Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
Movie Watch
Meet Charlie Baileygates, a 17-year veteran of the Rhode Island police force. Charlie is...
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Movie Watch
Two-time Oscar®-winner Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a...
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated American Sniper (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
American Sniper sees Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle in his second movie with “American” in the title (see 2013’s American Hustle). Most of us know the story of Chris Kyle, but for those that don’t here’s a quick rundown. Chris Kyle is the most lethal sniper in American history with 160 confirmed kills as a Navy SEAL, and another 95 probable kills. He served four tours, and wrote a book about his life. This film is based on that book. It tells the story of how he was influenced by his father, joined the military, and then went on to serve four tours while trying to balance his life at home with his wife and children. Acting as the true Sheepdog to all in his life, American Sniper looks at the struggle Kyle went through, and tells the story with passion and respect.
Cooper did a fantastic job portraying Texas-native Kyle. He was almost unrecognizable onscreen, as he put in 8 months of prep to get ready for this role, including a 4-hour a day training regime, and another two with a vocal coach. It was even said that some of Kyle’s brothers-in-arms who helped train Cooper and serve as consultants on the movie could feel his presence through Cooper at the end of training and all throughout filming. Sienna Miller was a great compliment to Cooper’s performance as Taya Kyle, Chris’ wife and the mother of his children. And not surprisingly, Clint Eastwood knocked it out of the park in this go at the Director’s chair. This is his best movie in years, though one would hope so with Chris Kyle’s father threatening to unleash hell if the memory of his son was disrespected with the film.
Mr. Kyle’s passing was a tragic event for those that knew him, and even those that did not know him. I think he may rest well knowing that this film, adapted from his own auto-biography, was handled beautifully with such passion and respect. If I have one issue with the film, it was the rapidity at which things progressed. So many different events packed into 15 minute segments with time just seemed to be rushing like a river, and glossing over parts of the story that could really have used some more build up or exploring. But such is the case when adapting a movie from a book. Though I am sure that movie-goers would not have minded lengthy the movie a bit, even with a run-time of 132 minutes.
If you see one movie this month, let it be American Sniper. If you have not heard of Chris Kyle, or his story, go see American Sniper. Hopefully, the Legend will live on through the lives he touched, and saved.
Chris Marker
Sarah Cooper, Diana Holmes and Robert Ingram
Book
Since the early 1950s, Chris Marker has embraced different filmmaking styles as readily as he has...
Pixels (2015)
Movie Watch
When aliens intercept video feeds of classic arcade games and misinterpret them as a declaration of...
True Blood - Season 3
TV Season
Sookie Stackhouse and the townspeople of Bon Temps face a new calamity--ushered in by the Vampire...
Twin Peaks - Season 1
TV Season
In the quiet town of Twin Peaks, Washington, homecoming queen Laura Palmer is found dead, naked and...
The Patriot (2000)
Movie Watch
In 1776 South Carolina, widower and legendary war hero Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) finds himself...
Craig Brewer recommended Matewan: A Luta Final (1987) in Movies (curated)
Cars 3 (2017)
Movie Watch
Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen (voice of...