Dec 19th  
Zero Dark Thirty**  
(US 2012)
Columbia/First Light/Annapurna. 157m.

The hunt for Osama Bin Laden, instigated by a persevering female CIA agent over the course of 8 years.
Any film connected with September 11th curiously resembles a typical fictional terrorist action thriller, and this one is no exception, with two hours of half-coherent dialogue, sadistic torture scenes and occasional striking moments of sudden violence, and as little American understanding of the environment or culture as the principal characters in the film - but the tense last hour charting the actual commando mission is worth the wait.

Written by: Mark Boal.
Producers: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Megan Ellison.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow.
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Kyle Chandler, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Stephen Dillane, James Gandolfini.
Photography: Greig Fraser.
Music: Alexandra Desplat.
Editing: Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg.

+ the screenplay was originally written as the failed hunt for Osama Bin Laden, then completely revised once history took over