Kathryn Bigelow's directing style?

So as you may know Kathryn Bigelow won the Academy Award for best director and her film “The Hurt Locker” won best picture.

So I’m not fairly familiar with her work so I decided to take a look back at her films. “Near Dark,” “Point Break,” and “Strange Days.”

The thing that has me is that I can’t really place my finger on what makes her films so unique. Don’t get me wrong, I know something is there, just not sure what. It’s especially because “The Hurt Locker” doesn’t seem to have the same characteristics that I’ve noticed.

The two things that seem to show the most are insecure/underpowered lead male roles being helped by strong female supporting characters, and the blend of topics you don’t normally place together. (vampires and cowboys, surfers and cops, etc…)

How would you describe her directing style?