Apropos of nothing political:
We have seen two movies this week, both of which are nominated for Best Picture. For whatever it\’s worth, here is my (abbreviated) opinion of them:
Boyhood
A unique movie, because it was filmed over a 12 year period with the same cast and – quite literally – chronicles the growing up (from about 5 years of age to college of an actual boy) of “Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, whose personal growing-up, therefore, paralleled that of his character. That, in and of itself, makes the movie well worth your time.
Qualitatively, the subject matter is compelling, the acting is excellent and the dialogue so realistic it almost feels like a documentary. The only criticism I have is that it suffers for being at least a half hour too long (almost 3 hours in total).
Sometimes, just as parents are wise to “pick their fights” with children and let some thing go in the interest of making the ones they do take on more meaningful to their children, so should moviemakers “pick their scenes” and let even some good ones go in the interest of making the final product more enjoyable to moviegoers.
I strongly recommend Boyhood. Just be sure to get one of those refillable tubs of popcorn, because you\’ll run out before it\’s over.
American Sniper
A winner. Realistic, gritty, violent (absolutely necessary to the story), and achingly emotional.
American Sniper chronicles the life – both military and stateside – of Chris Kyle, a patriot who, through four tours of duty in Iraq, was credited as the single most successful sniper (as a protector of fellow soldiers) in U.S. military history.
Bradley Cooper, who gained something like 40 pounds to make the movie (and apparently has taken the weight off since…and I would love him to tell me how) was just plain great. Cooper is a terrific actor and this, I suspect, was his single most challenging role – not only for the weight but also for so convincingly providing the Texas accent/intonation and military deameanor.
American Sniper is not the best war movie I have ever seen. I think The Hurt Locker is. But that is a little like saying that Tony Gwynn was a better hitter than Wade Boggs. Which of the two would you be anything but thrilled to have on your team?
Ok, back to politics, where the reviews are rarely positive…and with good reason.
