The Hurt Locker

It's hard enough to make an action flick.

Action, meaning explosive and reckless; casualties are collateral damage. Present but distant danger.

But it's tougher to generate genuine fear. It's the suspense factor, featuring omnipresent danger - yet willingly clamoring into it, not knowing its spark or its exact whereabouts.

The Hurt Locker is more than suspense, it's suspense on HGH, it's one that's filmed so unflatteringly that there is no savior, no hero. Just survival, no glitz, no glory.

The one thing that is recognizable is Staff Sgt. William James' adrenaline rush as he recklessly throws himself into Iraq's hot-zone, where children and elders are equally capable of demolishing an entire block.

It's his recklessness, his cocky demeanor, his provincial view of life and death that give reason to the film's opening line: "War is a drug."

It's the different personalities that underline the uneasiness of war, guilt regret and hate. Dedication, pride victory and life. Style, skill smarts and no remorse.

Adrenaline.

Director Kathryn Bigelow knows the differences. These three personalities entwine to pool personalities that color war, not label it as good vs. evil.

In a sense, it's an explanation.

How some return and cannot function normally because it's too overwhelming.

How some come back without function.

How some return for the sake of their own survival.

In it's two hour span, The Hurt Locker makes sense of why war is a drug.

And why some flounder and some flourish.

SPL reveals rust, elbows

Nothing really outstanding.

Shaun Livingston makes another attempt at a comeback.

Russell Westbrook misses all three of his three point attempts and commits four turnovers. But still ends up with 22 points and 9 assists. Thanks to 16 free throw makes.

James Harden lives up to his third pick billing by scoring an efficient 17 points on 6/9 shooting including 2/3 from deep and 3/3 from the stripe.

Meanwhile the enigmatic Jrue Holiday shot 3/11, missed both long range attempts and committed 5 TO's, including two the in the overtime period that ultimately led to his team's demise.

The Sixers organization is still high on him. Perhaps too much so.

"We like Jrue Holiday," said new coach Eddie Jordan, who watched the combined Sixers/Nets team from behind the bench as Nets and Sixers assistants coached the players. "There's no fear . . . He's got a lot of point-guard mentality. A lot of point-guard personality."

His defensive mentality is the reason he wasn't picked apart too violently. Two blocks and four steals stymied former Iowa State point guard into a seven turnover performance.

Otherwise, the minority, namely Tyler Hansbrough, did manage to tally five fouls, much to the indignation of a Marreese Speights, who curtly told the minority to have a seat.

"(Hansbrough's) forearms, hips and elbows wreaked a measure of havoc in the second quarter, until consecutive fouls on Speights earned him a seat next to coach Jim O'Brien, not to mention Speights' displeasure.

As Speights toed the free throw line, he yapped toward Hansbrough. Hansbrough was poised to defend his honor as he left the court, but starting center Roy Hibbert, coming off the bench to replace him, cut between Hansbrough and Speights. At the same time, an official spoke to Speights."

Speights went on to have a field day.

Nothing new. And the minority should get used to sitting on the pine.

Nothing really outstanding.

The Nostalgia

Certain Laker fans must define their kinship to the team with nostalgia.

Remember Shaq? Quite fondly.

Caron? Quite so, but maybe more so because of Kwame. Maybe.

And so it begins again.

For the casual superficial follower - the ones who don the number 24, bring the noisemakers, and are more in awe of their fellow special spectators, namely Jack Nicholson among others - question virulently the recent off-season move that basically sent a very popular Trevor Ariza to the Rockets in exchange for the less than likable creature in Ron Artest.

Artest? The one who prima donna number 24 cemented to the Toyota Center months earlier?

The casehead who lost his cool when a gaunt elbow gazed his throat hair?

That one?

It was illogical at best.

Especially when the cost was the soft-spoken, athletic wing who became so endeared that his name morphed in a household commodity - within the span of a few games.

Game 1, Game 3 against the Nuggets, Ariza made the plays...

Because of the gorilla-armed, sugar-injected Lamar Odom.

The decisive game in the Finals. Ariza keyed a 16-0 run that suffocated the Magic chances of pulling anything out of the hat. Back-to-back threes included.

Because prima donna number 24 gave him a radius of 6 feet to get those shots off.

Now, bringing in someone like Artest, he of bigger physicque, of smaller brain, but of equal pride, could very admirably fit the role Ariza played. Conditionally. That's if everything goes as planned.

It eerily sounds like the doubts when Ariza took to the starting line-up.

Miss Luke starting? Hopefully not. The Onion wrote about prima donna number 24 winning despite the red-head. Yes, I quote the Onion.

But a keen, if not crude observation nonetheless.

Artest will be an improvement to the Laker offense.

He who missed 60% of his shots last year will be ghastly more efficient.

He who believes in Asian boys producing his next 67 copy selling album will add an attitude the team needs against the attitude from a so-called "Birdman," who twitter a war, conjuring up a "congratulations Ron Artest, now you get to wear purple while the Birdman flies over you," among others.

Or a team with an awkwardly dominant power forward and a playboy loving young center - along with a heady veteran and the reluctant facilitator, a wing with a defensive - and offensive attitude - both literally and figuratively - will be necessary to battle not only the orange-jumpsuited Nuggets, but also the resurgent East.

But in the end, it didn't need to be. Nostalgia-land could have been happier. Still.

Instead, Ariza was dictated by his agent, David Lee, who despite his claims of "it was never about the money," got his 5-year-deal worth over a million more each year than Kupchaks's.

Instead it seemed, at least from the media, that it was Ariza who wanted to establish himself on a floundering Rocket team.

It will be Ariza, like the '08-09 Artest, who will have to create his own shot and may very well flounder himself on a Yao Ming-less, McGrady-less, and most importantly, a Kobe-less team.

And so, prima donna 24 has found a fiery, gifted replacement more than capable of erasing the nostalgia.

But for now, the casual Laker fan is weeping.