My Top Lost Season 4 Moments

Now in the fourth Lost installment, in the present the castaways face great challenges in their quest to escape the Island and in the future the ones who did leave find adjusting to normal life difficult. Here we go again.

10. Ben and Hurley's love for candy

I just love this scene. It's silent, uncomfortable, and really funny. Near the end of the season, Locke, Ben, and Hurley trek through jungle to find Jacob's Cabin since they are the only ones to have been there. Kind of funny trio. You've got John Locke, the confident and curious Island adventurer; Ben Linus, the conniving and calculating evil genius; and then Hurley Reyes, the cursed lottery winner who used to work at Mr. Cluck's Chicken. Hmm. It does kind of make sense I guess, they are all tragic men and they all are or once were on The List. They eventually do find it, and Locke goes in alone to get information on what he needs to do to save the Island and everyone on it. While waiting, Ben and Hurley hunker down in the brush and sit in silence. Hurley pops out an Apollo Bar and starts unwrapping it. He sees Ben eyeing the candy as well. Hurley, being the nice guy that he is, snaps off half of the candy and gives it to Ben. They both savor it's chocolatey goodness. This seems like something you'd see in an '80s comedy. It is also kind of heartwarming, and very subtle. In a situation of such peril and danger, where everything is about to change, one of the most dangerous and menacing characters has a buddy moment with the most lovable character. This scene also builds on my theory that nobody can hate Hurley. So whether it's the guy we love or the guy we love to hate, they both respect one another and both enjoy a crisp Apollo Bar.

9. The Jacket subplot

"Ben's going to win, Jack. And when he does you don't want to be anywhere near me." - Juliet

Near the beginning of the season, Juliet is contacted by one of The Others on Ben's orders, who tells Juliet to stop two of the freighter people, Daniel and Charlotte. Juliet is just about convinced they are the bad guys and almost kills them before taking that leap of faith and trusting them. It turns out Ben was manipulating her as he always does. Distraught, she tells Jack that they can't beat Ben. She also tells him how Ben thinks "she is his" and that he knows how she feels about Jack. Then Jack does something I liked. He kisses her and tells her comfortingly "he knows where to find me." This was nice, it gave me hope for the Jacket relationship I had grown fond of. Yeah you know the fan pet names for the couples: Sawyer and Kate fans are Skaters, Jake and Kate fans are Jaters. I know there are people out there who are more invested in the love triangle between Jack, Kate, and Sawyer more than anything and I can understand that. But at this point I will be talking about the other couple that had rised, the one between Jack and Juliet or Jacket. Now while I always kind of figured that Jack was making time with Juliet because of Kate's relationship with Sawyer (and Juliet's slight resemblance to his ex-wife), I still thought it could have worked. In season 3, they both had a connection that felt right: they both longed to escape Ben and the Island and worked well together during the battle against The Others. At the time the Sawyer and Kate relationship seemed plausible and right, and in response so did the Jack and Juliet relationship. It's kind of a shame it ended in my opinion.

8. Ben vs. Widmore

"That Island's mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again" - Charles Widmore

In Ben's flashforward, he arrives in London and sneaks into his nemesis, Charles Widmore's penthouse. Widmore is not particularly phased to find Ben there. Ben apparently can't kill Widmore because of "The Rules." Rules Widmore was kind enough to break when he had Ben's daughter killed by Martin Keamy. Widmore tells him Alex's death was his fault and goes on insulting him. He mentions that "everything you had you took from me." Ben tells him he is going to kill Widmore's daughter, Penny, as vengeance. They leave, each assuring the other that they will never find what they are looking for: Ben (Penny) and Widmore (The Island). In response to all of this Widmore only says that the hunt is on. This was just another great warfare scene. It is a taste of things to come. I was very surprised when Widmore turned out to be the villain of season 4, where before he seemed to be the standard rich douchebag dad who disapproved of peasant Desmond making time with his daughter. But Widmore was very surprising. I love how the conflict on The Island spans across the world it seems (Australia, America, Iraq, England). It got me even more excited to see where everything was heading.

7. Sayid vs. Keamy

"ROUND 1! FIGHT!!!" - Mortal Kombat Announcer...had to!

Although these two guys met in a friendly sort of way, I think I knew that they would go head to head sooner or later. Martin Keamy, the vicious mercenary and primary villain this season, is played by Kevin Durand, and I don't think I've ever seen this guy play a good guy (check out his roles as total villains in these movies: Walking Tall, Smokin' Aces, 3:10 to Yuma). I spotted Keamy as a bad guy a mile away. Well, when he and his team of mercenaries prepared to leave with Ben in the helicopter they were ambushed by The Others. With all of his comrades dead, Keamy gave chase to Ben. Then he got tackled by our favorite Iraqi badass Sayid. What ensued was one of the best fights on Lost and there have been some good ones. Though he fights well, this ex-Saddam grunt was no match for the trained merc with mad skills. Sayid was eventually overpowered and nearly killed before Richard Alpert showed up and unloaded a pistol into Keamy. Sure he wasn't dead but still. Ben's reward for Sayid and his buddy Kate was a chance to escape the Island. It can't be denied that this fight between two of the biggest badasses of darkness and light on the Island isn't awesome.

6. Jack and Locke discuss destiny part 2

"What was it you said on the way out to The Hatch? That crashing here was our destiny?" - Jack

Science and faith quarrel once again as the Island is in it's last stand against the forces of Widmore. Any discussion of fate vs. free will between Jack and Locke is gold in my book. Above the Orchid Station, Jack and Locke meet the first time after Jack revealed his intent to kill Locke and the castaways split apart. Locke says that he "would like" for Jack to stay on the Island. Jack remains frustrated with Locke's belief in destiny and angered when he states he isn't supposed to leave or that the Island is special. Locke soon realizes that Jack won't listen to reason and then puts the idea that the ones who leave will have to lie to protect the Island and its inhabitants from Widmore. When Jack says it is just an island and does not need to be protected, Locke states with that bittersweet hint of joy in his voice that "it's not an island...It's a place where miracles happen." Jack, once revered as a miracle worker in Los Angeles, says he doesn't believe in miracles. Ben shows up, tells Jack to get moving if he is leaving and then he and Locke descend down into the Orchid via an elevator. Jack and Locke, the rivals and leaders of the survivors, have one last look at each other on The Island. I always thought the bad blood between Jack and Locke was sad. They always seemed like they'd make a great team if they'd only agree with each other. I think that's why Locke wants Jack to stay and believe; he believes Jack is special and would like to think of him as a friend and partner. Jack can't buy into that because of Locke's past failures with Boone and the Hatch, not to mention his murder of Naomi and revolt. He thinks Locke's crazy. It's only cruel irony that Jack finally saw Locke's way of thinking after he died.

5. The suite life of John Locke

"Name him John! Please! His name is John!" - Emily Locke

We'd seen the more devestating parts of John Locke's backstory before. But in the episode Cabin Fever, it was dedicated to the crucial moments of his timeline when his destiny was calling out to him but he was only too young, too confused, or too angry to realize it. On a stormy night, a teenage girl is hit by a car while on her way to meet her much older lover (the vile Anthony Cooper). She is pregnant and the baby is born prematurely. According to the nurse, John survived just about everything that could kill babies just after birth. She says he is a fighter. John's Mom is not at all prepared to take the baby and the grandmother wants it out of the way quickly. John Locke was indeed born unloved. But one man was there and anxious to see the boy: Richard Alpert, the ageless Other.

Five years later, Richard showed up at John's foster home. He claimed to run a school for special (the good kind) children and John might be one of them. John seems to be a quiet and reserved little boy, not exactly loved by his foster family. Richard took notice of a drawing John made, featuring a man being attacked by black smoke = symbolism? Richard then produced a couple of seemingly random items: a compass, a vial of ash, a baseball glove, a "book of laws", a comic book featuring a mysterious "hidden land", and finally a knife. He was asked to choose the items that already belong to him. He picks the vial of ash and the compass almost immediately, but when about to pick the Book of Laws (which Richard seemed glad about) John instead grabs the knife. Richard is disappointed and leaves, claiming John isn't ready for the school yet. John is scolded by his foster mom, and he looks ashamed of himself.

In his teen years, John is bullied and an outcast. He is apparantly very good at science, and is told by a teacher that he is optioned to go to Mittelos Laboratories, where Richard works. John, an angry and repressed person, would rather do the things every one else is more interested in. The teacher claims that while he may want to do those things, John should just resign himself to be what everyone sees him as. This is where John gets the motto he lives by in life: "Don't tell me what I can't do!"

Finally we meet him after the greatest tragedy in his life where the paralyzed Locke is undergoing exercise in a hospital. This is the point where he is totally angry and cynical. An orderly tells him not to give up hope. This is Matthew Abbadon, Widmore's associate who brought together the diverse team that arrived on the Island at the beginning of the season. Abbadon talks to Locke about going on a walkabout. How going on one might change him and his perspective on life. Locke is skeptical of this, but we know what choices he makes in the future.

What can I say? these extraordinary touches to one of the most compelling backstories on the show was just awesome. It only solidified even more that John Locke was meant for great, important things.

4. First look at Jeremy Bentham

"We're gonna have to bring him too." - Ben

At the end of season 3, Jack in 2007 was a complete wreck and that is made even worse when he reads a troubling obituary. At season 4's flashforward finale, we learn the man who had visited all of the Oceanic Six was called Jeremy Bentham. At the very end of the season, an extremely drunk and extremely bearded Jack broke into the funeral home to get a last look at Bentham I suppose. Ben showed up, and was eager to know all of what Bentham told him. Apparently he told Jack that after the Six left the Island bad things happened and that it was his fault. Ben says the only way to make things right was for everyone who left to return. Jack seemed okay with this, despite his certainty that none of the others would agree. Jack started to leave before Ben claimed everyone meant Bentham too. The season ends with an overhead shot showing the man inside the coffin. Now, there were alternate endings to this showing either Sawyer or Desmond in the coffin. But no, dammit all, no! (Sigh!) though I kinda saw it coming, the dead man known as Jeremy Bentham was none other than my favorite character John Locke! It was mind blowing. After this build up of Locke being a great force on the Island, not to mention leader of the Others at the end, he's dead. Of course there were still ways to have him on the show. I'm still holding out for the resurrection...I mean, the real resurrection! Locke will rise again, if Jack's dad could do it so could he.

3. Ben loses Alex

"Say goodbye to your daddy." - Keamy

After the sudden death of Danielle Rousseau (who we knew from season 1) and Karl, I knew Keamy and his commandos were serious. After killing several castways and blowing the hell out of the Barracks I was even more convinced. Finally we have one of Ben's most pivotal moments as Martin Keamy and he communicate through walkies. Keamy asks Ben to step outside and surrender and no one else will be hurt. Ben claims he will kill everyone else once they have him and proceeds to reveal how much he knows about Keamy, namely how violent he is. Keamy drags out Alex, Ben's adopted daughter. She is scared out of her mind. Keamy says she is dead if Ben doesn't give up. Ben tries to convince Alex he has the situation under control and that she will be fine. He doesn't give up, choking up as he states that Alex is a pawn means nothing to him. He keeps this up right up to the moment Keamy shoots his daughter in the back of the head. I was just as shocked as Ben was. Blowing a sixteen year old girl's brains out was a road I didn't think would be crossed. It was terrible. Ben was clearly convinced that what happened wouldn't happen. He was wrong. Even if we were all still sore over how much of a monster Ben was in season 3, this was still just harsh. But it was also a bit of poetic justice, like when Ben threatened Jack with the deaths of his friends in the season 3 finale, Keamy did the same to Ben here. Only Keamy followed through.

2. Desmond and his constant

"You answered, Penny!" - Desmond

Desmond might be one of my favorite characters. And that was made a fact more than ever than in the episode called The Constant. This episode was great science fiction while at the same time great romance. Sayid and Desmond managed to hitch a ride on the helicopter back to the freighter. Midway, after a bit of turbulence in a small storm, Desmond blacks out and when he wakes up he doesn't remember anything. It turns out his mind is jumping back and forth from the present to 1996 when he is in boot camp. After getting into contact with freighter physicist, Daniel Faraday, both in the present and past, Desmond learns to stop the rapid time jumps from hemorraging his brain he will have to find a constant: something important to him in the past and present and that can tie both together. When he is back in the past he goes to the one person he can think of. Penny Widmore, the love of his life. Unfortunately they had just broken up and are not exactly on good terms. After some desperate convincing he manages to get her to give him her phone number so he can call her in the future. In the future, Sayid manages to get up a signal so he can call her, though it won't last. After three years of pressing a button on a deserted island and thinking of nothing but her she answers. The long distance reunion is devastatingly touching. I damn near cried. As the signal dies down, they tell each other they will do whatever it takes to find each other, no matter what, finishing each other's sentences. They both end off saying quickly in unison "I promise. I love you!" The line goes dead and Desmond is in tears. He thanks Sayid, saying the time he had was enough. This moment I didn't care much about the Jack, Kate and Sawyer love triangle. My favorite Lost couple was Desmond and Penny...Dennie if you will.

1. The group separation

"If you wanna live, you need to come with me." - Locke

At the season's beginning, all of the castaways meet up and tensions rise. Jack immediately tries and fails to kill Locke for murdering Naomi, who was unarmed and, as far as I could tell, innocent. Locke states that he did what he did out of his concern for everyone else...and the Island. Jack calls him crazy again. Locke says he is going to the Barracks where there is security and shelter and everyone will be safe there. Everyone is pretty much on board with Jack, until Hurley of all people stands up to him. He reminds everyone that Charlie, his best friend, died while dead set on getting them rescued, but then used his last breath to tell everyone that the supposed rescuers were not on the level. Hurley joins Locke, as does the grieving Claire, Ben, Sawyer, and a couple of other castaways. So begins the turmoil of season 4, alongside the ruthless mercenaries. There were just so many things I loved about this. Hurley's big emotional moment and how he totally brings down Jack's defense; Jack totally bent on killing Locke; Sawyer's parting words on survival to Kate; Ben's eagerness to escape death with Locke; and then the last scene of the group splitting apart as rain sets in. It set up a lot of issues in the first episode of the new season. It was very enjoyable and filled me with much anticipation.

So there you have it, I will have the second to last installment of my top moments of Lost soon as the end of the show draws near. I will also be supplying new Lost posts that will come in the form of analysis' of characters and themes of the show. Thank you for reading.

F-Biden

"This is a big fucking deal!" - Vice President Joe Biden

Okay my friends, I am writing this late at 12 in the morning so forgive me if this post seems a little uh...blah!!! This will be Your Modest Guru's response to Vice President Joe Biden's too audible comment to our President about the new Healthcare Reform being passed. But before we get to that, you will just have to endure the slap happy humourous exposition to come before the real point...or you can just skip to the point if you are feeling like a lazy bastard (sorry, the further I am into the day the more douchebaggish I get.) Let's go forth.

During the 2008 presidential campaign I couldn't take my eyes off of Barack Obama. Literally. My mom had the television on nonstop blaring anything that had his hope inspiring, pride restoring face on it. And not much, regarding my mom's TV viewing, has changed since his election. Obviously I am not as dedicated to political updates as my parents, and I know I should be, but still I just find the whole thing really depressing. But my topic tonight (or this morning) is not about how utterly depressing politics is or how utterly awesome our fair President is. No we are here to talk about the less popular White House newcomer of our last election. Joseph Biden. Now when Joe Biden first caught my eye I wasn't let down. True, he wasn't anywhere near as godly as Obama was made out to be, but he still had a certain charisma. He seemed like a straight shooting, good intentioned, happy guy. Also, the fact he was going up against America's most popular soccer mom (not a compliment) helped him out a helluva lot. Let me just sum up their debates for you.

Biden: Why am I qualified? I have practiced law and worked as a successful lawyer for years. In 1972 I was the first elected to Senate. I've been chairman in the Senate Judiciary Committee and Foreign Relations Committee. I have advocated US Military aid in the Bosnian War. I have helped create the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. I have been involved in politics for over thirty years. That is why I am qualified to be your next vice president.

Palin: (reads hand note)... I can see Russia from my house!

Yeeeah, I'm going with Biden! But after getting into office with Barry O'Bama, Biden showed that while he wasn't nearly as idiotic as Palin, he had his not so bright moments. Sometimes he would incidentally talk about information that may or may not be sensitive to the infrastructure of our nation. What I most remember is him telling reporters on TV almost exactly where he and his family would hide if there was a terrorist attack...Joe what were ya thinking? "Yes, if there are any terrorists out there I just want you to know my family and I will be hiding out in our secret bunker just outside of Washington D.C., Virginia! We will be guarded by two trainee guards with a short supply of ammunition! The door to the bunker will be unlocked! So yeah, you have no chance of finding us!" = reenactment. Not as smart as I thought you were. I mean, really, I hate Dick Cheney like I hate AIDS, but Cheney was smart enough to keep secrets...mostly because his secrets were no doubt diabolical and horrifying but come on.

But we come to our point at last. As you all know, Healthcare Reform was just passed in America and this is a sure victory for the guys in the White House and hopefully a victory for America. After Joe Biden got done presenting Barack Obama to the podium, he shook his hand and joyfully said in his ear "this is a big fucking deal." Amazing how we heard this probably three feet away from the microphone and over the sound of a cheering crowd. That is strange, could this be some kind of new smear campaign. Well for now, all we are left to know is that Biden did in fact say this and people are in an outrage. Why? Mainly because they don't want to talk about the real issues and are using this as just another distraction or because they just like to bitch. I don't see the big deal. Biden said this because he was happy over the success of his team. I remember when Cheney was reported to have dropped the so called "F Bomb", but when he said it was in a violent or insulting way. This Biden thing really isn't that big a deal. I know writing this is just making it an even bigger deal in some small way, but it is not, as Biden himself would put it, "a big fucking deal." I mean, I remember when Barack Obama himself was caught cursing: he called Kanye West "a jackass" after the Taylor Swift thing, everyone thought it was funny as hell. I thought it was badass, if anything Barack Obama and Joe Biden cursing in the context they do so in earns them a lot more respect from me. And they both did it when they themselves felt certain that the public's overly sensitive ears wouldn't hear them. Oh and I know we are supposed to expect these two, our countries captain and first mate, to be totally noble and full of grace, but, lest we forget, these are grown men. They can curse like sailors and in this century it wouldn't be any big deal. Half of the goddamn kids in this country have a poorer handle on language than these two. Look at me, I'm a kid and cursing like I'm in a fucking Quentin Tarantino movie. It doesn't matter! Ya know what does matter? Haiti, the wars that seem to be boiling over to a new country every day, hunger, poverty, violence, the weather. For those of you so interested in this or even offended by this, look around you!

On a final note about Joe Biden, I'd just like to say that I still think he is a good vice president so far despite his flaws and absent mindedness from time to time. For anyone who thinks he is a bad Vice President I will hear your arguement if you have it, but I would also like to redirect your attention to Biden's former competition (She who shall not be elected) and his predecessor (Cheney). Maybe Biden doesn't have the balls that Cheney has, but need we be reminded that Dick Cheney is a homicidal maniac. Seriously just look at him, hell, just listen to him. Every time he opens his mouth I get the feeling that he's holding back insane laughter. He's like a strange hybrid of G. Gordon Liddy, Dr. Doom, and Emperor Palpatine. The man is just evil, all I heard out of him throughout the Bush-Cheney Campaign was in a nutshell preaching to the macho men and NRA members of America: "DESTROY THEM ALL!!! KILL KILL KILL!!!" Seriously, pyscho. Biden my hat is off to you and thank you you swell bastard for replacing this monster because to me it is a big fucking deal.

This has been a big fu-- I mean an uncensored rant from Your Modest Guru and many more to come. Thanks for reading.

My Top Lost Season 3 Moments

Now to the first half of the Lost saga's greatest moments. I pick up on my favorite moments of Island Awesomeness in Season 3 where the castaways begin their conflict with the Island's mysterious native inhabitants known as The Others. Let's dive in.

SPOILERS THRICE!!!

10. Locke's vision quest

"You don't have much time." Dream Boone

After his loss of faith led to near catastrophic events for the Island (and perhaps the world), John Locke awoke in the middle of the jungle after most likely being blown away from the hatch explosion. How he, Mr. Eko, and Desmond survived is anyone's guess. He had lost the ability to speak. Immediately Locke looked to the Island for answers. With Charlie's reluctant help, Locke managed to put together a sweat lodge. It's basically a meditation tent in which you sit by a fire while a bunch of herbs and fumes work their magic. It provokes a sort of vision quest that's all vision and no quest. His spiritual guide comes in the form of Boone, Locke's former protege and dead castaway. Boone throws Locke into a wheelchair and hauls him around a imaginary airport full of castaways. I liked all of the symbolism that come into play later: Charlie and Claire "are fine...for now"; surrounded by smitten ladies, Desmond is "helping himself"; and of course Jack at a security check with Ben (the artist formerly known as Henry Gale) the security guard = "you can't help them yet". At the end of Locke's journey he is shown the bloody scripture stick belonging to the Island's resident priest. Locke, with a restored sense of faith and speech, exits his quest, grabs a knife, and sets out to find the other man of faith, Mr. Eko.

9. Sawyer's surgery

"Did you just kill that bunny?!" - Sawyer

After he, Jack and Kate are caught by The Others, Sawyer makes several rebellious attempts to escape or attack his captors. The leader, Ben Linus, finally comes down and asks him a few basic questions. Soon enough, Sawyer tries to kill him, fails, and proceeds to get his ass kicked via billy club. He wakes up strapped to a table. A couple of guys, overseen by Ben, make him bite down on a stick and then take a syringe to his chest whilst making a not so subtle Pulp Fiction reference. He then wakes up with his chest bandaged. Ben then shows up and starts shaking a rabbit's cage and screaming at it. The rabbit dies after awhile. Ben than explains that the rabbit had a pacemaker set to shock its heart if it got too excited and that they've given Sawyer the same thing so as to make sure he doesn't escape. They even gave him a watch to monitor his heart rate. This was just a really screwed up and vicious scene. Every episode was raising the wierdness factor on The Others and raising the evil factor on Ben: "If and when it beeps, you're gonna want to relax yourself. Do some deep breathing, some yoga." Total villain.

8. Room 23

"God loves you as he loved Jacob." - Brainwashing video

As Kate and Sawyer make their great escape from The Others' prison, they meet up with Ben's "adopted" daughter Alex who agrees to lead them to a boat if they help her find her boyfriend, Karl. They come across this facility in the middle of the jungle. After taking care of the guard, they enter and find Karl's room. Room 23. Opening the door, they find one of the freakier things on Lost. Karl is being subjected to some kind of A Clockwork Orange brainwashing video. A bunch of images just flash across a screen that seem either totally random or completely meaningful. Kate and Alex release Karl, meanwhile Sawyer gets invested in the video as well. He snaps out of it quickly and they leave and we are left wondering what the hell that was about. Room 23 was mentioned regarding Walt in scenes not used in the show, including one in which Walt's powers seemed to be too much for Room 23 or The Others to contain. 23 is also one of Hurley's cursed numbers. I think this was also the first moment we catch the very important name: Jacob.

7. Charlie's final swim

"You and I both know, you're not supposed to take my place, brother." - Charlie

Charlie and Desmond's Island subplots were intertwined in season 3 when Desmond began receiving flashes, visions of the future. All of these flashes showed Charlie dying, and with that knowledge Desmond spent most of his time saving Charlie's life, even though he knew his death is inevitable. Finally near the season's end, Desmond revealed that Charlie would die this time by drowning after deactivating a signal jamming device in a Dharma station deep underwater. When he did this would allow the castaways to communicate to a frieghter off of the island and get everyone rescued. Charlie said his goodbyes to Claire and Aaron (the two people he loved most) and Hurley (his best friend) and set sail with Desmond into the water. Charlie gave Desmond a list of the five greatest moments of his life for Claire. Desmond said he would go instead of Charlie so he would not have to sacrifice so much, but Charlie knocks him out and dives in, accepting his destiny. So ensues a great underwater shot as Charlie swims his way down toward the massive underwater facility. He runs out of air but makes it up. I loved everything about this scene, accept it was bit sad seeing as how immediately after he emerges inside the station two really mean Other chicks show up and wail on him. Poor Charlie.

6. Jin's campfire ghost story

"I love the part about the bird...It was a bird, right?" - Hurley

While following Desmond on a hunch from one of his visions, Hurley, Charlie, and Jin hunker down by a campfire where they are telling ghost stories. We come in as Jin is in the middle of an apparently scary story. We can't tell because Jin can't speak english, so is telling the story in Korean. I just thought this scene was funny as hell. How Jin was probably a good storyteller in Korea based on how he acts and the fact that Charlie and Hurley (especially Hurley) are really into the story and getting spooked despite not knowing what the hell he is saying. Jin eventually ends the story shockingly and with a raised sleeve to imply a freaky climax that scares Hurley. They all have a good laugh. I like this especially because when we first meet Jin in the show he is a very angry man and it is good to see how much he has really lightened up. I think he and Hurley have always had a fun relationship too, one of their first encounters involved Hurley trying to fish with Jin and then getting stung by a sea urchin. Jin pulls to shore, where Hurley desperately tells him to pee on the wound for some strange reason. These guys are just funny together.

5. Locke's grave

"You have work to do." - Taller Ghost Walt

This was a pretty strange and grim scene. Locke had been shot by Ben and left to die in the mass grave where the long dead Dharma Initiative lies. Locke once again finds he can't move his legs. With nothing left, it seems, he manages to find a gun on one of the corpses and prepares to commit suicide. As he is about to pull the trigger, an apparition of Walt appears before him. Walt tells him to drop the gun and get out of the ditch. Locke asks why, not seeing the point anymore.

Walt: "Because you have work to do."

This phrase is always a line meaning purpose in the show. And with that, Locke smiles happily. This scene was really freaky and really cool. That's all I can say.

4. Hurley's mission

"Let's look death in the face and say 'whatever, man.'" - Hurley

Hurley is the beacon of hope among the castaways, in my opinion. In any situation where everything is just looking bad for everyone, Hurley is there trying to make people feel better. It's why Charlie always call him "Happy fun good time Hurley." Vincent the dog leads him to a van belonging to the Dharma initiative in the middle of the jungle. After removing the corpse inside (Ben's dad, Roger), Hurley decides that he has had enough moping: Hurley over his curse, Charlie over his fear of imminent death, Sawyer and Jin over their strained love lives. He manages to rally the team together to get the van moving. Sawyer and Jin plan to push it down a hill with Hurley and Charlie inside trying to jump start it. Things look bad as it doesn't seem like Hurley can get the thing running. He begins repeating what his father (Cheech!) told him: "You make your own luck." Finally the van gets running; "Shambala" the upbeat song by Three Dog Night starts playing, the guys are all overjoyed over their victory and hop in the van to go riding around. Later on, Hurley is sitting in the van alone, smiling to himself on his success. He then drives off into the sunset...or at least as far as the Island goes. I just thought this scene was terrific.

3. Season 3 Opening

"So I guess I'm out of the book club?" - "Henry Gale"

Like every opening to every season of Lost, season 3's opening disarms the viewers. It introduces what seems like a new environment that lets us feel comfortable and safe and then pulls the rug out from under us. Season 3 starts off by introducing us to Juliet Burke, a sad looking woman living in a nice little house in what appears to be a nice little suburb. She pops in an upbeat CD, starts organizing, accidentally burns the muffins in her oven, checks on a neighbor who is trying to fix the plumbing, and then hosts a book club at her house. What book? Carrie by Stephen King (a huge Lost fan). One of the members questions that someone named Ben would not find the book interesting, which infuriates Juliet. But before the arguement goes any further, what seems like an earthquake shakes the house. Everyone in the "neighborhood" goes outside to see what all the commotion is about. Then we get a few surprises, the neighbors Ethan Rom(the first Other we met and a spy among the heroes, killed by Charlie), Goodwin Stanhope (the 2nd spy, killed by Ana Lucia), and then finally "Henry Gale" (a third spy who posed as a dead man before being found out, at this point only seemed to be leading the Others), and it turns out that he is the man named Ben. All of the confused people looks up into the sky and see a plane splitting apart mid air. Flight 815, the plane our castaways were on. Immediately, Ben orders Ethan and Goodwin to hurry off to the crash sites, pose as survivors, and bring back "lists in three days." We then pan out and find that the little suburbia is in the middle of the Island and that these people are The diabolical Others, who we originally thought were "psychotic hillbillies." This opening definitely had the desired effect. We all had a lot of questions after this. This also set a whole new tone of mystery for the show that I found very exciting.

2. Ben and Locke in The Cabin

"Once I open this door there's no turning back. You sure this is what you want?" - Ben

John Locke looked for answers to the mysteries of the Island from the Others this season, namely Ben Linus the supposed leader. Ben told him he wasn't the actual leader. That is a man whom he alone speaks to. A man named Jacob. Locke eventually forces Ben to agree to take him to Jacob. By night they reach a cabin somewhere in the jungle. Locke finds that the perimeter is surrounded by a black ash. Ben lights a lantern, addresses the person inside, and enters. The place is damp and dark, as if it hasn't been touched in years. There are some mason jars, a table, some photo of a dog, a rocking chair in the middle of the room, and it's all dusty. Ben starts talking to the empty chair, he is actually carrying on a conversation. Locke doesn't see anyone in sight, but Ben insists that Jacob is sitting in the chair. Ben seems perplexed when Locke angrily states that there is no Jacob, he is crazy, and that he doesn't know anything about the Island. Ben claims Locke is "too limited to see" and Locke tells him he is pathetic. As Locke goes for the door, a raspy voice calls out "help me." Locke thinks it was Ben, but he claims to have not said or heard anything. All of a sudden, the cabin shakes, the sounds of the Monster seem to be coming from outside. Ben goes the chair, saying "that's enough, you've had your fun!" before he is thrown into the wall and for a brief second a man shrouded in darkness can be seen sitting in the chair. Locke and Ben exchange horrified glances and then escape the cabin. Ben claims, teary eyed, that it was Jacob. What can I say? This scene just freaked me the hell out and I had a lot to contemplate afterward. From this point on, Jacob became one of the show's most important points of interest.

1. Jack vs. Ben

"Oh that's right, I almost forgot. You're the good guys." - Jack

A woman named Naomi parachutes onto the Island and has a phone that can contact a freighter that will get everyone rescued. Charlie goes down to a Dharma station to deactivate a jamming device as previously mentioned. Jack leads the castaways off to a radio tower somewhere on the Island where they can triangulate a signal. Sayid, Jin, and Bernard stay behind to ambush The Others who are coming to the beach. On the way to the radio tower, Ben shows up and talks to Jack in private. Ben knows what is going on and claims that Naomi is working for people who have been trying to find the Island for a long time = the bad guys, and that Jack should give the phone to him or else the people on the freighter will kill everyone on the Island. Jack of course doesn't believe the chronic liar and a stare down ensues. Ben than puts main Other Tom on the walkie talkie, revealing that Sayid and the rest failed to kill all of The Others at the beach and are now held at gunpoint. Ben gives Jack 60 seconds to get the phone or else his friends will die. Jack doesn't back down, despite Ben's threats and his accusations that Jack has nothing to return to back home. Finally the minute is up and gunfire rings out over the walkie (don't worry they are fine). Jack is emotionally snapped all too visibly. Ben snidely tells him he is sorry. Then we are introduced to the true dark side of Jack Shepherd. He really snaps. He tackles Ben to the ground and beats him within an inch of his life. It's painful to watch, but satisfying too. After Ben has been beaten unconscious, Jack goes Liam Neeson when he picks up the walkie and tells Tom that he is going to get his people rescued, then he is gonna find him and kill him. Oh and Jack makes a lot of other death threats afterward. I liked this new turn for Jack and plus any form of battles of wits, fists, or guns on the Island is a feast for my eyes. This was an intense, gritty, and compelling scene. A great dual of the two leaders.

That's the first half of my round up of my favorite moments from the TV saga Lost. Season 4 will be coming soon. Thanks for reading.

Reform passed/score one for the left

"Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend for itself, it will do more for if you paralyze by encumbering it with remedies." - Leo Tolstoy

I really gotta stop using quotes that even I can't fathom.

Okay after much deliberation in the last few months and a long drawn out battle between the right wing and the left wing, the healthcare reform is passed. Now President Obama has been talking about healthcare reform since like the second he got into office. How we should have universal healthcare every person living in the United States can afford and have access to before dying in the lobby of some emergency room. I like this idea, healthcare for years has been a system in which doctors milk you dry or deny health insurance however they can. You know how you can't get insurance if you had a pre-existing condition, I remember a story at one point in which a girl stricken with cancer was denied insurance because of her pre-existing condition: acne. Yeah when a hospital makes you a poor victim of cancer because of acne, you know healthcare's fucked up. And how about a personal story from the Guru himself? Alright, so a couple of years ago I had a terrible tooth infection that kept me out of school for more than two weeks and my face swelled up and hurt like hell. Finally I was taken to the dentist, they managed to pull out the infectious tooth but told my mom to take me to the ER to get a second opinion and maybe be taken care of better than the dentist could. I hadn't been to any hospital in years, and my mom a lot longer. When we got there, we waited in the lobby for about two hours until they finally saw to us. And then I spent another two hours lying on a bed watching TV while the doctor/nurse was "going to be back". In the end all I got out of these four hours was three things: I got to watch The Simpsons and Seinfeld, I got doped up real good with an IV, and the doctor told us we should see a dentist. Now isn't that helpful. And you know what my parents got out of that four hours of nothing? Nearly bankrupt. God bless America.

Now the right as always is bitching a storm like the control freak it is. All I've heard from them is a neverending chant of healthcare is evil, healthcare is faschist, healthcare is socialist. Yeah mainly that's all they've said: the healthcare reform is socialist and the republican masses have followed suit. Funny that they did so, considering most of them probably couldn't even tell you what socialism is. According to internet sources, socialism is a system where the government can have control of virtually all aspects of a society. It also states that everyone within the society gets their share (not bad, the wealthy have had theirs for so long, it's time the rest of us get some too). We've hit another level of hypocrisy when a group of people whose main trait is having control of our society uses that same thing as the pinata. Everyone says this supposedly socialist reform is the first step toward a socialist form of government. Seriously. I don't know what fantasy world these guys have lived in for the past decade, but I lived in the Bush-Cheney America. Does anyone remember fear of the Patriot Act, that was complete with spy planes and talk of tapping phones all over the country. The government already has control, they can do whatever they want. I was a paranoid bastard back then, and now when all of that is over and I get a small sigh of relief, everyone gets paranoid of a guy who means well and is trying to do good for the entire nation. I'm sure other people out there (high and mighty bigots no doubt) will be enraged by the everyone gets a share policy of this reform. I'd advise them to grow up and get with the times. This isn't the 17th century, its not only WASPs who are getting healthcare anymore. Everyone in this country has a right to good health, be it the law abiding the upper class, the bong smoking middle class, or the shanty town lower class.

Once again, I can't stress that I am only sixteen, with a very limited knowledge of the big picture of politics, but I am smart enough to know that we live in a time of change. I suppose I am liberally bias toward this whole situation. Hilary Clinton made promises and failed to get us better healthcare back in the 1990s when I was just emerging into this world. I was born with cleft lip and was given enough surgeries to look normal. Let it be said, I am no Phantom of the Opera, just have a scar. But now as I'm getting older, my face is stretching out and the surgery will eventually come undone. I talked about how getting nothing from the hospital nearly bankrupted my family, imagine what surgery at Reilly Hospital would cost.

Okay too personal, back on topic. To end off, I say I am happy about this reform. I hope it gives more than it takes from the people of America in years to come. There were a lot of moments I was sure this would not pass, like when Ted Kennedy's senate spot was lost to a once nude posing Republican. For anyone who says Obama has not done anything since his election here you go.

This has been a not so modest return to politics from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.

My Top Lost Season 2 Moments

Continuing to delve into my favorite moments of Lost, we go into season 2 where perspectives change, mysteries are unearthed, and new challenges arise that could go beyond simple survival against nature. Here are my Top Lost Season 2 Moments.

SPOILERS AGAIN!!!

10. Hurley against food

"Everything is going to change." - Dream Jin

When Hurley discovers the food storage inside The Hatch, he is at once stupified by the vast amount of food, but that fades as he is put in charge of it all for everyone. With this new responsibility of guarding the food, Hurley realizes that the decisions he makes to give and not to give will make him hated like he did when winning the lottery back in the real world. Not being able to take the pressure, Hurley decides the best course of action is to destroy the food storage room with dynamite. Rose, wise castaway and Hurley's partner in food rationing, comes along and talks him out of it however. Hurley decides to lift the burden by simply handing out food for everyone. In the end they all love him. I especially loved when Hurley tried to tell like it is to Jack, but Jack seemed totally okay with the food drive because Hurley was the one in charge of it. It was a good character subplot.

9. Season Opening

"Make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along!" - Mama Cass Elliot

A major plot point of season 1 was the mystery of The Hatch. At season 1's finale, a group finally managed to get the Hatch open, hoping to find shelter inside. Season 2 opens up in what seems to be an entirely new setting. A man wakes up in a really comfortable looking pad complete with oakwood furniture, tons of books, a kitchen, a workout area, everything. He also enters some familiar numbers into an old fashioned computer that sets a timer all the way back. Then his peaceful morning routines are interrupted when an earth shattering kaboom shakes his place. On a dime, he hops into a jumpsuit, opens up an armory and grabs some guns and uses an elaborate surveillance system that points to a mirror. The mirror reflects the image of our castaway heroes Jack Shepherd and John Locke, who have just blown up The Hatch and are looking at what was inside. This was a cool way to open your second season. Not two minutes in and we already have a new level of mystery to the Island.

8. Why we shouldn't trust Henry Gale

"Wow, you guys have got some serious trust issues around here." - Henry Gale

The castaways eventually find a man in the jungle named Henry Gale, who claims to have been alone on the Island for months. Some believe he is honest, some believe he is one of The Others, the Island's mysterious native group. After some brutal interrogation by Sayid and a reasonable talking to from new castaway Ana Lucia, Henry draws a map to where he crashed on the Island. At this point, Jack and Locke release him and allow him to eat in the Hatch. Here he finds out that they didn't know about the map and arrogantly proceeds to taunt them about the possibility that he really is an Other and if he is than maybe the map he drew was actually the spot of an ambush. At this point when Jack and Locke and the audience are totally on edge, Henry ends the episode casually asking: "You guys got any milk?" A surprising turn for a character I was seriously believing to be sincere beforehand. Considering what later becomes of Mr. Gale, this was just glorious.

7. Sawyer and Michael on the current

"Home, sweet home." - Sawyer

This is the second plot mainly focused on at the season's beginning, next to The Hatch exploration. During their attempt to find help in the open waters, the raft team (Michael, Walt, Sawyer, and Jin) were found by a small boat. The people on board turned out to be The Others, who proceeded to shoot Sawyer, take Walt, and blow up the raft. I thought all of the scenes with Michael and Sawyer on the raft wreckage was great (Jin disappeared after diving in). Michael is grief stricken over his failure to save his son; Sawyer digs a bullet out of his shoulder with his fingers; a shark attacks; they bicker like an old angry couple. My favorite part of course is when the current carries them back to the Island, where they get over their anger toward each other and decide that they will get Walt back. All of these scenes were gold.

6. Hiding from the Others

"Shh..." - Mr. Eko

After Michael, Sawyer, and Jin get back to the shore they are found by people from their plane (Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko, Bernard, Libby, Cindy) who crashed on the other side of the Island. Michael immediately breaks from the group to look for his son. Jin goes looking for him and Mr. Eko follows. During their search however, there are whispers. Eko silences Jin and they hide in the bushes. Here we get a ground shot of several pairs of dirty feet walking past. It is The Others. The last drags behind a tied up teddy bear. This makes for one of the creepiest moments of Lost. It's a hold your breath kind of moment. You just didn't know what to make of it.

5. Sayid interrogates Henry

"My name is Sayid Jarrah, and I am a torturer." - what he said

When they first find Henry Gale, who was just shot by resident crazy lady Danielle Rousseaue, Sayid is told that Henry is one of The Others and that he will lie for a long time. With the death of his beloved Shannon just recently, Sayid was already extremely unhinged and Henry was the perfect candidate to vent his rage. The interrogation of Henry Gale was a great way to introduce this character who is/seems unnerved, confused, and frightened. We get his backstory: a rich retiree from Minnesota who went for a casual hot air balloon ride with wifey when all of a sudden CRASH! Sayid ain't buying the story or the physical state of this man. He comes to a point where Sayid gets furious when Henry can't recall exactly how deep he buried his wife. When Henry tries to find out who he lost, Sayid goes berserk and begins beating him to a pulp before Jack stops him. At this point we are not sure whether Sayid did what he did out of anger over Shannon's death or his certainty that Henry is lying. His end episode conversation with Charlie answers the question: it's both.

4. The end of The Hatch

"I don't know what made you stop believing, but it's all real." - Desmond Hume

By the end of the season John Locke has unfortunately lost all sense of faith and purpose on The Island or for his life. Pushing the button in The Hatch to save the world, which he believed was destiny, for him now was a form of humiliation and slavery. But the other, unwavering man of faith, Mr. Eko, was not willing to stop pushing the button. Locke and Desmond, also tired of The Hatch, manage to lock Eko out while they let the timer drop to zero. While Eko and Charlie try to get inside, Desmond soon realizes that the one day he didn't push the button and everything in the Hatch went crazy was the day the castaways' plane had crashed. The still unconvinced Locke destroys the computer to push the button, forcing Desmond to go down below to flip the termination switch with an unspecified result. As Eko breaks in and the timer hits zero, Locke sadly realizes he was wrong. Desmond flips the switch and for a moment the whole Island is shrouded in a "purple haze" of what was probably electromagnetic energy. We don't know what happens to the boys in the Hatch. I liked this because there was great coverage of all characters linked to The Hatch: we discovered how disillusioned Locke was over his failures in pursuit of Island destiny; we discover Desmond is not a coward like everyone in his life thought; and we see just how far Eko will go for his faith.

3. Jack, Locke, and The Button

"It's why it's called a leap of faith, Jack." - John Locke

When they enter the Hatch and discover that pretty much all that was inside was a miserable Scotsman entering Hurley's cursed numbers into a computer to supposedly save the world, the two castaway leaders were divided in their opinions. Jack felt that the whole thing was some scientist's mind game and that nothing would happen if the timer counting down to the world's end hit zero. Locke felt that inside was the next step in his search for destiny and that the button to enter the codes must be pushed. After a long chain of events in which the computer is damaged and then restored at the end, a final confrontation is had between Jack and Locke. Locke enters the numbers but wants Jack to push the button to enter them. Jack refuses believing it is all crazy. Then there is a great line that symbolizes the "man of science, man of faith" duality between the two:

Locke: Why do you find it so hard to believe?
Jack: Why do you find it so easy?!
Locke: It has never been easy!

After this, Locke opens up and tells him he can't find his way without Jack's help and that he has to have an open mind and take a leap of faith. Jack finally pushes the button and the timer resets. And here truly begins the rivalry between Jack and Locke.

2. Eko vs. The Monster

"Tikatikatikatikatika..." - The Monster

Every castaway on Lost seems to be fighting two battles: one against their past, another against the forces on the Island. It would seem that Mr. Eko, a Nigerian priest and tail section survivor, was the first to face one of the Island's greatest and most violent forces: The Monster. This began when Eko forced Charlie to lead him to the downed Nigerian drug smuggling plane (sounds weird, eh?). During their trek, Eko made Charlie climb a tree to try to find the plane. Eko and Charlie both witness The Monster approach. It does it's usual thing, tearing down trees, making strange mechanical noises, and speeding through the jungle. Charlie urged Eko to climb the tree, but the prayer club wielding priest stood his ground as The Monster got in his face and a stare down ensued. Aside from Season 1 finale's brief glimpses, this is the first time we really see the Monster. It is, bare with me, what appears to be a huge floating column of black smoke. Then something even more mysterious than The Monster itself happens: in a 360 degree angle around Eko and Smokie, we see brief flashes inside The Monster. If played slowly, streaks of electricity and images from Eko's past can be seen. After a moment, The Monster leaves. This is also the beginning of The Monster's apparent attempts to lead Eko astray by various means. Considering what we now know about The Monster, I can't help but think that out of all of the castaways Mr. Eko was the one The Monster saw as its greatest obstacle.

1. Meeting The Others

"This is not your Island. This is our Island, and the only reason you're living on it is because we let you live on it." - Mr. Friendly

Michael goes searching for his son by himself soon enough. Jack, Sawyer and Locke go looking for him. At nightfall, Locke loses Michael's trail and as he and Jack argue. One of the main Others, nicknamed "Mr. Friendly", approaches the group. I just loved everything about this scene. To me it is the moment when Lost truly descended into action thriller territory. Jack demands to know what has happened to Michael and Walt. "Friendly" makes it very clear that the castaways are intruders and will be dealt with if they won't give up. When Jack states his belief that there are not that many Others, "Friendly" shouts "LIGHT EM UP!" And then over a dozen torches ignite in the trees surrounding them. "Friendly" draws a line dividing the Others territory and the castaways territory and demands that they surrender their guns and go home. When Jack stubbornly refuses, "Friendly" brings out Kate, who he captured when she followed Jack. The men give up their guns when "Friendly" threatens to kill her. I also loved Sawyer's line to "Friendly", who had shot Sawyer on the raft in Season 1: "You and me ain't done, Zeke." With that The Others leave. This is the first taste of Island warfare in the series and it was invigorating to see. Loved this scene.

Goodbye Corey Haim

Yes, it looks as if the rather rapid trend of celebrity deaths is inevitably going to spill over into this new decade of ours. One of the first victims worthy of note is actor Corey Haim, who died this morning of what was most likely an accidental drug overdose. Now I am familiar with Haim mostly because I am a huge fan of the 80s vampire classic The Lost Boys, which also featured the second Corey: Feldman. Haim's fame did indeed blossom with the frequent collaborations with fellow young actor Corey Feldman. They collaborated so much that people even just called them The Two Coreys. While Haim never left as much of an impact on me as Feldman in terms of acting (Feldman at least could act), it is still sad that he died. Even worse is I just saw Haim in a cameo role in Crank 2: High Voltage. It was a shame he never broke away from being casted as weak and whiney douchebags, but hey he was there and I laughed. It's sad seeing any person go, but now we've also lost a little piece of pop culture. In all honesty, I thought Feldman would die first and a lot sooner. But alas there is only one Corey now. The world keeps on spinning however. Perhaps I will mourn Corey Haim by watching The Lost Boys when he was in his acting prime. I will wait patiently to see who The Reaper claims next.

This has been the first long goodbye of 2010 from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.

The Hurt Locker Review

"War is a drug." - tagline

Indeed it is...

Okay so if you watched the Oscars last night, you know that The Hurt Locker exceeded all expectations and took away the biggest awards that were pretty much expected to go to James Cameron for Avatar. You know how much I love Avatar for being a new, revolutionary experience in terms of it's genre and filmmaking itself. While The Hurt Locker doesn't exactly stand as a pioneer for new filmmaking technology and such, it is definitely a new experience.

I made it a mission to watch it before Oscar season came around because there had been a lot of buzz about it being the number one contender to beat out my beloved Avatar. I managed to watch it on Friday night, two days before Oscar Night. The experience was breathtaking.

It is a new kind of war movie, one of the best certainly. I rank it up there with Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and Jarhead. It most resembles Jarhead in how it chronicles the effects of war in Iraq on soldiers. But where Jarhead described in detail the tedious tasks, inadequacy and overall boredom of the Gulf War soldiers, The Hurt Locker focuses on the intense situations, vicious obstacles, and the total danger the EOD soldiers in Iraq deal with day and day out. These guys' lives are not boring, but they certainly are a lot more difficult to face. The men of Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) units respond to situations in which explosives are the threat. The film opens with an EOD squad losing their squad leader (Guy Pearce) to one of the many destructive bombs they've encountered. His replacement, a specialist, Sgt. Will James (Jeremy Renner, one of this year's Best Actor nominees). From the first moments of his first day on the job, his teammates, consisting of professional Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and timid Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), know he is not going to make their situation any better. He disobeys orders, ignores the team, puts the lives of his team and many others in danger, all to make the job as difficult as possible. We soon learn that disposing bombs for James is not a stress inducing job but an addiction he has grown fond of. A risk addiction. James is a danger junkie. The EOD would, if possible, like to disable all bombs with rover machines that do the job remotely, with them far away. James likes to be up close and personal, like it's a duel. This puts Sanborn and Eldridge on edge throughout, as they try to get through their tour without being killed by bombs, the shifty locals, or their reckless teammate.

The filmmaking aspects of this film are extraordinary. Before watching it I had almost no doubt that James Cameron would win Best Director for all of his craft and imagination, but Kathryn Bigelow (Cameron's ex-wife) brings so much raw power and realism to the story by former jouranlist Mark Boal that the you can almost feel the heat and the flies on your skin too. The film is shot in shaky cam. In fact, it is the shakiest shaky cam I've ever seen in a movie that wasn't shot in a documentary type fashion. This can be disorienting for some audiences, but I think that is the desired effect. Bigelow does everything she possibly can to make this harsh and nerveracking film get under your skin. The action scenes are not fun at all. This is not a complaint but a compliment, because I hate war movies that try to have fun action scenes. You can admire it here because not even a top actor you've just met can be spared. The film has some of the biggest and most destructive explosions I've ever seen, which is good considering the film is about guys who spend their days disabling bombs. I particularly loved the shot of dust rising from the ground in slow motion as the bomb activated. You feel just kind of sickened when you see a man standing next to a bomg, it goes off, he disappears in an envelope of fire and debris, and once the dust settles nothing is left but "a helmet and some hairs" as our characters point out. Also the most intense and probably realistic sniper scene in a movie takes place, featuring our main characters teaming up with a British commando squad led by a badass Ralph Fiennes. Now there's my movie. The acting is key as it is with any movie. Sure we usher in big stars like Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pierce in cameos, but we have the three main performers to give the big performances. A couple of stars I know from TV are here in good roles but small ones, Christian Camargo (A villain on Dexter) plays the good natured but naive military psychiatrist and Evangeline Lilly (Kate from Lost) stars as Renner's distant wife. Anthony Mackie (that guy that Eminem owned at the end of 8 Mile), who has been rising in the acting business profoundly over the past decade, will no doubt receive total star billing after this movie. Brian Gehraghty, who I've seen play guys with little confidence, plays a guy with significantly more confidence but is still unsure of himself and he does it well. But of course the real star here is Jeremy Renner, who steals the show with his gung ho and extremely complex role as Will James. Here is another character like Wikus from District 9 who is completely multi dimensional. Sometimes he is a cool guy, other times a frustrating jerk, and then sometimes you just want to kill him like his teammates. It is not until he has bomb disposal taken away from him that we realize exactly how he thinks. But yeah Renner, totally deserving of the nomination and totally convincing as this crazy guy.

Some war movies, at the center, only hope to serve the purpose of sending an anti war message or serving either the liberal or conservative points of view. The Hurt Locker, however, is only about it's soldiers and what this war, this job, has done to them. Be it the shellshocked mental states of the two saner teammates who act as the audience or the danger junkie who deals with it by playing a personal game between himself and the bomb. It doesn't shy away from showing the Iraqis to be easy to stereotype. When it seems like a local one of the soldiers knew has been killed, his teammates wonder how could he know seeing as how "they all look the same." These soldiers don't have much of a connection to their environment and it's people, but then how could they when anyone of them could be trading information, ready to fire a gun, or dialing a number that activates an explosive. These characters, that the movie is invested in more so than the politics, are complex and human; they don't always do things that make you respect them or even like them, especially James who is just absolutely frustrating. The rest of the army, the whole war in fact seems to be an annoyance to him. The whole film showcases how tired soldiers are of the damn war and the danger, and how some can't think of a world without it. It would seem as if many veterans, no matter what life they live after their time as a soldier, always have the war in their hearts and minds like a hell they willed themselves to call home.

Kathryn Bigelow was before noted for being the best female action director, now she is noted as the first female director to win an Oscar. After watching The Hurt Locker I felt that she would receive the Best Director Award but I was a bit surprised that it won for Best Picture. No doubt it was deserving, but a part of me really thought Avatar would have claimed that. Like James Cameron's, I've liked almost all of the films I've seen of hers (Point Break, Near Dark, Blue Steel, and the very awesome Strange Days). All of these films are about boys and girls who are way in over their heads with guns and violence. The Hurt Locker is her biggest one yet. It is a stunner, a powerful epic story that doesn't want anymore than the audience's attention and contemplation. It may very well have been the best movie of 2009, though not necessarily my favorite. See it and experience it.

This has been yet ANOTHER REVIEW from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.