Zero Dark Thirty

Solidly crafted, but emotionally un-involving and rather generic. Doesn't really come to life as cinema until the climactic raid on bin Laden's safehouse, which is quite riveting. But otherwise, meh. This is what the critics are going gaga for? And why is Jessica Chastain up for an Oscar for this ok but hardly revelatory performance? Really, it's criminal that she and Quebooboo are in and the dazzling, hypnotic, towering performances of Marion Cotillard and Rachel Weisz were snubbed.

• JC is so so gorgeous and very pretty and can act when she wants to BUT not in this film. I wonder if she serviced Heavy Whalestein or has pictures on him somewhere. Cotillard and Weisz were amazing. It's a shame that the whole thing is a fix job from day one. Otherwise these two would have a chance at the brass ring.

• An apologia for torture. Meh. I'll skip it.

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• [bold]Zero Conscience in “Zero Dark Thirty”[/bold] At the same time that the European Court of Human Rights has issued a historic ruling condemning the C.I.A.’s treatment of a terror suspect during the Bush years as “torture,” a Hollywood movie about the agency’s hunt for Osama bin Laden, “Zero Dark Thirty”—whose creators say that they didn’t want to “judge” the interrogation program—appears headed for Oscar nominations. Can torture really be turned into morally neutral entertainment? Read more:

  http%3A//www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/12/torture-in-kathryn-bigelows-zero-dark-thirty.html

• [quote]I wonder if she serviced Heavy Whalestein or has pictures on him somewhere. You do know ZDT is a Sony production and has nothing to do with the Weinsteins?

• Jessica Chastain can't act for shit. She must've majored in Working the Casting Couch at Juilliard.

• [quote]JC is so so gorgeous and very pretty and can act when she wants to I have the exact opposite opinion I think she's fug and that's why she gets cast in oscar bait shit and why we're forced to see her dumb ass at award shows. Directors/producers think they're being edgy by casting a actress who is not traditionally pretty..and she's not. She's not a bad actress but she is highly over praised. A million actresses could have done that part as well or better and the actress who played the other CIA agent was better. Can't wait until JC's 15 minutes are up. When the hype around her dies down and critics stop acting like she's god's gift to the craft I might actually warm up to her. Maybe, if she actually does some good work.

• I couldn't agree more, OP. JC is as boring as dishwater.

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• R1, I don't find Jennifer Chastain gorgeous at all. And she looked terrible at the Golden Globes on Sunday night. Completely horrible pomaded hair on top at the Globes.

• sorry, Jessica, not Jennifer. Her dress at the Globes was wretched looking too. The fit was nonexistent and terrible.

• Screenplay must've been difficult to write because of all the (known) detail involved. Excellent performances all around, particularly in the early portions when "Maya's" reactions to torture had to be understated. What I'd like to know is what they didn't tell us. Also, who is the Moslem American (intelligence?) official? Was that real?

• I'm curious to see how the auditions for these highly sought after roles go, there are minority actors and actresses of course, but I wonder if they tell people who aren't white not to audition. Often race is written in the summary for the role, but something seems wrong with that given the demographics of the United States. From the golden globes and other award shows, the African American roles are often stereotypical ones, as are the hispanic ones, the asian ones, etc.

• It sounds like some propaganda from the Bush administration, yet it's receiving all these accolades. I thought H-wood was supposed to be so "liberal."

• It's hagiography of the CIA, so it will be beloved. Like LINCOLN, which...whitewashes...his racism and mass murder, it will be lauded.