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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated American Sniper (2015) in Movies

Jun 10, 2019  
American Sniper (2015)
American Sniper (2015)
2015 | Action, Drama, War
8
7.8 (28 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Incredibly Harrowing
There’s something about Clint Eastwood’s varied directing career that puts him among the greats of the craft. Along with Spielberg, Scott and Fincher, Eastwood has created some of cinema’s greatest films – yet he goes about it in a completely different fashion to his peers, he doesn’t shout about it.

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/
  
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Into the Night in Books

Mar 6, 2019  
Into the Night
Into the Night
Sarah Bailey | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Intriguing and refreshing mystery
Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is working in Melbourne now, trying to negotiate relationships with her new boss, Chief Inspector Toby Isaacs, and her partner, Detective Sergeant Fleet. She has been in Melbourne for three months; this has meant leaving behind her five-year-old son, Ben, and his father, Scott. She's keeping busy with a series of cases, including that of a homeless man, Walter Miller, who was brutally killed and one with the famous actor, Sterling Wade, who was stabbed while filming a high-profile zombie film. Alone and away from her son, Gemma throws herself into her work, but will these difficult cases prove too much for her and her emotional well-being?


"I was high-functioning but deeply broken and eventually something had to give. When the opportunity to transfer to Melbourne arose, I needed to take it. Living in Smithson was slowly killing me."


This novel picks up a few years after the first Gemma book. Gemma has been haunted by the Rosalind Rose case featured in Bailey's superb first novel, The Dark Lake, as well as her affair with her former partner, Felix. We find her lost and floundering. This serves a dual-purpose for us, the reader. We get to read a novel with a complicated, realistic character in Gemma. She's true to herself. On the other hand, she's not always the easiest to like or even empathize with. This is a woman who has left her child behind, after all. I have to congratulate Bailey on having Gemma not make the easy/safe choices in life, or the ones you typically see in detective novels. Not only do we get a strong yet vulnerable female character, we get one who is flawed, real, and struggling to find her way in the world. I certainly didn't always agree with her choices, but I do enjoy reading about them.

Even better, Gemma features in an excellent complicated and captivating mystery, with several cases that keep you guessing. The prominent one is the Sterling Wade case. Bailey brings in various Hollywood elements, and there are a lot of characters to suspect and pieces to put together. I quite liked not knowing who had killed Sterling. Even the detectives were flummoxed at times: how refreshing. Throughout all her cases, Gemma is working out where she fits in her new department and how she relates to her new partner, Fleet. There's a lot going on, but Bailey handles it all quite deftly. The excellent writing I enjoyed so much in her first novel is on display again here; you'll be impressed at the way she can pull together her story and bring out her characters.


"'Or maybe this case is just fucking with my mind,' I say, 'and making me think that Agatha Christie plots are coming to life.'"


Overall, I found this book intriguing and refreshing. Gemma is a complicated and complex character who is matched by the intricate cases she attempts to solve. Those who enjoy a character-driven mystery will be drawn to Gemma's prickly exterior, while those who simply enjoy a hard-to-solve case will find plenty to like here as well. Sarah Bailey is certainly a go-to author for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).