American Sniper

Clint Eastwood's American Sniper is a film with many discussion points. Is it a film that objects war or glorifies it? Does it depict post-traumatic stress disorder properly? And finally, does the film depict Chris Kyle as a war hero or a cold-blooded sociopath?

Eastwood himself is familiar with the war movie genre, both as an actor and a director. So where does American Sniper place? Much like The Deer Hunter and The Big Red One, it focuses on the horrors of war and its effects on people. But unlike Michael Cimino and Samuel Fuller's films, American Sniper revolves more around the brutality than the aftermath.

That said, however, American Sniper does manage to highlight post-traumatic stress disorder when it's required. It depicts it in a low-key manner (none of the flashback nightmares frequently shown in fiction), but even then it doesn't feel like it's been done properly. (Then again, you can't have everything.)

Starring as Kyle is Bradley Cooper, who in recent years has established himself as a serious actor. But how does Cooper depict Kyle? By many means, he depicts Kyle not as someone with a blood lust but rather as someone who feels that he's doing is merely to protect his country. It's simply something that happens in both real life and fiction.

American Sniper has its flaws, certainly, but it has its moments as well. (Admittedly most of them are courtesy of Cooper's work.) It's not great like Letters from Iwo Jima (it's more like Flags of Our Fathers) though again, it does shine in spots. Had the script been modified considerably, the film would probably rank among the greats. (Key word is "probably".)

My Rating: ****

Bird

The great innovators of varying cultures are more than often tortured souls. Authors, actors, artists, musicians...they become prone to addiction and self-destruction. Is it because fame becomes too much for them? Is it their own personal demons? What causes them to crack?

Clint Eastwood's Bird chronicles the rise and fall of jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker (Forest Whitaker). Like many musicians before and after him, Parker rose to the top fast and crashed even faster. Drug addiction, a troubled personal life and changing times are what resulted in the decline of Charlie Parker.

I think what surprised me the most about Bird was who directed it. This was made by a man who got immortalized for playing cowboys and other tough guys. It struck me as different to see Eastwood make a film about a man slowly getting destroyed. (And I do mean slowly.) It's great stuff.

Likewise, I wasn't sure what to expect from Whitaker. I was only really familiar with him from his Oscar-winning role in The Last King of Scotland. After seeing his work in Bird, I now know that he can act. The vast difference between his roles in this and The Last King of Scotland is simply staggering. How he didn't get an Oscar nomination for Bird is beyond me.

It's slow in some spots but Bird is a great film. Thanks to solid work from Whitaker and Diane Venora (she plays Parker's worn out wife), the film stands out as a very underappreciated work. (Eastwood should do more films like this.) If you haven't seen it, you should.

My Rating: ****1/2

Changeling

In recent years, it seems that Clint Eastwood is becoming a shadow of his former self in regards with his directing. Yeah, so some of his recent entries are lacking, but it doesn't generally mean he's thrown in the towel.

His 2008 film Changeling shows that he still has it in him. He captures a very similar mood Curtis Hanson got with L.A. Confidential. In fact, all of the elements in Changeling work fantastically by themselves as they do together.

Angelina Jolie isn't exactly someone I'm crazy about. (I blame the media overexposure.) I usually only view her as a movie star, but Changeling made me realize that she can act. We witness the hardships she endures throughout the film. You simply can't (or don't want to) believe the things she goes through.

The supporting actors of Changeling are great as well. John Malkovich and Michael Kelly are the lone saviors of the film. Jeffrey Donovan makes the cops in L.A. Confidential look honest. Amy Ryan exposes the dark side of the L.A.P.D., which could make one doubt their trust towards the law. Jason Butler Harner is the embodiment of a demented mind and it's bloody brilliant.

If I wasn't clear enough, I loved Changeling. Nothing about it feels off-key. Everything is pitch perfect. The acting, the direction, the mood...everything. Just goes to show that Eastwood still has it in him.

My Rating: *****

Letters from Iwo Jima

In the year of 2006, Clint Eastwood made two movies about the Battle of Iwo Jima. The first movie was Flags of Our Fathers, which was told from the American viewpoint. The second movie was Letters from Iwo Jima, which was told from the Japanese viewpoint.

On their own, both movies are excellent. In comparison though, it's safe to say Letters from Iwo Jima is the better of the two. It doesn't rely on the war depicted. It relies on the soldiers' personalities, much in the same manner as The Thin Red Line.

I give Eastwood points for having Japanese as the main language of Letters of Iwo Jima. It would've been awkward had the whole thing been in English. (I say this as I side eye Spielberg in the case of Schindler's List.)

Letters from Iwo Jima is a phenomenal movie. Gone are the images of pure bloodshed in every frame. Instead is a marvelous character study of soldiers in the throes of battle. I love it.

My Rating: *****

Flags of Our Fathers

In the aftermath of war, lives are changed. Returning soldiers are withdrawn, unable to live the lives they had before the war. Families struggle to cope with loved ones being killed in battle. To others, however, they fail to see the impact the war left.

Flags of Our Fathers is somewhat different. The three main soldiers were part of the famous flag rising photograph and are hailed as national heroes. However, they want to be treated like returning soldiers. Fame is nice, but it has a price.

One notable scene is when the soldiers storm the beaches of Iwo Jima. It almost mirrors the D-Day scene of Saving Private Ryan, chaos and carnage all around. It doesn't have the exact impact of the D-Day scene, but it's pretty darn close.

Flags of Our Fathers is one of Eastwood's best movies, though not an absolute best like Mystic River or Unforgiven. It shows the reluctant nature a person can have when being lauded for something they did. But it does have its flaws. Still, it's very good.

My Rating: ****1/2

Unforgiven

Being the tomboy that I am, I have decided to see more masculine films. And not too long ago, I saw the best example of a guy film. That movie is Unforgiven.

The town of Big Whiskey is full of nornal people trying to lead quiet lives. Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett (Gene Hackman) tries to build a house and keep a heavy-handed order. The town whores just try to get by. Then a couple of cowboys cut up a whore. Unsatisfied with Bill's justice, the prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as "The Schofield Kid" (Jaimz Woolvett) and aging killer William Munny (Clint Eastwood). Munny reformed for his young wife, and has been raising crops and two children in peace. But his wife is gone. Farm life is hard. And Munny is no good at it. So he calls his old partner Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), saddles his ornery nag and rides off to kill one more time, blurring the line between heroism and villainy, man and myth.

Even though I've seen four Westerns prior to Unforgiven, this takes the cake as the best of the bunch. Even though Daggett is a lawman and people respect him, I think they also fear him for his sadistic ways on enforcing the law. I learned one important thing from watching Unforgiven: you DO NOT mess with Eastwood.

My Rating: *****

Million Dollar Baby

I'll admit I haven't seen that many Best Picture winners. I've only seen eighteen of the eighty-one (soon to be eighty-two) winners, fourteen of them I saw last year. I am pleased by most of the winners, but not all.

Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) is an aspiring boxer who wants to be trained by Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood). But every time she asks, she gets the same gruff response: "I don't train girls." After finding out she's been secretly trained by Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman), a friend of his, Dunn decides to give her a chance, causing his hard outer shell to soften up a bit.

Milion Dollar Baby definitely has its good moments, particularly the performances from Eastwood, Swank and Freeman. It's the final parts of the movie that made me reconsider rewatching it again. But overall, it delivers.

My Rating: ****1/2

Mystic River

I read somewhere that the heir to Marlon Brando's acting throne was Robert De Niro. That made me wonder who would take his place when the time comes. The answer was clear after seeing Mystic River: Sean Penn.

In 1975, three boys, Sean Devine, Jimmy Markum and Dave Boyle, are playing on a sidewalk in Boston when Dave is taken by two men and becomes a victim of sexual abuse. He manages to escape the abuse, but not the memories which continue to haunt him as an adult.
Years later, Sean (Kevin Bacon) is a police officer, Jimmy (Penn) is an ex-convict who runs a convenience store, and Dave (Tim Robbins) is a blue-collar worker trying to protect his son from what he endured. The three come together when Jimmy's daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) is found murdered.

Boy, I can tell you one thing and one thing only about Mystic River: it was damn good. And I mean it. Eastwood's direction was dead on, Penn and Robbins' performances were stellar, and the movie probably would've won Best Picture had it not been for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

My Rating: ****1/2