Chart for Dow

Investing Research Top Stocks Cartoons Berkshire Editorials Blaine's Flix

American Sniper

   Blaine: I didn't know about "American Sniper" until I saw the trailer for it when I saw "Birdman". What got me interested in "American Sniper" was it's director Clint Eastwood and it's star Bradley Cooper because I'm a huge fan of both of their work and it looked good. It was my mom's birthday weekend when we saw "American Sniper" and at the same time it was the weekend it arrived at theaters everywhere. I took my family to see it and we loved it.
Plot The movie's about U.S. Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle and his life. He starts off as a rodeo cowboy then after watching the 1998 United States embassy bombing on tv he decides to join the U.S. Navy. He goes into training to become a Navy SEAL sniper. One night when Chris is at a bar, he meets Taya Renae, his future wife. Chris goes on four tours and during his second tour he was assigned to hunt Abu Musab al -Zarqawi, who is a expert sniper on the Iraqi side. When Chris is at home, he's not interacting a lot with his wife because he's distracted by memories of his experiences out in the field and that concerns and worries Taya. Chris was a hero to a lot of his fellow Navy SEALs for saving the lives of a lot of Marines. At the end of the movie it shows his last day with Taya and his two children before he was killed.
   Blaine: I was sad while I was watching Chris Kyle's memorial at the end of the film and I still get sad every time I watch it and listening to that music in the background. After it was done showing the footage and photos of his memorial, it got silent and half of the people in the theater were clapping including me. Originally the ending was supposed to be happy, but because of his death it's now a sad ending. It's not only the movie that gives you a strong feeling, but also how much was put into it. I think playing Chris Kyle is Bradley Cooper's proudest role in his career so far because he's honoring the memory of Chris by becoming him. The whole movie is about honoring his memory by showing who he was and that's how it feels. This is the best movie Clint Eastwood has directed over the past four years. I've never seen a movie with Sienna Miller before, nor did I know who she was until "American Sniper". She showed that Taya is a strong and caring woman. I don't want to be a NAVY seal because it can damage a man and it's films like "American Sniper" that remind me never to join, but I appreciate the men who go out and fight for our country including Chris Kyle for what he did. "American Sniper" made $547.1 million at the box office.

The real Chris Kyle





The SEALs have the Punisher symbol from the Marvel comics on their uniforms and other stuff.

Special Features

   "One Soldier's Story The Journey of American Sniper" is a 31 minute documentary about turning Chris Kyle's story into a film. Producers Peter Morgan and Andrew Lazar and screenwriter Jason Hall had heard the stories about Chris Kyle and they were interested in making his story into a film. Jason Hall went down to Texas and found Chris Kyle to be a really hard nut to crack, but also fascinating. He wouldn't talk to Jason, but after Jason took Chris down in a wresting match, he gained trust out of Chris and Chris stated talking and asking Jason what he wants to know. Jason would discover a lot from Chris Kyle's story with the hours he spent with him. He would learn stuff that wasn't in Chris' book like what he did before he was a sniper. After the script was written, the producers went looking for an actor to play Chris Kyle and they chose Bradley Cooper. Bradley loved the war genre growing up with movies such as "The Deer Hunter", "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon" and when he was offered the job he got really excited. Bradley hadn't read the American Sniper book, but when he talked to Chris Kyle on the phone, he promised Chris he was going to take the job seriously and he was going to do it rough and if he has to role him around in the dirt her will. And Chris was happy about that. A little while after that the shooting of Chris happened and it was a shock to Peter, Andrew, Jason and Bradley. Bradley had a hard time understanding it when he first herd the bad news. He knew Chris had already gone on four tours and he was now at home with his family, but then Jason told him another vet killed him and Bradley couldn't believe it. Ten days after the funeral, Chris Kyle's widow, Taya called Jason Hall and told him she wanted his legacy done right. Taya told Jason a whole different side of his story. After that "American Sniper" wasn't just going to be a war movie, it was also going to be about the relationship between Chris and his wife and family. She must have also told Jason about Chris' last day. They still needed to find a director for the project. Steven Spielberg was on producer Rob Lorenz's mind, but Steven turned it down. Before he died Chris Kyle thought it would be a good if Clint Eastwood would tell his story. He was the only director on Chris' mind. Clint was already reading Chris Kyle's book when they called and asked if he could direct and after he finished the book and read the script, Clint said he was on board. They had their script, their lead actor and their director. Sienna Miller was cast as Taya Kyle after that. Sienna Miller would spend a lot of time with Taya hearing her story. After that it shows them beginning production in Rabat, Morocco. To make sure they had the right equipment, uniforms and tanks they hired a Senior Military Technical Advisor named Jim Dever. Kevin Lacz was one of Chris Kyle's fellow soldiers from SEAL Team 3 and he was assigned to train Bradley and then Bradley had an idea that he could be in the film and he should play himself because he loved his face, his voice and he could see a character in him. Bradley not only had to become Chris through his performance, but he also had to gain muscle weight. Everyone was happy that Clint Eastwood was directing the project because he's done a lot of great stuff through his years as a filmmaker and they all said it was a joy working with him. Every one who was apart of "American Sniper" did their best to make it what it is now.




Awards


"American Sniper" was nominated for six Oscars at 87th Academy Awards and only took home the Best Sound Editing award which I find ridiculous because I think it deserved more than just one award. Bradley Cooper was one of three who I felt deserved the Best Actor award next to Michael Keaton for "Birdman" and Steve Carell for "Foxcatcher". And it was one of my top four for Best Picture. I really felt it should have won the Best Adapted Screenplay Award.