the hurt locker

Closing Tabs started as a weekly look at news we didn’t cover on the site throughout the week. As the site has grown, however, we’ve moved away from reporting most news (you can catch most of it regurgitated on other sites anyway) in favor of more original opinions and editorials.

It's our annual pre-Oscar round up. Listen as Rafe, Margaret, and Jeff round up all the contenders and pick which movies they expect to take home awards next Sunday. Will the recent Hurt Locker controversy cost the movie its statue? Is ten selections for best picture too many? Just what is the value of Jeff's life in a bet?

Entering the domain of the war movie is tricky territory. No longer will the positive propagandist pictures of the past or the campy patriotic cheers be acceptable. Just as news coverage of war has gotten grittier and realistic over time, so too our movies have had to evolve.

We're in the doldrums of the year, so we don't have a ton to talk about in the way of new reviews, but there have been several stories building with a similar theme: studio interference.