Jamie Lee Curtis

Bill Murray learns a thing or two about the spirit of Christmas in Richard Donner's 'Scrooged.'

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

With Christmas, Kwanzaa and Festivus just a week away, the holiday season is in full swing, the malls are packed with last-minute shoppers, and the city's indie theaters are playing host to some of the year's most satisfying films.

Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) takes aim in The Hurt Locker.

Courtesy Summit Entertainment

Americans have made their will known at the polls and the box office, and the message is clear: Our military presence in the Middle East is only slightly less popular than the movies inspired by it. The Hurt Locker may not change that sentiment, which felled recent offerings like Ridley Scott’s underrated Body of Lies and the equally overlooked Rendition, but that takes nothing away from Kathryn Bigelow’s most gripping thriller to date.