Nick Anderson for December 31, 2014

American Sniper

It would be nice to see some scripts with dialogue instead of CGI, loud sound effects, and computer game themes, like never ending wars.

I agree, why go to movies to watch depressing stuff. I never go to horror movies and most movies today are special effects and pyrotechnics. Actually some of the series on TV are much better drama than most movies.

Viewers like these probably wouldn’t know a good film if it bit them in the sit-down place.

I’ve been a fan of Chris Kyle since before he wrote his books, and long before he was killed. He saved countless lives on the battlefield by killing enemy combatants. Several commenters here have made themselves look foolish by making uninformed comments.

Uh, Mel Brooks, among others, used dialogue, not RELYING on CGI as the only component isn’t the sign of depressing story lines, it’s the key to comedy, even though physical comedy and sight gags, are good too. Even “Star Wars” included some significant, and funny, dialogue along with that dramatic CGI, and sound (even though sound doesn’t travel through space).

Probably won’t watch “American Sniper” because even the trailers are causing sever flashbacks; very different settings, but same old story, actually. My son did the sandbox, so it’s not exactly myth for me either.

As far as quality writing though, comedy can indeed be as intellectually challenging as any drama, not that Rogan goes there.

May the new year indeed bring a little more peace, a little more passion for it, and a little more promise, for all, in the world.

So you admire the Japanese of WW2? Does that invalidate all other types of torture.(tell that to the tortured)

The torture inventiveness championship goes to the Roman Catholic Inquisition (world wide, not “Spanish”, and the office still existed into this century), with Puritan “witch hunts” a close second, using the shorter version of water and fire- dunk ’em – then burn ’em. (slow hanging was also popular)

“Christian charity” btw was displayed by Henry VIII when he brought in a French executioner for Anne, with a sharper, more accurate, blade.

Hiram Bingham said, about 11 hours ago@ConserveGovConserveGov said, “American Sniper.”

Oh, goodie; another movie about how Americans can kill foreign brown people safely from a distance and at no danger to themselves. And then be called “brave heroes.”———————Obviously you haven’t seen it. It’s actually a great movie and definitely not a pro-war movie.

You should (or shouldn’t) read Stephen Hunter’s Bob Lee Swager series — the hero is a sniper, and Hunter has to do a lot of ideological back-flips to make it work. He’s a skilled writer of thrillers, but very his political positions are very confused. Fascinating, if you find that kind of thing fascinating — by which I mean ideology and popular culture.

eugene57: “So you admire the Japanese of WW2?”Don’t be an idiot.

dzw: the IRA proved “grown up” is a lot more recent than folks want to admit. Bush’s “crusade” statement was just a Freudian slip of his true intentions. No, Christians haven’t all grown up either.

C.; Just a note too, like many small towns, we no longer have ANY movie theater. The swtch to digital delivery insetead of fillm costs $60-100,000 investment, and small independent theaters can’t afford to upgrade. Throw in Netflix and other sources, and independent theaters are screwed. Having written a couple screenplays, seeing the markets all “centralized” (always difficult to break in to Hollywood, very “who you know”) it’s really hard to sell good, original, ideas. If you can sell 10,000 identical Ford Fiestas, why try of Ferarris or Tesla, the “biggies” in charge won’t risk it.