by Luanne Paul King

The Hurt Locker

Kathryn Bigelow developed and directed this brilliant film revealing a hard truth: War is a drug. On location in Jordan, Bigelow used four handheld cameras to film a small group of actors playing U.S. soldiers deployed in post-invasion Baghdad, Iraq. They are tasked with defusing improvised explosive devices. Bigelow and cinematographer Barry Akroyd shot a million feet of film capturing the randomness of the men’s experience: moments of courage as well as fear; agonizing pain in the sweltering 110-degree heat; gratitude when an IED is destroyed; and nerve-wracking pursuit of terrorists hidden in buildings with intricately wired bombs already timed to detonate. For soldiers in the field, there is no letup. Even off-duty hours rarely release any tension.

We see the trio of soldiers completing the last 38 days of their last year’s deployment. Writer Mark Boal drew on his own experience as a reporter in Iraq, where he spent time with an explosive ordinance disposal squad in 2004. He embeds us with Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). If you met civilian James, you wouldn’t be impressed. But as the new leader of a bomb-disposal squad, he is unflappable, even strangely happy. James instinctively knows where IEDs are. He even befriends a young Iraqi boy who vows to “hook him up.” James risks his life to disassemble IEDs alone — to the disdain of Sgt. Sanborn, who hates James’ adrenaline-fueled grandstanding.

2 hours, 7 minutes. Rated R; contains war-related violence.

In the Loop

This film, directed by Amando Iannucci, is a hilarious study of differences between British and American staffs working on international affairs. British and American heads of state feel the need to rush into war with an unnamed Middle Eastern country. The film is a satire of how decisions of top policy makers get muddled by incompetent underlings who are anxious about their careers, love affairs and the bullying of the Downing Street media director Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi).

Tucker becomes furious with Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), a minister who said in an interview that war was “unforeseeable,” and later says that Britain might have to “climb the mountain of conflict.” Tucker shouts that Foster sounds like a “Nazi Julie Andrews.” But Foster’s remarks net him an invitation to Washington where both doves and hawks try to recruit him.

Since Foster is being taken seriously by Americans, who supposedly have true power in the world, a covey of British legal eagles head for Washington, D.C. and New York, and take Foster with them. In the U.S., they are overwhelmed by American nests of power and articulate their support for whatever war America wants. Only American General Miller (James Gandolfini) has the guts to confront Tucker. One should see this film more than once to savor the delicious writing and fine acting.

106 minutes. Not rated. Contains strong language.