Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Also up for best picture at this year's Oscars is Katherine Bigalow's Zero Dark Thirty, the story of the finding and killing of Osama Bin Laden. For ten years the mastermind of the 9/11 bombings went free and some believed he might never be captured, if he was even alive in the first place.

It's testament to the political value of a Bin Laden death that the CSI never gave up the search. It's a big world out there to find one human being, even one as infamous as Bin Laden.

I was a big fan of Bigalow`s last feature The Hurt Locker. I don't think she will win her second Oscar for Best Director or Best Picture for Zero Dark Thirty but her effort is Oscar worthy.

I love how the story flashes forward over a decade of dead ends and faint hopes. Then we are taken on the mission to end all missions. It's a remarkable story.

The scenes of torture are as disturbing as advertised. 9/11 changed the playing field, perhaps for all time. 'Enhanced Interrogation' became the buzzword. We will never know how truly effective these methods were because the point where a person breaks and tells their captors what they want to hear is different for everyone.

Jessica Chastain is always interesting to look at though I must admit I worried about her delicate skin in the harsh dessert sun. Her character is given credit for following the trail the longest but she is really just an amalgamation of all the people who worked putting this operation together or keeping it going in the darkest times.

I can only imagine how it would feel to be in the CSI, to be on the Bin Laden desk and to watch terrorist bombings all over the world thinking that they could have been prevented.

I know the story but that doesn't keep me from remaining riveted to the screen.