I would disagree with Carl’s purpose and weakness to overcome. RVC was closer to the truth. Carl’s weakness is GUILT. He promised (Crossed his heart!) that he would take Ellie, the woman he loved, to Paradise Falls. There is actually some fairly heavy philosophy going on here for a Pixar flick, as Ellie’s death makes Carl a LOST SOUL (because he can never fulfill his broken promise now that she’s gone.) Carl desperately clings to everything Ellie, from putting his hand on her handprint on the mailbox to adjusting the robin on the mantel just as she did, because he fears that if he ever loses his tenuous hold on his memory of her, his guilt will become total, and his soul will descend to hell (in the literary sense). That’s why Carl is so furiously adamant about making it to the Falls, even to the point of refusing to do reasonable things that would not have prevented him from accomplishing his goal and might even have helped (for example, welcoming Kevin and Dug into the fellowship from the start). It is only when Carl receives Ellie’s benediction that he is forgiven and his guilt is wiped away utterly — leaving him so spiritually reborn that he no longer needs his cane. Carl had to be willing to confront and defeat his guilt at the shrine of Ellie before he could receive his reward.

Hurt Locker was decent enough, but Up was so clearly the best film of 2009 that it was frustrating not to see it win Best Picture. It also serves as a writer’s clinic on Chekhov’s Guns, as they are fired perfectly one after another throughout the film.

If you want to see the ’solider displaced into the domestic, strangely longing for ‘ done right, have a watch. Hurt Locker is a poor second cousin.

But maybe you have to be American to appreciate this film? Maybe Im missing something by not being a US flag-waver. Maybe there’s something reassuring or challenging in this film that i cant access…?

Or maybe it just plays to safe conservative audiences who really only want the illusion of having their perspectives on conflict challenged? Because in terms of great films about war that open minds and challenge beliefs, Hurt Locker is an empty vessel.

Mike Jones

Upon walking out of the cinema i found myself completely devoid of any insight into the the lives and perspectives of Bomb Disposal experts, I was devoid of any new understanding of the Iraq war, I was utterly devoid of any new comprehension of the nature of modern conflict.

So please tell me what the point was?

Hurt Locker is a film where a whole lota stuff happens TO the characters but the characters themselves actually dont DO anything at all. They just walk around having random stuff happen to them and at the end are exactly the same as when they started.

And please dont try and tell me thats’ the point. Banality is no way to make a point.

After the superb Three Kings anyone making a movie about US troops in Iraq better come up with something new to say or else risk making a disposable and forgettable film.

This film is eminently forgettable and 2 years form now will be a hot topic of discussion Nowhere.

And if I have to suffer through one more cliche ‘Crying with Emotional Distress in the Shower’ scene again Im gonna puke! Best screenplay Oscar my arse…

Mike Jones

Oh, and Lost is great. Last season too… though, a bit out there now…