Zero Dark Thirty

[Martini Girl]

I did not see a thread for this. Saw it today. Full house. Earned applause at the end ( I'm seeing it in cynical LA). I thought it was much better than The Hurt Locker.

Jessica Chastain is fabulous as Maya: A woman recruited out of high school to be in the CIA. The only thing she's ever done is hunt (and kill) Bin Laden.

The film is long (I think 2 hr 47 min), but incredibly absorbing. It does include torture scenes, but most of this film takes place during the Bush/Cheney years, and we all know they advocated torture. I found those scenes hard to watch. I did find it fascinating how they found their leads and pieced the information together. Not a glamorous life.

I think it hit's all other cities in mid-January.

[bklynred]

Is this in NY yet? I can't waaaait for this.

[Martini Girl]

I think so. Don't most films open in limited release in NY & LA the last week of December? Check Rotten Tomatoes.

It's only playing at 2 theaters in LA. I went to a 10:30am screening (cheaper) and it was almost sold out.

[Deleted]

It does include torture scenes, but most of this film takes place during the Bush/Cheney years, and we all know they advocated torture. I found those scenes hard to watch. I did find it fascinating how they found their leads and pieced the information together. Not a glamorous life.

Does this mean Cheney was right? That torture works? I'd hate to think that that's one of the messages that come from this movie, although I think it's hard to escape the reality that some form of low down dirty "torture" is required to get info out of people who are not willing to cooperate. I'd assume standard police interrogation techniques don't quite cut in when it comes to finding an international terrorist.

[iClaudia]

The CIA, John McCain and others have made it a point to remind the public that this fictional account condenses the timeline and doesn't accurately (or fully) portray all of the avenues used to capture Bin Laden. I think some kind of disclaimer before or after the film would be a good idea.

[Martini Girl]

That wasn't my takeaway. I could have totally missed something, but it didn't seem like they got any really good information from the terrorists they tortured.

The biggest reveal came when Maya had a conversation with someone later in the film.

And while I do believe this is a very condensed version of what happened, i'll take what the CIA and John McCain say with a grain of salt.

[save lilo!]

Dec 29, 2012 21:45:54 GMT -4 bklynred said:

Is this in NY yet? I can't waaaait for this.

Yes, I saw it in NYC last weekend. Lincoln Center AMC and I think somewhere in the East Village?

I don't think the movie advocates for torture. There were scenes and actions by the characters that made me uncomfortable (as it should) and never once did I think the movie had an agenda of any sort. It seemed to be trying to depict what happened or whatever their version of what happened was.

[Deleted]

This isn't opening in Boston for another three weeks. Bah. We're a big city too dammit, how come we have to wait so long?

[ijustworkhere]

Yeah, we don't get it here in Austin until 1/11. I'm not really accustomed to having films delayed, living here. Very annoyed.

[bklynred]

OK, yes it's in two theaters in NYC. I'll wait the two weeks for a BK show. I've been looking forward to it for a while.