The Hurt Locker

Kathryn Bigelow is only the fourth woman ever to be nominated for the Best Director Oscar. “The Hurt Locker,” follows a three-man Explosive Ordnance Disposal team around Baghdad in 2004, as the insurgency was cresting — and the tension doesn’t let up for a minute. Bigelow told Kurt that she cast unknown actors to keep audiences guessing: “If it’s a very well-known face in the lead role, you’re going to anticipate he can’t die.”