What sets this movie apart from most other “war films” is the silence. Instead of loud testosterone-driven battle scenes, The Hurt Locker is about the quiet, intense moments that are the norm for an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit (EOD), a squad charged with finding and defusing all kinds of bombs in Iraq. It is a three-man team and the film begins with one of their own getting blown to bits. This clears the way for SFC William James (Jeremy Renner) to take his place as the bomb-defusing specialist on the team. The two other men on the team (played by Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) are there to provide him cover and are counting down the days until they get to go home, doing their best not to get killed. Sgt. James is not the same kind of team player that his predecessor was; he’s a lone wolf adrenaline junkie who collects souvenir scraps from all the bombs that he defuses and does not yearn to return to a quiet life stateside with his wife and kid.

Screenwriter Mark Boal’s experience as an embedded journalist in Baghdad serves him well in writing this story. And Director Kathryn Bigelow delivers some of the most tension filled scenes I’ve ever seen — not only when James is defusing bombs but also when the squad is searching for unexploded ordinance and watching out for insurgent bomb builders in a huge warehouse. There is only one real firefight which takes place in an isolated patch of desert, and it felt more real than most other movie shootouts in that our Army hero sharpshooters do not hit every shot. The three guys do ultimately bond and there is definitely some macho posturing, but it serves to define their individual characters.

As good as the other actors are, this is Jeremy Renner’s movie. It is about his journey and his Sgt. James sneaks up on you. He is more complex that you initially feel and by the end you sort of get him, despite his love of this life and death existence. This is not a movie for the faint of heart. Roosters will be into it for the bombs and buddy stuff. Chicks who enjoy a good character piece and who like edge of your seat well-crafted movies will appreciate it, too. I liked it because it was a story that takes place during a war, but was not about winning or losing. It was about the people who do the work.

Here’s a cool article about a unit in Afghanistan that does this kind of work.

The Golden Globes, Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Best Motion Picture – Drama

Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, and Up In The Air

Best Motion Picture – Comedy Or Musical

(500) Days Of Summer, The Hangover, It’s Complicated, Julie & Julia, and Nine

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, James Cameron for Avatar, Clint Eastwood for Invictus, Jason Reitman for Up In The Air, and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay

Neill Blomkamp for District 9, Mark Boal forThe Hurt Locker, Nancy Meyers for It’s Complicated, Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner forUp In The Air, and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

Best Actress – Drama

Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria, Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, Helen Mirren for The Last Station, Carey Mulligan for An Education, and Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire

Best Actor– Drama

Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, George Clooney for Up In The Air, Colin Firth for A Single Man, Morgan Freeman for Invictus, and Tobey Maguire for Brothers

Best Actress– Comedy Or Musical

Sandra Bullock for The Proposal, Marion Cotillard for Nine, Julia Roberts for Duplicity, Meryl Streep for It’s Complicated, and Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Best Actor– Comedy Or Musical

Matt Damon for The Informant!, Daniel Day-Lewis for Nine, Robert Downey Jr. for Sherlock Holmes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt for (500) Days Of Summer, and Michael Stuhlbarg for A Serious Man

Best Supporting Actress

Penélope Cruz for Nine, Vera Farmiga for Up In The Air, Anna Kendrick for Up In The Air, Mo’nique for Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire, and Julianne Moore for A Single Man

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon for Invictus, Woody Harrelson for The Messenger, Christopher Plummer for The Last Station, Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones, and Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Feature

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess And The Frog, and Up

Best Foreign Language Film

Baaria (Italy), Broken Embraces (Spain), The Maid (Chile), A Prophet (France), und The White Ribbon (Germany)

There are more categories, including television, and if you fill out your ballot here, the NY Times will let you know how you did come Golden Globes night.

Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Yolande Moreau for Seraphine

Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique for Precious

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner for Up in the Air

Best Animated film: Fantastic Mr. Fox

New York Film Critics

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

Not just 1, but 2 films, 'cause you really can't have too much Clooney.

Best Actor: George Clooney for Up in the Air and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique for Precious

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds

Best Screenplay: In the Loop

Best Animated film: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Critics’ Choice Movie Awards — Broadcast Film Critics Association

Best Picture nominees: An Education, The Hurt Locker, Invictus, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air, Inglourious Basterds, Nine, and Avatar

Best-actor nominees: Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, George Clooney for Up in the Air, Colin Firth for A Single Man, Morgan Freeman for Invictus, Viggo Mortensen for The Road and Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker.

Best Actress nominees: Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria, Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, Carey Mulligan for An Education, Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones, Gabourey Sidibe for Precious and Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia.

AFI’s top 10 list for 2009

They don’t choose a best, just the top 10. They are:

Precious, The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, The Hangover, Up, Coraline, The Messenger, A Serious Man, A Single Man and Sugar

The St. Louis Film Critics were a bit more broad in their choices than many of the critics’ associations. They, too, included (500) Days of Summer. And The Women’s Film Critic Circle Awards include some interesting choices; somehow one of the “best female images in movies” was in Inglourious Basterds, and their Top Ten Hall of Shame includes Precious, Pirate Radio and Twilight. The SAG Awards pretty much go along with the crowd.

I still need to see A Serious Man and Avatar, or do I? I do want to see A Single Man, The Lovely Bones, The Young Victoria, The Road, Nine, Crazy Heart, Seraphine and Up in the Air. And fortunately, The Hurt Locker is coming out on DVD soon.

What do you think of the lists? Anything glaringly missing? Any inanely included films?