victuki

Chris Kyle was the most lethal sniper in the U.S. military history. He apparently killed more than 250 Iraqui insurgents, though the Pentagon only credited him around 160, which nevertheless made him a legend of the U.S. Army. I started to read the book last year but stopped doing it since I first heard about the project. Eastwood and Cooper on board, that is promising. And of course they both deliver, and "American Sniper" is dense and blunt, quite like a shot.

Cooper plays Chris Kyle, the ultimate "American": religious, patriot and uncompromising in his convictions. He is a noble and honest man regarding every aspect of his life, and that is something to respect. Cooper already played a soldier in "The A-Team" remake (Joe Carnahan, 2010), and it seems that he showed great abilities in the military stunts, and showed interest in the work of the army. He bulked up 20 kg and went through a really tough training, including Navy SEAL sniper sessions. Sienna Miller plays his wife Taya, who suffered the effects of war on his husband, despite his strong belief and determination. Her unconditional love was a massive support for Kyle.

Eastwood has made an intense and heartfelt film, one of his trademarks, absent shows and unnecessary politics or philosophy. This is obviously the classic "American" patriotic film, but it differs from others in the approach of the man, who is an instrument to a purpose, yet a human being totally aware of what he does.

Bottom line, this film is almost perfect in many aspects, and the only thing that does not hook me is how much it reminds me to "The Hurt Locker" (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008). That was way more focused on the adrenaline addiction the main character had, but the behavior of both characters after tours seemed to me pretty alike.

Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), a wanna-be musician whose songwriting is crappy at best, joins by chance a weird pop band, quite indie, quite insane. The leader, singer and songwriter is Frank, a charismatic front man who always wears a big fake head. A rather promising story I reckon... There are great actors on board, like Michael Fassbender, Maggie Gyllenhaal or Domnhall Gleeson, but music is the main character here. It is not a musical, it is more how music struggles to be business, or something artistic or even mystic.It is at this point that both Fassbender and Gyllenhaal nail it as tortured but gifted souls that create music, because let's not kid ourselves here, ordinary people don't usually create something like "OK Computer" (Radiohead, 1997, EMI Records). Jon begins his own journey from being that normal person to someone that witness that artistic epiphany that we as fans can only enjoy. It is quite a way to describe the process of songwriting ( I will not keep talking about this since I am not a musician), but as far as filmmaking is concerned, this is indie at its best. Dense, compelling and let's say it, hipster, at least aesthetically; it is not that original, nor is it classical, it is more erratic, inspiring even...It seemed to me like those records that leave no impression on that first listening, but that in time tends to become the most appreciated song pieces in your mind.

"The Unholy Masquerade" is a secret cult event, full of vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures that takes place in New Zealand. Only a few days before that, some vampires open the gates of their home for a documentary crew to follow their lives. Viago (Taika Waititi), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), Petyr (Ben Fransham) and Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) are those vampires, and we shall see how they struggle with issues like being flatmates, doing the house chores and cope with modern day lifestyle; all of this is an overwhelming, funny and bloody adventure. Jemaine Clement is a well-known comedian from New Zealand, co-creator of "Flight of the Concords" (2007-2009), and also known as the villain "Boris the Animal" in the film "Men in Black 3" (Barry Sonnenfeld, 2012). He and Taika Waititi, seen as Ryan Reynolds pal in "Green Lantern" (Martin Campbell, 2011) direct this amazing and funny mockumentary. It is a fresh take on vampires, werewolves and else, who are out of time and out of place, misfits that are actually more human than those seen on more "serious" incarnations. However, there is a possible hiccup here, and it is its that New Zealand scent, that mysterious something the country and culture still has. Once you get immersed into it, there is no way back, you love it. That happens with the humor as well, and I recommend you to watch this and then have your word about it. It might not be a mainstream comedy, but it is funny to dead (or living dead).