The Flash - Season 3
7.5
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After being struck by lightning, Barry Allen wakes up from his coma to discover he's been given the...
Moneyball (2011)
7.7
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Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), general manager of the Oakland A's, one day has an epiphany: Baseball's...
eCommerce Momentum Podcast
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Ecommerce MOMENTUM is a podcast created for you, the Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, Shopify seller, or the Next...
Shrek (2001)
8.1
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Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) whose precious...
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated American Sniper (2015) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Here, Eastwood directs Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller in his latest offering, American Sniper, but does it stand as one of the better films on his resume?
American Sniper follows the story of Chris Kyle, a decorated marksman in the US military at a time when the war against terror strikes fear into the hearts of practically everyone across the globe.
An Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper plays the lead role beautifully, in what is the best performance of his career, while Sienna Miller makes a welcome return to the big screen as his loyal wife Taya.
As the film plays out, we see the duo go about their lives – apart and together as they come to terms with raising a family, despite Kyle’s constant deployment to Iraq and the many troubles that brings as he tries to resume normal life.
Eastwood really hits hard with the imagery, never glamorising the war on terror or conflict itself and this is perhaps the strongest part of the picture. Many films in the genre almost feel like military propaganda, but here, the brutality is raw in the emotions of the lead characters and squalid locations.
The surroundings themselves are beautifully shot with Eastwood’s trademark flair for long, sweeping camera angles being used in abundance. Thankfully he lets the stunning locations speak for themselves throughout the majority of the film, not tampering with them despite that becoming a norm recently.
These scenery shots are juxtaposed with the damp, dirty conditions the soldiers must deal with frequently, with sunset-flooded vistas giving way to crumbling buildings and claustrophobic rooms.
However, the very nature of the movie, following Cooper’s character on his various Tours, does get repetitive at times and there are certain moments that feel like you’re watching someone playing a video game like Resident Evil or Call of Duty as one minor set piece leads to a larger one – though the tense final act makes up for this somewhat.
American Sniper also makes you increasingly aware of the human cost that comes with conflict. This is a bleak film, make no mistake and it’s especially harrowing seeing how Taya (Sienna Miller) copes with being away from her husband for long periods of time, especially with the job of raising a family.
Despite a running time of over two hours, Sniper never feels long, a testament to the snappy pacing and wonderful performances Sienna+Miller+Sienna+Miller+Films+American+dQWprK3Evu6lthroughout, and despite a lack of backstory for some of the other characters, Eastwood delves into the lifestyle of Chris and his wife beautifully.
Overall, Eastwood has another memorable film to add to his CV, and whilst it would be insulting to call it ‘fun’, American Sniper is enjoyable to watch in a whole different way. Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller are both excellent and when the whole cinema leaves the screen in complete silence, you know that the message has got across.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/01/23/incredibly-harrowing-american-sniper-review/
Broadchurch - Season 1
9.0
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Academy Award nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste and legendary actress Charlotte Rampling star alongside...
Behind the Binoculars: Interviews with Acclaimed Birdwatchers
Book
How and why did our most acclaimed birdwatchers take up birding? What were their early experiences...
Uncle Drew (2018)
5.8
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After draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in...
comedy
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 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.
iain Hart (5 KP) rated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) in Movies
Jan 9, 2019
Take what you know about Spider-Man and put it to one side because this comes at it in a totally original way.
From the very outset this is one trippy, fast paced well thought up movie, it came from the minds who brought you the brilliant 21 jump street and the excellent Lego movie I speak of Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
I loved everything about this movie from the animation, which was part movie , part graphic novel, good balance of action and story
the soundtrack fits it with the bouncy non stop visuals. I have had the soundtrack playing non stop ever since there is just something so catchy about it, I know some only work in the context of the film but this works outside it which is great. Some familiar names you may know are Nicki Minaj, Jayden Smith and Post Malone.
The voice acting is brilliant as something birthed by Marvel I wouldn’t expect anything less, see below for the link to actors featured, the directors were Rodney Rothman, Peter Ramsey and Bob Persichetti , they took the vision Phil and Chris had and brought it to life in a new and refreshing way.
I would definitely recommend this if you are a Spider-Man fan or even if your new to him, with laugh out loud moments and genuinely touching times this is a brilliant twist on what I know as Spider-Man.