American Sniper

American Sniper
Year: 2014
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller
Directed By: Clint Eastwood
Rating: R
Run Time: 134 Minutes

     Let me start off with saying that I am a military veteran, serving in the Marine Corps for 8 years.  My opinion on this blog is meant to be unbiased and give you, the reader, a clear idea of what movies entail and what they are all about.  This movie however has hit home for me.  It takes a lot to get under my skin, especially for a film, but when one comes along, I respect it.  There are other critics and movie goers out there that did not enjoy this film and saying it is propaganda to a war we should have never been involved in and not giving credit to the story of Chris Kyle.  I will tell you, that when a military man or woman gets called to war, it is not a choice whether or not they agree with it, they are sent there, because they CHOSE to be in the military unlike the other 99.5% of Americans (Eikenberry & Kennedy, 2013),  This movie is not a propaganda film or anything of the sort; it is a movie about a man who volunteered to defend his nation when we all saw what happened in 2001.  It is to remember a man who accomplished something incredible with his ability as a sniper and his love for this great Nation.  Just remember that men and women like Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle give you the freedom and right to hate or love this film.

     This movie was an incredible story of what Chief Petty Office Chris Kyle went through to become the Sniper that he is known for today.   In the last decade, I feel we have seen less fictional war stories in Hollywood and more true stories coming to theatres.  With the attraction of constant news cycle and social media, stories like this one can be told.  This movie is a chronicle (or as much as you can fit into two hours) of America's most lethal sniper Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle. Yes, there was Hollywood thrown in there, but the film could not have been directed by a better man than Clint Eastwood.  Mr Eastwood is long known for his rolls in military films back in the 70's and 80's, and for his respect for the men and women who serve.  Having been in Iraq around the same time the "shot" took place, this movie really captured what it was like to be over there and the changes that took place from his first tour to his final fourth tour.

     The movie starts with a very compelling entry of the choice a sniper has to make when protecting fellow troops.  This is a choice many of us couldn't make, yet in a time of war, especially in a place where there are no limits to how they can attack, the decision of life or death has to be instantaneous.  The movie progresses following how Chris Kyle started his life as a cowboy and how he decided to join the Seals as well as follows him on his four tours in the Iraq War.  The great thing about this movie is that is shows how each time he went, the changes that were around him.  It also portrays the story of his life back on US soil when after his life changing events.  The story is very compelling and very edge of your seat kind of thriller.  His story is very compelling and you have to remember that this film is based on true events that many of us have experienced.
   
     Bradley Cooper played this roll extremely well.  After watching some interviews with Chris Kyle, you can see how well Bradley Cooper portrayed his real life character.  The filming sequences are very well put together and action sequences can be rather intense.  For those of you thinking it is fake and that isn't how it really is, of all the war movies I have seen, this one is very realistic.  One of the most realistic scenes is the sand storm.  Yes, they are really like that.

     I give this movie 4 out of 5 incredible sniper shots.  When you go to see this, you have to understand that it is an intense war movie and not what you would call a "feel-good" movie.  It is a true story of a Navy Seal and you have to have that in your mind when you see this.  Whether you are pro war or not, you have to have respect for the men and woman that have defended your right to have an opinion.  Many veterans and fallen heroes all have incredible stories but not all will get their story told on the silver screen.  This movie is a fantastic tribute to a great American hero, who saved countless American troops lives from the building above.

 Support the Troops...

Poolhall Junkies

Poolhall Junkies

Year: 2002

Starring: Mars Callahan, Christopher Walken, Chazz Palminteri

Directed By: Mars Callahan

Rating: R

Run Time: 99 Minutes

     A friend of mine asked me to review this over a year ago.  After my delay in posting, which I can give you a ton of reasons and excuses why I haven't, I am going to get back in the game.  Even though my followers are few, that doesn't mean I can't take the 15-20 minutes to write a review for a movie, given I watch probably close to 500 in a single year.  So Ken, here you go man, the review you have been waiting for!

     I am just going to come right out and say that I really enjoyed this movie.  It was a different twist on a sports/gangster movie about pool.  I really like the fact when someone takes bowling, pool, or cards and puts it into a serious drama, it makes the sport more attractive to people who generally think it is a bar game.  If you don't want to at least try and play some pool after watching this movie, I would be shocked.

     The movie opens on a teenage kid, Johnny who can roll at pool.  He is talking about being a pro and going far, but Chazz's character, Joe, a protective father figure who is out for his own gain, doesn't want to lose this kid because he sees the money this kid could make hustling pool and throws away Johnny's invitation to play professionally.  Flash forward to a pool hall full of players (hence the name Poolhall Junkies), where the now grown up Johnny is playing for money, and is clearly better than anyone he plays.  At the end of this scene, he find out what Joe did, and leaves him high and dry in a bad situation. This movie continues from here about how Johnny gives up pool, gets back on it, gives it up again, and has to play at the end to get his brother out of trouble.  I, again, don't want to give it all away, but the introduction scene is enough to keep you interested in what will happen in the movie.  There are a lot of supporting talent as well from Michael Rosenbaum (most notably Lex Luther from Smallville), Christopher Walken, and even an Eastwood (Clint's daughter Alison).  A movie is only as good as your supporting cast, and this one had a great one.

     However, there is a downside to this film.  This movie had a very similar plot, one that I had seen before, almost had the exact same plot twists, climaxes, etc.made only 4 years earlier.  Rounders (a movie about poker starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton) was so similar to this movie, you could almost call this movie Rounder 2: Poolhall Junkies.  It was so similar, I had to see if it was by the same director (it wasn't) so it was not original, and very, very predictable, with no real surprise.  Another thing I didn't like was the ending sequence which was corny, and I think it was probably one of the first things filmed because it didn't seem very fluid.  The pool game play was incredible though, but a little confusing, but they all can't be perfect right?

     Regardless, I still give this movie 3.5 out of 5 pool ques.  I will definitely watch it again, after I research some rules on how they are playing and some of the more technical stuff (because I'm a nerd) but still this movie is a great one to see and is going in my Top 10 Sports movies list.  Watch it, its a good one, you'll enjoy it.

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Year: 2011

Starring: James Franco, John Lithgow, Frieda Pinto

Directed By: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 105 Minutes

     When I first saw the preview for this movie, I thought, what a brilliant idea for a movie.  Take a classic movie and create a prequel to explain how apes took over the planet.  I thought it was brilliant, and really loved what they did with the teasers and trailers.  Each time I saw the preview, I really wanted to see this movie more and more.  I really hyped myself up for this movie, and by the time it came out, I was really worried that it was just going to be terrible.  WOW, I was pleasantly surprised when I see James Franco continue his great acting, and the story was incredible.  Following a day in the life of a genius ape just made this movie so much better.

     The movie begins with the capture of some chimpanzees in Africa.  I will warn all you, if you are not a fan of seeing animals being tested on or injured or even killed, just be aware that it happens in this movie, BUT there are all digital animals so its not real.  The same company who did the digital imaging for Avatar did the effects for this movie, so the apes look very, very realistic.  From there it follows James Franco, and scientist creating a cure for brain disorders.  He is ultimately trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's since his father, John Lithgow, suffers from it.  When he finds a successful strain in a subject chimp, he plans to present it to the board, when the chimp goes wild, and is killed.  They discover it was protecting a baby chimp, who becomes the main focus of the movie.

     When James Franco decides to keep the infant chimp instead of put it down, he discovers it is smarter than any other chimp.  It seems the strain they used in the mother, was passed to the baby in the womb, but changed him differently.  Throughout the movie you are following Caesar and James Franco, alternating between Caesar's new discovers, and downfalls, and James Franco continued push to cure brain diseases.  Caesar goes to protect John Lithgow when a neighbor is trying to fight him, and thus causes animal control to put him in an ape habitat.  This is where you follow Caesar and the "rise."

     I truly thought this movie was great.  Such a simple idea, such a great story, and such a good ending.  I will give this movie 4.5 our of 5 ALZ 113's.  Call me biased, but I thought this movie was really well done.  There were some corny parts, but a lot of parts in which make you think about how this could happen and that it is the cause of the famous 1968 movie Planet of the Apes.  I highly recommend, and have an open mind!  Remember, it is a movie, not a real scientific story.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part II

Year: 2011

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes

Directed By: David Yates

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 125 Minutes

     I'm not sure if I was just really wanting to see this movie and maybe over hyped it to myself, or what the situation was.  I didn’t see it at midnight, to avoid the large crowds, but I couldn’t resist waiting to long to see it.  I think I was more impressed with the first movie, because it was true to the book.  I thought breaking this up into two movies would really give the fans what they wanted.  However I left the theatre feeling really unsatisfied and really let down.  I will talk more about that later.

     The movie really relied more of the end of the book, the part of the book that really got you excited to know what was going to happen.  The movie follows Harry, Ron and Hermione right where they left off, in their search of the remaining horocruxes.  This movie is the conclusion to the seven part books, the finale between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.  The movie started off really well, they jumped right into finding the remaining horocrux in the bank, then in Hogwarts, and you started to see your questions get answered.  Then all of a sudden, the battle begun, and things started to happen and I feel important details from the book were skipped that shouldn’t have been. 

     Part I was over two hours and twenty minutes long, where as Part two was just over two hours.  I really thought that this movie would in fact be longer.  Include more of the end of the book, especially parts that were read from “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore” which happened in the book.  I also would’ve really like to see more about Albus in this movie, as the book did, but they just jumped right into the attack of Hogwarts and it was just really disappointing.  It was like they were trying to jam action into a movie that wasn’t an action genre.  I also really, really disliked the way Lord Voldemort died, it was just like this powerful evil wizard just vanished, it was really unfortunate.  I really would have liked to see a more elaborate battle between “He Who Must Not Be Named” and “The Boy Who Lived.”

     Regardless, it was still a good movie, and fans everywhere will love it.  My personal opinion just left me a little disappointed, and that could be because of the book.  When it came out, I took off work, read it all the way through that day, and couldn’t believe how incredible the ending was.  Maybe it is always that way, a book can hardly ever translate to the big screen the way your mind imagines it.  It is still worth seeing if you are a Harry Potter fan, or even if you have seen the movies and not read the books, you obviously need to finish this.  I am sure this movie will gross an insane amount of money, and it already predicted to shatter an opening day record.

     I will give this movie, just like its predecessor, 3.5 out of 5 Elder Wands.  The movie was worth the money, and great in 3D, and you should definitely go see it.  But as I said before in my Part I post, read the books, and be amazed at how a children’s book evolved into an epic adult novel. 

PS: I really feel like they could have given some of the characters justice who died in the film….

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83rd Annual Academy Awards

Well, the Oscars are over, and really no big shocker happened this year.  Colin Firth sealed up his King George VI role with an Oscar, and The King's Speech took Best Picture and Best Director.  The Fighter did well, pulling in Best Supporting Actor and Actress.  Inception won its fair share of awards including cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.  Overall, it was a fairly predictable Oscars, even though at the Oscar party I chose nominees that weren't the favorites.

Downside of the Oscars?  How about James Franco and Anne Hathaway.  The show is all staged and you would think that of all people, actors, would be able to make something seem like they aren't reading a script.  I mean come on, the best part of the show was when Billy Crystal came out.  Bring Billy back!

The Oscars are really a showcase for films that probably a lot of people haven't seen.  Besides a lot of the best pictures, most of the people in the world probably haven't seen 60-80% of the movies up for nominations.  Even though I saw a big chunk of the films this year, I still didn't see some of the Animated Shorts, documentaries,  foreign film, even some of the pictures that had nominees for Best Actor and Actress.  I think the overall point is to give people who watch an opportunity to get outside of their bubble of cinema, and see something unique.  Look at Slumdog Millionaire, winner in 2009.  A product of India, out of no where that stole the show and won 8 Oscars including best picture.

Point is, I know a lot of people don't watch the Oscars, but give them a shot, because you may see a nominee in the future that you never thought you would've liked.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3

Year: 2010

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen

Directed By: Lee Unkrich

Rating: G

Run Time: 103 Minutes

     Pixar has yet to put out a movie that has not failed.  When I first heard about Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, I started to worry that maybe Pixar is running out of ideas.  To produce sequels to successful movies is always a huge risk, but Pixar seems to make it work.  Granted, Toy Story is the only Pixar movie to produce sequels; I guess we will see what happens when Cars 2 comes out.  However, Toy Story trilogy is an exception to the sequels rule.  Pixar seems to know what they are doing.

     Toy Story 3 picks up many years into the future from Toy Story 2, where Andy is grown up and going off to college.  Woody, Buzz and the gang are all trying to be played with again, and kept in Andy's heart.  Of course Andy's mom does her usual thing and messes up, and take the toys to a day care center.  The toys try to escape and get home, and I will not go further then that when I talk about this movie.  The movie is actually really, really good.  Ever since the initial Toy Story came out, I challenge someone to tell me they didn't want that Buzz Lightyear action figure.  This movie really tugs at your heart strings and makes you think about what happened to all your old toys when you were a kid.  All in all, this was a great way to end (hopefully) the series.

     It is hard to not like this movie, however I will say that it has no business being in the Best Picture category.  Yes it was a great movie, but in no way did it really involve any acting or directing skill in my opinion.  Talking into a microphone and directing animated characters is not really a best picture type film.  That is why there is a category for Best Animated Film.  Although, I do think that it is a sham that Despicable Me didn't get an Oscar nod.  I do think this will win best Animated, and has full right to be nominated for other things, but not best picture!  Don't get me wrong, I love Tom Hanks and Time Allen, but come on, if I was an actor, I would be insulted that a film that required no actual on-screen acting won best picture, even a director.  It is a lot different when you can just make the animated characters do whatever you want, and you don't have to work with actual people.  But hey, if it wins, great, better then some of the other nominations this year.

     I will give this movie 4.5 out of 5 Spanish Buzz Lightyear's.  I feel like I have made my claim to how good this movie was, one of the best of the year for sure.  I guess if you haven't figured it out, I really think if you can watch a movie over and over again, it is a good movie.  In my collection, if you as a movie are lucky enough to get purchased in a special edition case, well then you were probably a really good movie!  But still, shouldn't be up for best picture; sorry if you guys disagree!

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The Fighter

The Fighter

Year: 2010

Starring: Mark Walhberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams

Directed By: David O. Russell

Rating: R

Run Time: 115 Minutes

     Boxing is a lost art in the sporting world.  In the past in American history, boxing has brought our nation together.  From Rocky to Cinderella Man, the sport has turned primarily in to a Central American phenomenon, and really has no relevance in America anymore.  However, boxing always seems to produce great movies.  This movie is particularly great not only because it was a boxing movie, but because it was based on true events.  It is always a great movie when it is based on true inspiring events in our history.
    Mark Wahlberg portrays real life boxer Mikey Ward during a time when his brother, Dicky is being filmed for HBO.  This movie is about how the family went through their struggles with Micky's career, Dicky's drug problem and arrests, and Micky's rise to become a champion.  The great thing about this movie is that you can really be connected with the characters.  You get involved with the family struggles, and the troubles throughout the movie, and you get inspired during the boxing scenes.  On the rare occasion does a movie grab you like this one does, and you get so emotionally involved with it.
     Christian Bale was unbelievable in this movie.  If he does not win best Supporting actor, I would be shocked and really upset, unless Geoffery Rush steals the gold man.  When you first watch this movie, you think Christian Bale is over doing it.  You are watching and get a little annoyed with his character.  Christian Bale is notorious for adding a dropping weight for his roles (must be a wreck on his body) but he looked like a crack addicted.  He had the sunk in cheeks, and the make up for him was great.  He played the character with such brilliance that some would say he over-acted.  But then at the end of the movie, you see a clip with the real Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, and you see how great of a job Christian Bale did in his portrayal of Dicky Eklund.  Christian Bale whole heartedly deserves the Best Supporting Actor for this film.
     I will give this movie 5 out of 5 TKO's.  This movie was great.  Mark Wahlberg's performance was great, Amy Adams could win supporting actress for her role, Christian Bale was amazing, plus the story was great.  I would be okay if this movie won best picture because it really had everything a movie could have.  Even though someone people will look at it purely as a boxing movie and shouldn't be a  contender, I will reply to them saying, Rocky, 1976.  Great movie, don't skip it.

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Shout Out to Amy Adams for another great role, a local girl from Castle Rock, Colorado.