Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Entertainment Weekly says that director Kathryn Bigelow has invented her own genre with "Zero Dark Thirty." They call it "investigative drama."

I call "Zero Dark Thirty" a terrifying, heart-pounding, must-see film that is so meticulously created that you'll find it difficult to believe that you are not watching a documentary of exactly how Osama Bin Laden was located and killed. Sure, we're not supposed to believe films as true accounts of history. But if this film is so far off, why are members of Congress currently investigating Bigelow's creative team for links to breaches of national security? Part of the experience of viewing "Zero Dark Thirty" is in the giving in to it and believing that this is what happened. Do we have enough information to know otherwise?

Once again enlisting the help of Mark Boal, her co-contributor as screenwriter of their Oscar-winning effort "The Hurt Locker," Bigelow and company return again to the Middle East and recapture a level of tense suspense the likes of which I haven't seen since, well, "The Hurt Locker." The only other film that has matched this level of excitement this year has been "Argo," and in a funny coincidence, both co-star Kyle Chandler. So for 2012, it's clear that Coach Taylor = suspense!

Moments of cerebral investigation are broken apart without warning via acts of shocking violence, making "Zero Dark Thirty" feel like as much of a thriller as it feels like a History Channel masterclass. And that final raid? It's as intense as you imagined it would be.

Visit here again for a full review of what is sure to be one of the front-runners for Oscar.