What's the best way to go about disarming one of these things?

The way you don't die, sir.

The Hurt Locker is both the most suspenseful thriller and the scariest horror movie, because it’s all real.

Kathryn Bigelow takes us back to Baghdad in 2004 as we follow Bravo Company’s 35 day rotation. The movie focuses on the men who look death in the face each day, as they snip live wires from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that terrorize the city. The soldiers comb through abandoned, bombed out buildings like little swat teams, cautiously combing through the detritus for live explosives. There are very few scenes of hand to hand combat, which is one of the many ways this film stands apart from classic war cinema such as Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Apocalypse Now.

I held my breath the entire time, because it’s obvious from the onset that this movie has many casualties. Threats loom everywhere, as the old man on a cell phone is as likely as a teenager peddling bootleg movies to be the one holding the bomb detonator. Even if you are squeamish, watch it anyways. There are some things we should force ourselves to see, even if they make us uncomfortable.

With all the Avatar hoopla, I sadly did not expect Hurt Locker to stand a chance in the award show circuit. That may not be the case, as both films racked up 9 Oscar nominations each. Coupled with the fact that James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow used to be married - this is the most watchable media rivalry since Leno vs Conan.