“The Hurt Locker” is one of those movies where the story arc just kind of sneaks up on you when you’re not looking. It’s a lot like the situation that its principal characters find themselves in every day.

Bomb defusers must always be alert. A man on a cell phone peeking out from a doorway in Baghdad on a deserted street is a potential sign of danger for Bravo Company’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad (EOD), three U.S. Army soldiers who find themselves in unbearably tense situations on a regular basis.

These are the guys who get called in every time there is a car trunk that is suspiciously weighed down or an unidentifiable homemade device is found sticking out of a trash heap. Director Kathryn Bigelow is the perfect director to bring this story to life, having previously tackled men with adrenaline rush addictions in “Point Break” and “Strange Days.”

Because “The Hurt Locker” is told in an episodic fashion, dominated by several extremely tense EOD situations, a lot of character-building happens in those “action” scenes. Noticing the subtleties in how differently the men handle a sniper shoot-out or the defusing of an improvised explosive device is key to interpreting the non-political Iraq War film that Bigelow and former embedded journalist/screenwriter Mark Boal have made.

For some soldiers, their situation is deceptively simple. As the quote from New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges that opens the film says, “War is a drug.”

Jeremy Renner plays Staff Sgt. James, the new hotshot leader of the EOD team. Don’t let the term “hotshot” fool you, however. James is not the Maverick-“Top Gun” type in the typical gung-ho military film. That particular role in “The Hurt Locker” is a small one—a macho colonel played by David Morse, who goads James into admitting that he has defused 873 bombs. He may keep his head low and not like to brag, but James clearly keeps track. The title of the film comes from a box of wires and parts he keeps under his cot that almost killed him.

By-the-books Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) is counting down the days left in Bravo Company and wants what James has back home—a family. But when James stares right through a picture of his son, the picture of what James has become gets a little more clear. Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), on the other hand, can’t take the stress anymore and wants out immediately. Confidence for him comes in the most unlikely of places during one intense battle when James encourages Eldridge to be a better soldier.

Even though James is clearly dangerous to the squad (which seems always on the verge of collapse), he might also be crucial. “The Hurt Locker” blurs this line constantly. Although he is assured and precise when it’s time to defuse something, his emotions get the best of him when he ventures outside of that (un)safe zone. Renner internalizes everything in a riveting, natural performance that doesn’t follow the traditional showy style of Oscar-caliber stuff—but he just might sneak in there to get a nomination next year, depending on the amount of higher-profile competition.

The action scenes are delivered with an emphasis on the real and the unexpected. Bigelow ramps up the visceral tension with help from cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, who also lensed the terrifying docudrama “United 93.”

“The Hurt Locker” only falls into familiarity with a couple scenes towards the end that thankfully are very short and don’t diminish the power of the rest of the movie too much. Boal’s screenplay is simple but effective and Bigelow delivers in spades on the suspense factor. The end result is a film that slowly works its way into your head (and James’) and will probably linger for quite a while there too.

Tags: 2009, bomb, diffuse, eod, film, ied, intense, iraq, jeremey renner, kathryn bigelow, movie review, review, the hurt locker, war

“The Incredible Hulk” director Louis Leterrier’s remake of “Clash of the Titans” will be filmed on backlots with lots of greenscreen digital backgrounds like Zack Snyder’s “300,” and will star Sam Worthington in the Harry Hamlin-originated role of Perseus. The only cause I see for celebration is that the movie is written by Lawrence Kasdan (”The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Body Heat”).

The original “Titans” was the last movie featuring the stop-motion genius of Ray Harryhausen and featured a hideous Medusa, a mechanical owl named Bubo, and the giant Kraken (found recently on my Top 10 Giant Monster Attacks! list). Zeus’ son Perseus is on a quest to save Princess Andromeda and he must jump through several hoops, including capturing Pegasus and slaying the snake-haired One.

Part of what made it so creepy and unreal was the stop-motion creatures, so I don’t know if straight-up CGI will be that interesting. Maybe there is a digital way to approximate the same jittery, otherworldly feel that Harryhausen’s creations had. That would be cool. Leterrier’s “Hulk” was just fine, a workmanlike combo of the TV show and comic, so I’m not expecting too much here, but Kasdan’s presence is reassuring.

Other Greek epics in production? Tarsem Singh’s “War of the Gods,” in which Theseus, a warrior from Greek mythology, leads a fight against the imprisoned titans. One thing that makes this story unique is that unlike some mythological tales, the Gods fight alongside mortals. with Tarsem (“The Fall”) on board, this could be visually stunning. Let’s hope it’s not also incoherent, like his earlier “The Cell.”

Brett Ratner’s “God of War” is based on a popular videogame and takes place in ancient Greece where the warrior Kratos, who tackles mythological beasts such as Medusa, Cyclops and the Hydra, is on a quest to find Pandora’s Box and destroy Ares, the God of war. with the recent announcement of the above two pictures, though, Ratner is going to have an uphill climb. This seems like the one that will benefit the most from being released first, if only because the others will probably be more visually stunning and cutting edge.

And then there’s the rumored “300″ sequel. (Which is really weird, considering that the 300 Spartans are all dead.) Well, it’s kind of a prequel. But not really. It will take place somewhere between the Battle of Thermoplyae, which was fought during “300″ and the Battle of Platea, which is the battle that was started at the end of the film. But before any of this can be filmed, Frank Miller (who’s still finishing up directing duties on “The Spirit”) has to complete another graphic novel. Can you say overkill?

Tags: 300, brett, Clash, frank, gods, harryhausen, kasdan, lawrence, Leterrier, Louis, miller, of, prequel, ratner, ray, remake, sequel, singh, Tarsem, the, Titans, war, wars