American Sniper.

I have a lot of thoughts on this movie because I read Chris Kyle's autobiography. While the Chris Kyle in the movie was not a true representation of the man according to his autobiography, I thought the changes they made were supremely entertaining.

The movie is called an autobiographical drama, but I would call it a really intense, stern, drawn out action drama movie...sort of, if that makes sense. It was a very, very serious film with a dearth of a soundtrack, and the dialogue almost feels secondary to character expressions. All of my favorite scenes in the movie were when Chris Kyle, who is one of the few veterans who is eager and willing to return to combat on consecutive tours, with absolutely no hesitation at all, encounters former squad mates at home back in the States. I do not want to spoil too much, but the most notable of these scenes is when Kyle, moments after landing in Iraq for his third tour of combat, encounters a former squad mate from his first tour of duty, departing for the United States. Immediately, Kyle notices that the man is no longer the energetic soldier he once knew. The short meeting between the two ends with the soldier walking away from Kyle to board a plane, and with his back half-turned towards Kyle he says, "I just want to get out of here." Kyle stands reeling, unable to comprehend what has happened to the combat-hungry soldier he once knew.

I have more thoughts on this movie, but I thought this was enough. I loved this movie, and I'm still thinking about all the conclusions one can draw from it.

Last movie I saw was Birdman and it just made me want to analyse the hell out of it.

In a nutshell, I think it was a commentary on the way we treat mental illness in celebrities, as well as how easy it is to let your ego overpower you.

If I had one complaint, it would be that it should have ended in the first scene where he flies - it's a beautiful metaphor, and nothing after that is necessary.

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Selma

Pencil me into the group that is upset that both Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo were not chosen as nominees in this years Academy Awards. I don’t think it was politically fueled like some people are claiming, but rather just an injustice to superior work in the film/acting industry. They flat out should have been included.

Man, this was a powerful film. It took me a long time to see this because I knew it was going to be a powerful experience. I guess I just didn’t want to go through such a thing until I knew I was ready. I wasn’t ready though. I was choked up throughout most of the film. It’s funny how just the presence of David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr. was enough to get me emotional. The man was almost identical to Dr. King. That wasn’t enough though. His performance is what drove this thing home for me. He’s mesmerizing in every single scene that features him. My eyes focused on him as if I were really looking at the man who fought so hard for equality years ago. I would never go as far to call myself an activist. I’m far too lazy in my life right now to appoint myself with that title. Ideally though, I stand tall for equality. I believe that every person in this country deserves equal rights. I’m a big supporter of the LGBT community and the legalization of gay marriage. I’m a supporter of a government that creates laws for the people and not their own gain. I’m in favor of a military and police force that would just ****ing relax. I do this all from my bedroom though. I know in my heart that if the opportunity arises where I can help make a change, I’d do it. I guess it just hasn’t presented itself yet. Watching David Oyelowo portrayal Dr. King stirred up a lot of these emotions inside me though. It takes a tremendous performance to do that and Oyelowo accomplished that. It may be the performance of the year for me.

There is still some political hoo-ha that I need to get off my chest. I’ll try to relate it to the film as much as I can.

Ferguson was fascinating/revolting to me. When the big riots were going on, I was able to watch on my computer thanks to the miracle of iPhones. This film couldn’t have come at a better time. People think that what happened in 1965 is ancient history. Ha. That **** ain’t over and it probably never will be over 100%. We still have rampant racism going on all over this country. We have military police lining the streets with assault rifles and tanks to try to “defend” themselves against protesters armed with and harsh words and numbers. Sure, we aren’t lynching black men in the streets anymore. There are laws now that says we can’t do that. I have no doubt in my mind that if those laws weren’t in place, they’d be happening every weekend like Bingo. Racial crimes are still being committed out there on both sides. That’s what gets me about Ferguson and why this film is so important right now. The film focuses on the non-violet march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama. Non-violent. Hell, not only were they non violent, but they were polite in doing so. That’s why Martin Luther King is remembered today in the same way Ghandi is also remembered. Fighting violence with violence is never the answer long term. I remember seeing video of the riots in Ferguson. There were people antagonizing police. They threatened them and covered their faces with bandannas as if they were going to rob a house. Oh wait, that’s what they did. They looted the business of their city because they could. They didn’t care about what was going on. They just needed a reason to **** **** up. It’s a horrible way to look at things.

This is still happening. Racism isn’t over. It’s hiding in the shadows. Selma is a film that brings light to the darkness I feel.

It’s a beautifully shot film. I haven’t seen Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, or The Imitation game. I can’t comment on those directors. I can say however that this film couldn’t have been filmed better. There isn’t any exposition in the beginning of the film. This isn’t a bio-pic or a History Channel movie. The film doesn’t insult our intelligence by giving us the back story on how Dr. King became who he was. This was about the march on the capitol. I liked this way of telling the story. I was able to be drawn in more with the attention to detail being focused on an event that took place over the course of a couple weeks. You lose a lot of the power when you’re telling a story that spans years. This film stayed focus on the march and in doing so kept me focused on the message at hand. The camera work was also impressive. Many shots involving Dr. King bathed in back light were just a beautiful thing to see. Emotional scenes didn’t feel forced or unearned. I was fighting back tears in most of the brutal scenes of what went down during these marches. None of it felt heavy handed or too dramatic.

There were other great performances besides David Oyelowo. Tom Wilkenson and Tim Roth did fantastic jobs portraying LBJ and George Wallace.Both are actors that in my opinion don’t get enough work for how great they are when they do. Stephen James, who had a smallish role as a young John Lewis, was also very impressive.

I’ve always been an admirer of Dr. King and what he did for equality in this country. I always viewed people with racism in their hearts and speech as confusing because I don’t see people as divided. I’ve always laughed at people who claim that we live in the greatest country in the world. It takes some pretty big balls to make that claim while there is so much wrong still going on. I don’t know which country is the greatest. I like to think that we have the potential to stake claim to that title. There is a lot of work to do though. A lot of work. Political activism in the media comes and goes. People, including myself admittedly, get bored and move on to the next story. Ignorance makes us think that just because something else is happening that the previous news stories just kind of went away. Ferguson is still a mess racially. There may not be riots in the streets every night, but it’s still a city full of ignorant people on both sides of the argument. We’re a country in debt. We’re a country who can’t decide if we should be teaching Creationism/Evolution, whether we should grant gay people the right to marry, or even whether we should be at war or not. How can a country with so many divided segments call itself the greatest country in the world? It confuses me.

What gives me hope however is the arts. As long as films like Selma are being released to the mainstream, there will be new people with views that they never had before. Dr. King started a new way of thinking for a lot of people and granted new rights to people who already had it figured out. It’ll never end though. Hopefully people will see this film for what it is, a beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, powerful remembrance of what we were at one time as a country, what what we still are today.

5/5

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Dagon (2001)

It's been about 5 or 6 years since I last saw this movie and a recent article on Badassdigest intrigued me enough to rewatch it. It's a pretty bog-standard affair with some well done practical effects, nudity, and one stomach churning scene where Spanish Zadok Allen gets his face sliced off. There's not really any "good" Lovecraft adaptation outside of the 2005 black and white silent version of The Call of Cthulhu but Dagon is certainly one of the better ones.

Exo I just fell in love with you. I agree with everything you said, probably my favourite film of last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N35cBWSeSs

Trailer for the NWA film. Looks alright :cool:

Super late but the last film i saw that was memorable for me was the grand budapest hotel.

frickin luved it, it's one of those films i can rewatch and still discover new subtle jokes within the dialogue.
That's a quality i like in all the Wes anderson flicks ive seen, his movies feel like a quaint novel that i can read over and over.

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/...ps544ec130.png
The Valachi Papers (1972)

A good crime film based on a true story but plagued by some of the most amateurish mistakes I've ever seen in a non low-budget production. Scenes that are supposed to take place in the 1930's with late 60's & early 70's vehicles noticeable in the background, pictures of a 50's era sedan shown in a 1930's crime scene, a 1930's era car chase with the World Trade Center Towers visible in the background (construction of the towers began in 1968.) Even the artist who drew the poster above, made the mistake of including the Twin Towers in his artwork. :laughing:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi.../AI_Poster.jpg

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

It had been probably over a decade since I last saw this movie and that was back before I really knew anything about the history of this movie or Stanley Kubrick. It is kind of fun watching it now, as I'm familiar with both the cinematic styles of Kubrick and Spielberg so I can see what influence shines through where, although it took some research to figure out that the last 20 minutes or so was actually all Kubrick. I wouldn't say it's any masterpiece or even the best example of either director, but I do think it's a perfectly serviceable sci-fi movie that showcases some really good acting by Haley Joel Osment.

If there's one reason why I'd like to see Kubrick's version of the movie though it would be so I could see what his vision of Rouge City would be like, because I have a feeling Spielberg tamed it down for the PG-13 rating.

I just saw this and it was awesome. About to watch There Will Be Blood now.