Review: American Sniper

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★

“American Sniper” is a moving film that pays tribute to one of the finest soldiers the United States military has ever had. Director Clint Eastwood has delicately handled the story and has assured that Chris Kyle’s name and story are portrayed with dignity without any kind of ulterior motive. There’s no pro-war/anti-war message being delivered here, which is fairly uncommon for a Hollywood studio picture these days. Instead, we’re given a story just about a man and how his line of work has impacted his professional and personal life. It just so happens that this man’s job is that of a deadly Navy SEAL sniper.

Much like “Saving Private Ryan,” “American Sniper” focuses more on the people and not the war. Much like “The Hurt Locker,” it focuses on the side effects that fighting in a war against foreign extremists has on the people involved. But unlike those films, “American Sniper” isn’t a profound and thought provoking masterwork. It’s certainly great – don’t get me wrong – but it lacks that familiar quality that usually accompanies powerful war dramas.

What we have here is a story that simply sets its sights on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a native of Texas who has been labeled as the most lethal sniper in the history of the United States Military. The film is told to us with a little bit of flashback that shows how he was raised, how he came to be in the Navy and how he met his future wife Taya (Sienna Miller). Eastwood wastes no time getting us up to speed on the backstory before we’re dropped right into action in Fallujah.

From there, the story shows us each of Kyle’s tours of duty in the Iraqi warzones. After each tour, Kyle comes home and must adjust to life on the home front. Each break in action adds to his displeasure of being away from where he sees himself most effective, and each trip home shows an increase in levels of PTSD. Kyle feels most useful with his brothers when he’s overseas in country. There, Eastwood directs the story’s focus not to the numerous kills Kyle had, but instead on a counterpart to Kyle fighting in the insurgency. A lethal Syrian sniper named Mustafa (Sammy Shiek). Mustafa was also an Olympian in the rifle events and is just about as good with a sniper rifle as Kyle. This gives both Kyle and the film a common antagonist with a face and name; someone for us to root against in a film with numerous, faceless enemies.

Overall, “American Sniper” offers no real surprises and doesn’t venture into any groundbreaking territory. It is an enjoyable movie, but like I said before, it lacks a certain emotional connection that’s evident in so many other war films. The script by Jason Hall (“Paranoia”) paints Kyle in a very likeable light. He’s easily identifiable. Cooper plays him to be the usual good old Texas boy. As an audience, it’s easy to watch him and root for him. But if you’re up on your current events, you will most likely know where this is headed. Hall is counting on this because he’s thrown in dialogue and moments that come across as a bit ironic. It’s kind of a cheap ploy from a writer, in my opinion, to do this, but it’s so common place in movies about real people that it’s become acceptable practice.

Other than that, Hall’s script has built in many moments that are genuinely intense. Again, Kyle’s fate already known to the audience leaves some of these sequences a little less thrilling than they probably could have been. The folks we should be concerned with are the minor characters who surround Kyle in every scene, but they’re never that well developed so there’s very little rooting interest in them, save for a couple who are a bit more instrumental to the story. Elsewhere, Eastwood disorients the audience by making some of the battle sequences a bit hard to watch. Not because they’re too intense, but because they’re filmed at night or in sand storms. It’s difficult to tell who’s who and what’s going on.

Cooper shines in the role and continues to impress with every new film he’s done each year. He puts on a remarkable and soulful performance as Kyle. He makes Kyle into a national hero, a real life Captain America, if you will. As a producer on this film as well, Cooper has made sure to play the role in an honorable fashion so that we can all identify with Kyle. Knowing his fate makes him even more empathetic. The irony might be built into the script, but Cooper doesn’t play into any of that.

“American Sniper” is very good, but it’s not the best work we’ve seen from Eastwood. Eastwood has been very prolific in the latter years of his career. At a time when most directors might just retire and live out the remainder of their lives enjoying their vast fortunes, Eastwood continues to find great stories worth telling. They’re not all home runs, but they’re almost always enjoyable. I have high expectations of Eastwood because of this and maybe expected more out of him, but I can’t knock this one too much. It is moving and it is good, but it’s far from a wartime masterpiece. 

Review: Inherent Vice

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★

One word to describe “Inherent Vice” would be outlandish. But to sum up a Paul Thomas Anderson movie in just one word would be doing a disservice to the sheer size and scope of the movie he’s put together. All of his films are larger than life representations of a widespread group of people. (Except maybe for his underrated classic “Punch Drunk Love.”) With “Inherent Vice,” Anderson turns his attention on a 1970s Los Angeles, filled with deception, sex and drugs.

Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is a perpetually stoned private investigator. One evening, his former lover Shasta Fay (Katherine Waterson) pays him a visit to tell him of a plan to kidnap the man she’s currently seeing, millionaire real estate mogul Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts), and have him committed to a mental institution. The plan is being cooked up by Mickey’s wife Sloane (Serena Scott Thomas) and her lover Riggs Warbling (Andrew Simpson). Shasta asks Doc to help stop it from happening.

Meanwhile, Doc is asked by two more people to help track down others. The first is Tariq Khalil (Michael Kenneth Williams), who wants Doc to find one of Mickey’s bodyguards, whom he says owes him money from when they were in prison. The second is housewife Hope Harlingen (Jena Malone) who is looking for her husband Coy (Owen Wilson). She’s been told he’s dead, but she doesn’t believe it.

All three people are connected. And all three investigations turn into one giant investigation for Doc. Throughout his journey, Doc encounters some of the weirdest people Los Angeles has to offer, including his arch nemesis at the LAPD, Lt. Detective Christian F. Bjornsen (Josh Brolin), also known as Bigfoot, his lawyer friend Sauncho Smilax (Benicio Del Toro), who is more seasoned in maritime law than criminal law, and dentist Rudy Blatnoyd (Martin Short), who may or may not have key information for Doc if only he could keep his nose out of the cocaine.

With its overly dense plot and its diverse cast of characters, “Inherent Vice” has all the makings of a cult a film. And the more people who see it, the more likely it’ll become a cult classic, standing alongside the great stoner films such as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “The Big Lebowski.” I tend to think of “Inherent Vice” in the same vein as “Lebowski” especially the main characters, probably because they’re both high as a kite throughout the entire film. Both characters are pulled into a convoluted crime plot against their will and continue to follow the clues as it leads them into more and more absurd situations. Both Doc and The Dude have no idea what’s going on, but they’re both stoned so what does it matter to them?

“Inherent Vice” is director Anderson like we’ve never seen him before. This isn’t the dark and brooding filmmaker we’ve seen recently with “There Will Be Blood” and “The Master.” This is a much more lighthearted affair. It still feels very much like an Anderson film with the brilliant use of music, the long takes and the bright vibrant colors. But it is also long and drawn out, much like Anderson’s other films. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing. “There Will Be Blood” was nearly three hours and could be considered a masterpiece. It is something that should be known before going into it. It is long and, at times, feels like it.

But Anderson has such a great grasp on the source material. The tone of the film is a bright and vibrant as what I assume would be found in the Thomas Pynchon novel. I’ve not read the novel, but judging from the narration provided by Joanna Newsome, I can imagine what the writing must be like.

He’s done this before, matching the ominous and gloomy tone of an Upton Sinclair novel in “There Will Be Blood.” Anderson has such a great eye for stories that will work well within his style of filmmaking. This is such a great marriage of director and source material.

Phoenix continues to impress as he always does. Since his faux retirement from acting to embark on rap career (which was documented in “I’m Still Here” and later revealed to be a complete farce), Phoenix has turned in one award worthy role after another. As Doc in “Inherent Vice,” Phoenix continues his streak. He plays the stoner role so convincingly, but he’s at his best when the camera turns to him for reaction shots. The movie is so offbeat and weird that even Doc can’t believe what’s happening half the time. Phoenix perfectly sums up the audience’s reaction with his own reaction every time.

Elsewhere, the rest of the film is full of an ensemble of great actors and actresses. Many play small roles and will only appear in about two or three scenes each. The best member of the ensemble is Brolin as Doc’s nemesis in the LAPD. The character is written to be a comical antagonist to Doc, but not to the story. Brolin is larger than life in every scene he’s in. He outshines even Phoenix in the many scenes the two actors share. Brolin and his character were my favorite parts of this film.

“Inherent Vice” won’t be for everyone and I don’t think there will be too many people who will say it’s mediocre. Those who can fully grasp the ludicrous plot, Anderson’s unique style and the long running time will probably be thoroughly entertained throughout the entire film. They will also embrace the future cult status this film will no doubt receive. Then there will be those who are bored for the entire time and hate every single minute. As for me, I did enjoy it immensely. Yet this is the first time I have watched a film by Anderson and felt that it was too long. By comparison, it is shorter for him but it feels like the plot could have been paced a little better. Still, it is well done and will be well received but cult fans and stoners alike for years to come.