The Hurt Locker sweeps Oscars

Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker came away from the Oscars last night with six statuettes - double the number which Avatar secured for James Cameron's trophy cabinet. The Hurt Locker emerged as a clear winner of the 82nd Academy Awards, taking Directing, Film Editing, Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Original …

[Anonymous Coward]

I am so glad my vote counted...

... oh wait this is a private lovies club decided by other industry people with no real connection to anyone in the real world.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hooray for democracy

Yes, it would make so much more sense to have the people who vote for the X-factor winner or Big Brother to judge things instead of people who have some expertise or knowledge about what was required to create the movies involved.

...oh, wait, no it wouldn't.

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Hooray for democracy

No no, Robert, I think it's high time people who comment on the internet had more of a say. This thread is evidence enough that the man in the street knows more about film than any stuffed shirt on a self-appointed panel. You should all stand up and demand your right to decide things - all things!

I shudder to think what would have won if you lot had an Oscar vote.

[Gordon is not a Moron]

Our Oscars

Just a shot in the dark here, but if the El Reg commentards decided the Oscars I'm guessing that "Saving Private Ryan" would never have a had a look in, but that "Saving Ryan's Privates" would have done really well.

[Chris007]

Or the other version

Shaving Ryan's privates

[Anonymous Coward]

Reply to post: Re: Hooray for democracy

"I shudder to think what would have won if you lot had an Oscar vote."

Porn.

[Daniel B.]

District 9

As it was the best movie I watched last year. Avatar was good, but not *that* good.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hurt Locker Review

It's just about ok.....just . The sets were quite factually realistic ( yes I do know), the only scene that caused a quickening of the pulse was the long distance sniper combat bit. I could watch an entire film of that.

Six Oscars my arse...

[Guy Herbert]

Lewis Page review, please

Since the movie is about bomb disposal, we had better know the worst.

[SuperTim]

Phew

At least the oscar luvvies recognised that Avatar, as impressive as it is, is actually a dull film, storywise. Been there, done that, bought the disney t-shirt. It did rightly win the categories it did win.

The hurt locker is good, but i dont know about it being the best film this year. Seems a bit of support for the troops is what got it through. I am sorry district 9 didnt get it, as it was a bolt from the blue type film. Still, The Hurt locker was very watchable and well made.

I dont get the razzies. Sandra bullock played herself (as is usual) in that bloody awful All About Steve. She wasn't the reason it was bad, infact she was the only reason i endured the suffering.

Meryl streep deserves a razzie, as she is the worst actress i have ever seen. I guarantee i will never again watch anything with her in it. How she gets nominated over again for an oscar must be down to the fact that she tends to play "emotional" characters. I would love to see how she adapts to a "splatter" movie!

[Lickass McClippers]

District 9...

I'd have voted for District 9 too, about the best film from last year I've watched so far...

[Annihilator]

Thank you

"At least the oscar luvvies recognised that Avatar, as impressive as it is, is actually a dull film, storywise"

Nicely put. Friend of mine was raving about it, insisting I should go and see it immediately. I asked if I could just watch the 2D version, they said absolutely not as the story would be a bit boring without the 3D.

If I want to see spectacular 3D, I'll go and see a play.

[Scott 19]

Yawn

People that think there the centre of the universe, getting together and patting each other on the back for being the centre of the universe. Got to love them lovies, input to the advance of civilisation 0%.

1800 - Industrial revolution

1900 - Technological revolution

2000 - Lets hope for a social revolution where we get rid of all irrelevant people in the world, we can start with the politicians, then the bankers, finances and lawyers and finally the entertainers. Just leaving the hard working people of the world to finally get the money they deserve from globalisation.

Ouch!!! don't pinch me now you've woken me up and i was having such a lovely dream.

[Anonymous Coward]

Christ on a bike

"Let's get rid of all the entertainers"

Fuck me, that sounds like a great world view. Damn those bastard entertainers! Coming around here and entertaining us? They make me sick!

I suspect what you mean is "let's have all our entertainment without having to pay anyone for it".

How about we get rid of all the whining losers that produce nothing and complain about everyone else's work, while we're at it?

[Scott 19]

Me thinks you protest to much

I'm guessing your one of the over paid people i mention above?

The bloke that stands as still as a statue down my local underpass is more interesting than that 130 million dollar avatar piece of cr*p or the lets play on the american heart stings thing that one, like people have said here District 9 should of at least got a look in, Original, well made and a Non-Hollywood story line (oh wait i see the problem with it).

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Me thinks you protest to much

Scott - have some valium. I've got a crate of it right here.

Seriously. Cool it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Quite

I agree about Avatar but, you see, I blame my wife for insisting we see it, not Cameron for making it. Who held the gun to *your* head?

[Lickass McClippers]

Titish...

Glad Avatar got chuff all other than what it deserved. Fantastic looking crap film.

That being said, I don't think Hurt Locker was any more deserving, that's crap too. Honestly, a film about a guy who acts like a complete tit and continually gets his oppos into shite, up to and including one of them being shot. Yeah, thanks for that fucktard, this ain't CoD, I don't get to respawn somewhere with a pair of shiny new legs...

[Citizen Kaned]

im puzzled...

for me best movie of last year was district9. total shock at how cool it was, and how it turned the genre upside down.

hurt locker is a BR disk that wont be played again. nothing new. i can only assume they wanted to either snub cameron or just give it to a woman for a change. its a boring film about some prick who cares more about his buzz than his comrades, it shows why the yanks are hated by most of the world too and fail to really win any wars (apart from ones they come it at the last minute)

avatar was a decent film and the most spectacular film ever made, i still prefer district 9 tho!

[Anonymous Coward]

Also snubbed

Well I am still reeling that Wallace and Gromit did not get an award. WTF??!!

[Blake St. Claire]

Re: im [sic] puzzled...

> for me best movie of last year was district9

If instead of aliens it'd been blacks? If the script had used "kaffirs" instead of "prawns"? If Wikus VDMerwe had turned black instead of into an alien? Would it have been as good?

I think the only real genius was in making it a science fiction flick with aliens, because otherwise I don't think anywhere near as many people would have gone to see it.

As a child I lived in So. Africa for two years. Apartheid was evil. Living with it, seeing the attitudes of the prejudiced whites was sad. A faux documentary on apartheid masquerading as science fiction -- I'm on the fence. As science fiction, I rate it a dud. As a documentary on apartheid, possibly brilliant.

And the lead character named Van De Merwe -- Weakest (Wikus) Van De Merwe -- abso-f*ckin-lutely hilarious. (Look up Van De Merwe jokes.)

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Re: im [sic] puzzled...

District 9 works as a satire, doesn't it?

[Field Marshal Von Krakenfart]

I'm not puzzled, but I am a bit sic

It’s more like social commentary; see Blake St. Claire’s comment.

Remember the TOS (if you don’t know don’t ask) episode, the two characters fighting each other “we’re different , he’s black on the right side and white on the left side, I’m white on the right side and black on the left side”

Just dawned on me, if hurt locker hadn’t done well we would be saying it “bombed” at the oskers… Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

[Andrew Moore]

The 2 best films of last year were not even nominated-

Neither Moon nor Ponyo got a nomination- but given that Slumdog swept the board last year, this years Oscars was all about keeping the American film interests happy.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ Sarah Bee

Would we end up with something like the Annual Razzie Awards?

[Field Marshal Von Krakenfart]

Meh!

District 9!!!! A film set in South Africa, written by a south African and a Canadian, directed by a south African and produced by a bunch of New Zealanders and dealing with a race forced to live in a ghetto, did you really think such a film would get any thing from the 'merkin oskars? Not unless it was in the category "token gesture to films made by foreigners"

As for the Hurt Locker, thinking that it was not going to clean up at the oskars the same as expecting "In Which We Serve" not to do well in the 1942 BAFTA's

District 9, good SiFi though, great aliens and make up...... Oh hang on Star Feck got that oskar.....

At least they recognised dances with smurfs for what it is, a special effect extravaganza.

Paris, she should have had a part in the hurt locker for her experience of dealing with things that are about to explode.

[Anonymous Coward]

No surprise

Let's see... Avitar, a film showing Americans as land grabbing, genocidal, blood thirsty, military maniacs ... against The Hurt Locker portraying Americans as the military heros who save the day.

No surprise in my book.

[TimNevins]

Whoah!

You reading my mind?

Posting that at the same time?

Serves me right for forgetting to put my tinfoil hat on.

[Steve Roper]

I'm with you on that too Michelle

Avatar is not the best movie of the year - in my book it is the best movie EVER. Since it came out I've watched it 7 times so far, and I intend to see it at least 2 more times before they take it off at the cinemas (My previous record for cinema attendances to watch the same movie was 8 times back in 1984 for E.T. I intend to break that record with Avatar)

I suppose I relate to it because I'm an intense misanthrope (Homo sapiens is the life form I most despise, even more than say Periplaneta americana) and I've been waiting years for a movie to show humans up as the scumbag exploiters they really are. Yes, I know Avatar is derived from Dances With Wolves and Pocahontas - but those stories only reviled Europeans. Avatar, at least, reviles the whole damn human race, and for that I love it.

[TimNevins]

No surprises

Pro war Gung-ho film = 6

Anti-imperialism/AntiWar Film = 3

So business as usual.

Leni Riefenstahl would be proud.

[Chris 67]

+1 for District 9

It really is an amazing film.

[hmmm]

Dances with Smurfs

Avatar was memorably described to me as "Dances with Smurfs". Hurt Locker was awful, the storyline and characters made no sense.

[Andus McCoatover]

The Hurt Locker?

Saw it yesterday, we both loved it. Whether it's the best out there, dunno, I DO get out more and haven't the time to see the entire "top shelf*" at the video shop.

But, yeah, for a low-budget film, without the support of Avatar's hype, would've got a thumbs-up from me.

*That's the 1-20 best rated by Makuuni - video shop - not the pr0n that is NOT as prevalent as folks think in Nordic countries. Oddly, Makuuni placed it (yesterday) at #6.

[Anonymous Coward]

IT Angle?

Sorry to be a kill-joy...but where's the IT angle in the mutual ego-stroking love-in for the lovies - aka the oscars?

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: IT Angle

Oh fuck off...

[Citizen Kaned]

NOT AGAIN...

some of us think about other things than frikkin IT 24/7. the reg has always been IT and some more interesting things. if it was just IT only then i bet about 1/2 of the regular visitors wouldnt bother coming back.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: IT Angle?

You have actually *seen* Avatar, haven't you?

Someone told me that it used rather a lot of those new-fangled computator devices.

Anyway, I'm glad the Academy saw Avatar for what it is - a mediocre film which happened to look very pretty (or, as a co-worker described it, "Pocahontas with blue people"). IMO, Cameron's last decent film was T2 - at least in that the 'special effects' were quite special, for their time.

[Penguin007]

IT Angle = Linux wins an Oscar (again)

Weta Studios in NZ runs a huge Linux server farm, used to do all the CGI rendering an' stuff.

[Philip Nicholls]

District 9

Yes

PS. Me too a Wallace n G fan but after the evil penguin.... downhill all the way.

[Anonymous Coward]

Pixar rule

I'd have voted for Up.

[kain preacher]

@Citizen Kaned

Since Cameron helped her with the hurt locker how was it a snub at him ??

Oh yeah Funny thing is most Americans know thought District 9 should of won.

[Citizen Kaned]

its still a snub...

as he didnt win, and while avatar is not the best movie ever (apart from on the eyes) its still a shit load better than hurt locker, which i dont know anyone that ever thinks its a good movie, let alone a brilliant one. personally i think its just another USA bigging themselves up award, combined with some attempt to promote female directors.

UP was also a much better movie and im so glad i didnt buy inglorious basterds, what a pile of shite that was. 1 good performance from the german officer (jew hunter bloke) the rest was just a mess.

[Andus McCoatover]

See my post above.

'Nuff said. I am a fairy. My name is "Nuff". Fair Enough.

Just watch the fuc*ker again, ALRIGHTTT??!! It's good, if you get into the characters, and don't want to just see some blokes blowing things up.

Some years ago, I wanted to do this work, (Bomb Disposal) - mainly because of entertaining talks by the (late) "Blaster Bates". Made it sound like fun.

After this film, I'm bloody glad I didn't. It made me realise what these folks deal with for less than most commentards on this site earn. Brave b'stards.

[Anonymous Coward]

Epic fail...

Like I've always said, the oscars hate scifi :(

[Anonymous Coward]

Having seen District 9 and Avatar

The Hurt Locker was the best movie of the year. And I don't see it as a "pro-war, Yanks save the day" kind of film. Rather it was about the alienating and desensitizing aspects of the stress of combat, with very few "John Wayne" moments. It did contain some unrealistic bits where the bomb disposal team were suddenly crack snipers and then they were charging around dark alleyways by their lonesome, like some gun-ho special forces fire team.

District 9 was the second or third best movie I saw in 2009, but it lacked the tension and performances of The Hurt Locker, and it veered between being jokey early on some kind of dark apartheid allegory later on.

Avatar was a great technical achievement, but other than Sanaa Lathan's voice acting it was pretty much a crap rehash of Pocahontas/Dances With Wolves/A Man Called Horse or any other of those "white guy gets in touch with his spirit animal"

As for the "Americans voting for heroic soldiers" criticisms, its not like District 9 swept a lot of the other major awards shows, including the BAFTAs.

[John Smith 19]

"Dances with smurfs"

Priceless.

[Anonymous Coward]

The Hurt Locker

The press was in a frenzy over the Oscar winner “The Hurt Locker” and some journalists such as The UK Sun’s Nadia Mendoza have even gone so far as to suggest the results were rigged! Ok I think that’s a bit silly, I mean this isn’t Iran it’s the Oscars and yea we all loved Avatar, the effects, the 3D and the cute blue alien goddess …wake up people it made over 2 billion Dollars but The Hurt Locker has a way better story…That’s why it won. Problem is though, that “The Hurt Locker” was made in 2008 so it should have been up against last year’s Movies and Avatar should have won this year.

<a href="http://ketiva.com/Entertainment_and_Music/the_hurt_locker_wins_six_academy_awards.html"> http://ketiva.com/Entertainment_and_Music/the_hurt_locker_wins_six_academy_awards.html</a>

[Anonymous Coward]

...and she's how old?

I was watching the award show and wondered how old Katheryn Bigelow was, because I've seen movies of hers in the past, going back quite a few years, and yet the woman CLAIMING to be Katheryn Bigelow was obviously in her early 40s, and *aham* a babe. Imagine my shock to find her age listed on IMDB as 58 years old. Christ, she's older than my mother, and yet now I have the hots for her!!

[Bill Fresher]

SBullock

I'm glad Sandra won. She's by far the most talented actress of this generation and her contribution to acting has long been over looked.

Congratulations.

[pctechxp]

Sound mixing?

So does that mean I'll be able to clearly hear the dialogue on my stereo LED telly rather than it being drowned out by music when I watch it on DVD?

Really annoys me that most films don't include a 2.0 stereo soundtrack as not all of us want speakers everywhere.

[John Smith 19]

1st Femal Best Director gong in 82 years

Just wanted to bring that up. As in 1st *since* the founding of the Oscars.

This would generally be called a "Landmark" event in film making history.