Not a horror question (with the exception of Near Dark, I guess), but thoughts on Kathryn Bigelow as a director?
Right now I lean towards vastly overrated but that could change as my opinion of her has changed a lot over the years. Before she made Strange Days (a movie that Bigelow supporters would say showed her true talents as a director but that I thought was just a great concept with shitty execution) I would have thought of her as a talented, underrated director with a lot of potential. Near Dark is a great horror film, Blue Steel is a very good, female-lead action film, and Point Break is a fucking action classic (easily the pinnacle of Swayze-as-action-star along with Roadhouse).
After this, though, Bigelow's movies weren't that good. I've already voiced my opinion about Strange Days, The Weight of Water was a failed attempt at some family crime-drama-mystery I don't even fucking know what that hot mess was, and, well, we all know about the infamy that is K-19: The Widowmaker, the death knell of Harrison Ford's time as one of the world's biggest movie stars.
Fast forward a few years to The Hurt Locker, an excellent film that I thought deserved all of its accolades and showcased Bigelow's true talents. However, four years later, she comes out with another Middle-East-themed military/government drama-thriller penned by Mark Boal. Is it Bigelow's talent we're witnessing or is it the making of an idiot-proof, impeccable screenplay?
If Bigelow can pull off a film just as good as The Hurt Locker that isn't written by Boal and that doesn't have to do with US-Middle East relations, then my opinion of her is going to change for the better. Right now, though, I just see her as a competent, above-average filmmaker who lucked her way into greatness.
