American Sniper

GDS_Starfury · January 22, 2015, 01:42:53 PM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 22, 2015, 10:16:01 AM
So, people with military experience or have close ties to the military think the movie is decent but all over the place and confusing, while the ignorant masses without a clue think it's totally awesome?

Pretty much.

Ubercat · January 23, 2015, 10:45:29 AM

There's a Vietnam vet former Marine Sniper who works at my local grocery store. Mike's fairly crazy, though not nearly as bad as his borderline psychotic wife. He's the nicest guy in the world and tends to let everyone around know what he's thinking at any given moment with a stream of consciousness monologue. It's clear from what he says that he's no dummy and keeps up on current news and events. Once I saw him read some numbers from a distance with no effort at all, while I couldn't make them out even squinting with my glasses on. I commented on it and he said that it was his vision that got him picked for sniper school.

Mike's the guy who cleans the bathrooms and walks around changing out trash bags. He definitely deserves better.

GDS_Starfury · January 24, 2015, 04:46:39 PM

I kinda liked it.
I didnt really see the need to get to technical about sniping.
I was bothered that they used a vis mod M-60 as an M-1 stand in.
Really... Clint couldnt get a real one?

BanzaiCat · January 24, 2015, 07:00:27 PM

I'm with you, Star...it wasn't a bad movie. I just saw it. I couldn't help but to feel Eastwood did a pretty poor job of portraying him, though. Maybe it's because the movie was indeed scatter-shot and all the fuck over the place with no real direction or anchor. Bradley Cooper didn't do too bad a job portraying him, but it was NOWHERE near an Oscar-worthy performance, not on any count.

The last few minutes of the movie, with the procession...that was indeed powerful. But the rest of the movie, not so much, though I felt like it really COULD have been.

GDS_Starfury · January 24, 2015, 07:33:29 PM

the back and forth was a useful plot device but it didnt show how much he changed from BUDs to his last deployment. he kind of walled up after the first go and stayed there. the movie could have done more with that. it could also have spent more time after he got out and gone a bit more into how he unwound from it all.
I find it funny that my biggest gripe is still that vis mod M-60. yes, I'm complaining about the tank in a sniper movie.

QuoteThey don't seem to be counting clicks or checking hash-marks on the dials either and none of them seem to have or need a dope chart.

I saw a lot of scope adjustments and ranging with a pair of laser binoculars. maybe you were getting popcorn or peeing.

BanzaiCat · January 24, 2015, 08:13:03 PM

I saw the adjustments he was making, but it seemed as if he was making a lot of them. I got the feeling it was just Hollywood BS, sort of like watching a scene of people in a car and the person driving is moving the wheel back and forth, back and forth, but the car stays perfectly straight.

Silent Disapproval Robot · January 24, 2015, 08:22:38 PM

Quote from: GDS_Starfury on January 24, 2015, 07:33:29 PM
the back and forth was a useful plot device but it didnt show how much he changed from BUDs to his last deployment. he kind of walled up after the first go and stayed there. the movie could have done more with that. it could also have spent more time after he got out and gone a bit more into how he unwound from it all.
I find it funny that my biggest gripe is still that vis mod M-60. yes, I'm complaining about the tank in a sniper movie.

QuoteThey don't seem to be counting clicks or checking hash-marks on the dials either and none of them seem to have or need a dope chart.

I saw a lot of scope adjustments and ranging with a pair of laser binoculars. maybe you were getting popcorn or peeing.

Only ranged in two scenes and the adjustments he made were pretty much as BC said, lots of huge adjustments made at very rapid speed even when he was at ranges of 150 metres. Just didn't seem authentic to me.

Whatever. Not a great film. Not a bad film. I wish they would have shown off more of his flaws in order to present a better picture of the man rather than the somewhat simplistic version Eastwood showed us.

mirth · January 25, 2015, 02:58:09 PM

I liked it, good not great. Bradley Cooper was excellent. Agree on showing more of his flaws.

The ending was powerful. I wondered how it would be handled and Eastwood nailed it.

GDS_Starfury · January 25, 2015, 03:39:56 PM

I would have liked the sandstorm battle to gave played out longer.

mirth · January 25, 2015, 03:49:00 PM

Quote from: GDS_Starfury on January 25, 2015, 03:39:56 PM
I would have liked the sandstorm battle to gave played out longer.

+1

Sir Slash · January 25, 2015, 03:53:27 PM

Me too. Never forget to call your wife in the middle of a life and death firefight.

GDS_Starfury · January 25, 2015, 03:57:37 PM

Ya, that routine got old quick.

BanzaiCat · January 26, 2015, 08:13:23 AM

What gets me are most of my friends on Facebook commenting on how amazing and powerful this movie is. Certainly it had its moments, but Eastwood pretty much pooched the majority of it. He had something great to work with and he molded it into a mediocre, merely 'okay' story (except the end, which was great). Telling these people that the movie was merely okay would likely turn me into an American hater and a Chris Kyle hater.

It's not that, it's Eastwood's portrayal that's highly disappointing, but people don't get that, so I kept my opinion to myself...except here of course. :)

Grimnirsson · January 26, 2015, 08:25:27 AM

QuoteI wish they would have shown off more of his flaws in order to present a better picture of the man rather than the somewhat simplistic version Eastwood showed us.

Didn't watch the movie so far but it seems many folks have such a rather "simplistic" view of the man as "hero" and flaws are not really what people are looking for when it comes to heroes...although all his talk about how he enjoyed killing, regrets to not have killed more, all savages who deserved it etc. make it easy for those who criticize him or this hero image.

Arctic Blast · January 26, 2015, 03:00:33 PM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on January 26, 2015, 08:13:23 AM
What gets me are most of my friends on Facebook commenting on how amazing and powerful this movie is. Certainly it had its moments, but Eastwood pretty much pooched the majority of it. He had something great to work with and he molded it into a mediocre, merely 'okay' story (except the end, which was great). Telling these people that the movie was merely okay would likely turn me into an American hater and a Chris Kyle hater.

It's not that, it's Eastwood's portrayal that's highly disappointing, but people don't get that, so I kept my opinion to myself...except here of course. :)

I believe that it will eventually come out that the script and film were edited with an actual hatchet. That might explain the weird inconsistencies, pointless asides that go nowhere and odd 'now he's here, now he doesn't exist!' problem that happens too often with characters.