta say I was a bit underwhelmed. I could tell you my political views, but I'd rather just talk about it simply as a film.

As a film, I felt it was good but nowhere near as good as the critical praise would suggest. It's damn near 3 hours long so I was very surprised at the lack…

The Greatest Manhunt in History is given the film treatment and for all that it tries to do, I think it passes with flying colors.

Jessica Chastain completely owns this movie. She's absolutely outstanding in this. This film alone makes me wanna say she's the best American actress working today. If not, she's becoming a favorite of mine. She's completely deserving of every accolade she has gotten and will get for her portrayal as a woman hellbent on capturing The Big Guy. The rest of the cast is great too. Of the supporting cast, Jason Clarke really stands out and is fantastic. I knew Chris Pratt (who's proven to be a great actor after Parks and Rec) and Joel Edgerton…

I should start by saying this is a very good movie. But I just don't see the "Best Movie of 2012" buzz the movie is getting both from critics and viewers. My issue is that Bigelow and Boal seem conflicted as to what type of movie this should be. At times, it plays like a regular thriller. At the end, it's a great, tense, action movie. At other times it's a behind-the-scenes political drama. In theory, a movie combining all those elements could work, but this example is just a little too fragmented for my taste. Of course, there are a number of strong points too. This is, in my opinion, far and away the best work Jessica Chastain's done,…