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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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Karen Gillan recommended Funny Games (2007) in Movies (curated)

 
Funny Games (2007)
Funny Games (2007)
2007 | Drama, Thriller
6.3 (8 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is hard, because it could be many things. I mean, it could be Kubrick, it could be Haneke again. Do I need to mix it up a little bit? I feel like I’ve gone very serious. I think it’s either 2001: A Space Odyssey or Funny Games by Michael Haneke. What I like about Funny Games is a moment, actually, where all of it… OK, I think 2001 is a better movie. However, there’s a moment in Funny Games that’s genius, that I love, which is when he turns to the audience, and suddenly turns the whole movie into this kind of study, where we are accountable as an audience. Because we like the violence that’s happening in the movie, and he’s doing it for us, so suddenly we’re culpable. And I think that’s a really cool moment in film that I haven’t really seen other than that. Yeah, I thought that was really clever. Also, I’m talking the American remake, not the original, because he remade it shot-for-shot for the American audience, which is really interesting, because he made it in German and then it only had so much reach, and then was like, “I want to make this for a society where violence maybe is a little more glamorized.” And I’m not just saying that about Americans; I think we’re the same in the UK, where we really like watching that on-screen. It’s just a really interesting study into that, and so, for that reason, I’m going with that. And one time I hosted a screening where all of our friends came down and watched it, and I have never seen a more depressed group of people in my life, and it was a huge mistake. [laughs] Everyone left immediately. No one hung around after."

Source
  
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ClareR (5726 KP) rated A Thousand Moons in Books

Apr 10, 2020  
A Thousand Moons
A Thousand Moons
Sebastian Barry | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Thousand Moons is set after the American Civil War in 1870’s Tennessee. This book follows on from Days Without End, and whilst I haven’t read it (yet! It’s on my bookshelf!), it didn’t affect my enjoyment at all.

Winona is a Lakota orphan who has been adopted by former soldiers Thomas McNulty and John Cole. She lives on their farm with them and Lige Magan, and two ex-slaves, Rosalee and Tennyson. Racism is still rife: Native Americans are seen as little more than animals, and black people are still hanged in the streets without trial for minor infractions.

Despite this, Winona has an admirer who wants to marry her: a white man. He’s persistent, and she doesn’t seem sure as to whether she really wants to marry him. And then something terrible happens. Winona is brought home: she is battered, raped and she doesn’t remember what happened or who did it.

This is such an emotional book. Winona’s reaction after her attack, coupled with the fact that she will never have any protection under the law, is heartbreaking.

Things that happen to other characters just seems to show starkly the injustices in the USA at this time. But it is all told in the most beautiful way. The writing really is exquisite: the descriptions of Winona’s inner thoughts, the descriptions of the landscape, and the way that life is shown, all really drew me in to this story. I loved reading it every day on The Pigeonhole. I will certainly be getting the first book in this series down off the shelf to read.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Sebastian Barry for joining in.