'The Hurt Locker' (2008)
Simultaneously an intimate psychological portrait and an action-drenched war epic, it deftly conveys the complexities of the Iraq War with stomach-churning suspense. This best picture Oscar winner also made Academy Award history when director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to receive an Oscar for directing. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty do a superb job portraying a trio of courageous soldiers whose dangerous assignment is to dismantle bombs.
