'American Sniper'

You gotta see this movie.

It's raking it in at the box office, "'American Sniper' Busts Out to Record-Breaking Opening Weekend."

And my review, "'American Sniper': A War on Terror Masterpiece":

For me it was more like a documentary, and hence not my favorite war film. Indeed, it's not quite as harrowing as "Lone Survivor," although I wouldn't pick one over the other. It's just that with Chris Kyle in "American Survivor," you're getting an up-close-and-personal look at the onset and duration of PTSD. That Kyle was able to ride it out in all-American grunt style, and then help alleviate his pain by giving back to the disabled veterans' community, only suggests that the ultimate reckoning with his status as "Legend" of Iraq was inevitably delayed. We'll never know, for of course he was killed by a disturbed vet who he was trying to help by taking him out to the shooting range. The film handles that portion of his life with an extremely admirable minimalism. Indeed, I'd have to check, but there's a lot of authentic footage at the conclusion of the movie for Kyle's memorial procession, where the streets were lined with thankful citizens waving U.S. flags in commemoration.

The acting's superb. Bradley Cooper should probably win best actor, although he won't because feel-good patriotic movies don't go over with the correctness set in Hollywood. Or at least I don't expect it to. And Clint Eastwood's directing is indeed phenomenal. The battle scenes put you on the ground at the center of the action. While extremely realistic, there isn't a Stephen Spielberg-level of gory detail. It's more precision, neat bloodshed and death. Come to think of it, "Black Hawk Down" dwelt more on the visceral carnage of war more than this film did. But I like that about "American Sniper." In fact, the biggest letdown of the film is that we don't have more development of what's happening in country, in Iraq. I understand it's an autobiography, but the the chronological approach to Kyle's tours had me wondering how much longer the movie was going to play. I hate that. It's a signal to me that the pace is lagging.

Be that as it may, those who've served, or those who've worked with veterans and in doing PTSD charitable work, will be extremely pleased with this production...

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