This movie represents Clint Eastwood’s finest work. From start to finish, this film will command your attention and emotions on this journey that appears to show the various tolls war has upon the human mind and body in a realistic and authentic manner that neither glorifies nor undermines the travesties of seemingly endless battles for justice and freedom. Specifically, the movie will take you on a journey into the many tours of duty in Iraq through the vessel of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. I am not usually not a fan of war movies; however, this movie, like Zero Dark Thirty, is one that truly shows that excellent storytelling, beyond the gun fire and deaths, is possible in a well directed, written, and produced war film. American Sniper will take you from your seat and place you on the battlefields in Iraq and into our hero’s home.

Prior to becoming a legend amongst Navy SEALS, Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is a stereotypical Texas cowboy who focused way more on his career than his girlfriend. Going from a self-centered cowboy to a self-sacrificing soldier, in the US Armed Forces, Kyle is inspired because of the bombings of US Embassies in the 1990s. Older than the average soldier, Kyle faces transforming his mind and body to serve his country. After his superiors witness the extreme precise skill and talent Kyle has for sniping, he is assigned to an elite squadron in the SEALs. While training, he meets his soon-to-be wife Taya (Sienna Miller) and falls madly in love. Following his marriage, he is deployed to Iraq. Returning home between duties, the atrocities of war begin to reek havoc on his relationship with his wife and two kids. Eventually, he reaches the point that he realizes that he wants to come home physically and more importantly mentally. Through helping other soldiers that are having physiological and psychological struggles, he is able to help himself. He shows himself to be both a hero on the battlefield and at home.

Two of the elements that stands out for me the most, in this film, are the structure and pacing. Although, it is over two hours, it will have your attention in such way that you will be oblivious to the above-average runtime of the film. Like a well-written screenplay should, this movie grabs your attention within the first five minutes. Ordinarily, a writer or director can get into trouble when working with flashbacks and parallel subplots. But, this movie handles both the main and subplots very well, and artfully weaves them in and out of each other. Dialog is one element that can easily suffer in a war movie, but the dialog is compelling and visceral. The audience truly gets to know Kyle as a soldier, a husband, friend, and father. Unlike other war movies or movies featuring characters suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this is one of the first to truly show it in a realistic way. Not all soldiers who suffer from PTSD are completely socially or mentally debilitated, I imagine most deal with it in more subtle, but no less harmful, ways.

The movie was very well cast, and each of the principle and supporting actors bring their respective character archetypes to life for the audience. But, as convincing and authentic the performances were, none of the actors faced challenging characters to portray. The performances by Cooper and Miller were excellent, but on par with what is expected of accomplished actors; although, there are moments when the emotions fly and exceptional performances are witnessed throughout the narrative. To his credit, this is one of the best performances by Cooper, and it is of no surprise that he is nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars.

American Sniper is truly a classically written, directed, and produced film that is worthy of the Oscar nominations it has received. It is a dynamic cinema experience that most will likely enjoy. Unlike other war movies, this one chooses not to highlight the battles themselves nor the strategies and deaths, but it takes you through the life of an American hero.

Unequivicably the most torturous 2hrs of a theatrically-released movie ever. It is so incredibly bad that I don’t even want to write more than one paragraph about it. And, if you follow this blog, you know I am unable to relay my thoughts on a given movie in one paragraph. It was like a glorified undergraduate film shot with broadcast cameras and incompetent audio operators. The only somewhat positive element of the movie was the well-executed visual effects and concept of the inner-workings of a computer circuit board. Structurally, the narrative is haphazard and boring; there were times I had no idea what was going on. Approximately halfway through the movie, I seriously considered leaving the auditorium. It is of little surprise that this movie received a January release date. If you have a movie date planned with someone that you would rather not go out with, take them to this movie and they will most certainly never talk to you again. And the opposite is also true; if they like it, they are probably not the one for you.

Bryan Mills is at it again in this last installment of the Taken series. Taken 3 is a thrilling roller coaster of a movie that will have you on the edge of your seats from beginning until the end. This time, the assault on Mills’ family is not in Europe, but in his own backyard. Liam Neeson is truly the reason to see these films, and this last one is of no exception. The best part about this installment and all the Taken movies is that they are action/thriller movies with a family side. It is probably one of the only action movies that you can sit down and enjoy with the whole family. Like last years’s 3 Days to Kill, Taken 3 adds a positive family elements that makes the audience root for our hero. It hits all the marks– for a cliche action movie that is–for a successful action-packed narrative that has characters you love and villains you love to hate. In addition to the car chase and fight scenes that are the hallmark of the Taken series, Taken 3 adds the element of mystery to this glorified “who-done-it.”

“Ex-covert operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) and his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), are enjoying a reconciliation when Lenore is brutally murdered. Bryan is framed for the crime and flees, with the CIA, FBI and police all in hot pursuit. For the last time, he channels his rage and particular set of skills into hunting down Lenore’s real killers, taking his revenge and protecting the one important thing left in his life: his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace)” (IMDb). Only this time, he is not alone. The mysterious murder of Lenore sparks an investigation that will include Mills’ ex-covert circle of friends as well, in a spine-tingling action-packed adventure where answers to questions only spawn more questions in this labyrinth of deceit. Only Mills is not the only one trying to solve this mystery, the LA Chief Inspector (Forest Whitaker) is also working to piece together the answer as his men seek to bring Mills in for questioning.

Like the previous two movies, this one is full of action from start to finish, and includes the quirky comedy that comes along with these films. It’s just enough to cleanse the pallet for more action and covert operations. Not a movie that is intended to cause you to ponder life issues, not self-reflexive, nor is it designed to prompt you to question this, that, or the other, it is a movie that is produced for pure entertainment value. And, you know what? That’s perfectly fine! I have never thought of Liam Neeson as an amazing actor; however, he plays the role of Bryan Mills so incredibly well that he holds the movie together and sparks enjoyment in the audience. Although he gets type-casted in similar roles (i.e. last year’s Non Stop and A Walk Amongst the Tombstones), he never fails to deliver his character with excellence.

From a technical perspective, the movie pulls out all the stops and action-movie tropes for a multi-sensory experience. You get it all: elaborate and unrealistic car chases, thousands of bullets flying all over the place that never graze Mills, explosions, and countless brawls with police and assassins. You even get a subplot involving Kim that is introduced near the beginning of the movie. Narrative-wise, there are definitely elements that don’t quite make sense logically, the pace slows a bit too much sometimes, and there are holes here and there, but the moderate amount of exposition helps to fill in the gaps. Audiences don’t watch action movies because they are incredible artistic masterpieces, they watch them for the utter enjoyment of a very visually driven story. So, that is why I feel this movie does what it is designed to do, and does it well.