August1991 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Posted March 13, 2015 (edited) I saw this movie with some hope that the book (that I'm about to finish) would portray accurately a true story. Surely, I can trust Clint Eastwood to get it right, I thought. Surely, this will not be another leftist/Hollywood remake of America. Well, I was wrong. Even Eastwood fell into the Hollywood world of self-obsession. In reality, Chris Kyle never doubted what he was doing - and his book makes this plain. The movie doesn't. Indeed, the movie uses the discord between wife/husband as a method to question existence. Sorry, Chris Kyle didn't do that. IOW, this Eastwood/Hollywood movie injects doubt/angst as a superficial question to give support to drama. Heck, it even invents a "Mustapha".The movie also misses, Hollywood-style, another large point of real life. Kyle didn't do all this alone; he did it with others. Kyle didn't go to Iraq alone; he went as part of a group. Yet, Hollywood-style, Easton portrays him as a single guy, a guy alone. (I remember watching Donnie Brasco and thinking this is how Hollywood exists but not how it portrays life.) It is one thing to face adversity truly alone, and another to face it with many around you.I had several third paragraphs in mind while I watched the movie - but then the credits rolled and reality struck. If you rent/watch this movie, do it for the final 3 minutes or so when the credits roll. You will see the real world. A world that Hollywood is unable to portray and Eastwood can barely suggest. The final few minutes, while the credits roll, make this otherwise good movie worth watching. These people in America (and we've seen the same in Canada) give me hope. Edited July 30, 2015 by August1991 Quote
guyser Posted March 13, 2015 Report Posted March 13, 2015 Its a movie. Want a documentary...?... watch a documentary. Quote
Bryan Posted March 13, 2015 Report Posted March 13, 2015 Also, according to many who knew Kyle, the book was largely a work of fiction. Quote
guyser Posted March 13, 2015 Report Posted March 13, 2015 Also, according to many who knew Kyle, the book was largely a work of fiction.Yup ! And he was sued and lost by none other than Ventura. It would appear this guy was a classic asshat. Bet that wasnt in the movie either. Quote
overthere Posted March 13, 2015 Report Posted March 13, 2015 Yet, Hollywood-style, Easton portrays him as a single guy, a guy alone. Perhaps you slept through the parts where Kyle was part of a two man sniper team, so no he was not alone. Midway through the flick, he disobeyed orders , stopped sniping and joined his buddies going door to door, as part of a team. Try again. Harder. Quote Science too hard for you? Try religion!
August1991 Posted March 15, 2015 Author Report Posted March 15, 2015 (edited) And he was sued and lost by none other than Ventura. It would appear this guy was a classic asshat.I don't really follow these American civil suits; and frankly, I don't care. I judge Americans by their own standard: are they telling the truth? This was the style of Hemingway and Twain, even Dickens and Maupassant and Zola. IMHO, to use Twain's phrase, Kyle told mostly the truth. But then he went and sued one of those "brothers" — Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. history, author of the bestselling 2011 book American Sniper, and the subject of a new movie directed by Clint Eastwood — and it all went to shit. Link Edited March 15, 2015 by August1991 Quote
guyser Posted March 17, 2015 Report Posted March 17, 2015 I don't really follow these American civil suits; and frankly, I don't care.Thats obvious er ...wait? Your opener says you wanted the truth and didnt get it. Now you dont care. I judge Americans by their own standard: are they telling the truth?Largely no.IMHO, to use Twain's phrase, Kyle told mostly the truth.Can I come back tomorrow and find you flip flopped again? If its wednesday...all lies If its Thursday....the truth. Quote
August1991 Posted March 20, 2015 Author Report Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) Your opener says you wanted the truth and didnt get it. Now you dont care. My opener said that Americans, such as Twain and Hemingway, wanted to tell the truth. I complained that Hollywood, even Clint Easton, fails to tell the truth. I have now finished Kyle's book and I reckon that, mostly, he told the truth. My call. Edited March 20, 2015 by August1991 Quote
sharkman Posted March 31, 2015 Report Posted March 31, 2015 I think Kyle was a straight shooter, no pun intended. That said, for some, reading the book before seeing the movie can ruin the experience and has occasionally been my experience. I now tend to read the book afterwards instead, when such a situation presents itself. I like Eastwood though, I'd trust him to make a good movie. Changes to the story are pretty much going to happen in any movie based on the book. Quote
BubberMiley Posted March 31, 2015 Report Posted March 31, 2015 Maybe he was just having a Brian Williams moment when he talked about Jesse Ventura. Quote "I think it's fun watching the waldick get all excited/knickers in a knot over something." -scribblet
August1991 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) I think Kyle was a straight shooter, no pun intended. That said, for some, reading the book before seeing the movie can ruin the experience and has occasionally been my experience. I now tend to read the book afterwards instead, when such a situation presents itself. I like Eastwood though, I'd trust him to make a good movie. Changes to the story are pretty much going to happen in any movie based on the book. I appreciate Eastwood's talent to act, and make movies. It's not easy. But if you go to the trouble to make a movie, then it's better to tell the truth. 1) Eastwood was wrong to imply that Chris Kyle did all this alone. Kyle didn't. He was part of a group; he was a Seal. (As Obama would say, "He didn't build that.") 2) Eastwood was wrong to imply that Kyle suffered angst. He didn't. Kyle had no psychological problems. (As Bush Jnr would say, "You can't fool me twice.") ==== The American Right believes in the Lone Guy who saves the day. The American Left believes in the Lone Guy who questions himself. In fact, Chris Kyle was not a lone guy, and he didn't question himself. His true story runs counter to the common narrative on the American Left/Right. Edited May 3, 2015 by August1991 Quote
Je suis Omar Posted May 14, 2015 Report Posted May 14, 2015 August 1991: But if you go to the trouble to make a movie, then it's better to tell the truth. Omar: if the truth is what you are looking for then you had better stay far away from American movies. Quote
Guest Posted May 14, 2015 Report Posted May 14, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I remember how Casablanca was ruined for me by not being true. Edited May 14, 2015 by bcsapper Quote
sharkman Posted May 14, 2015 Report Posted May 14, 2015 August 1991: But if you go to the trouble to make a movie, then it's better to tell the truth. Omar: if the truth is what you are looking for then you had better stay far away from American movies. Movies generally speaking are an escape from reality, whether they be European, Asian, or American movies. Profits trump truth every time. Quote
August1991 Posted May 31, 2015 Author Report Posted May 31, 2015 Yeah, I remember how Casablanca was ruined for me by not being true. But then even in Casablanca, there's Yvonne's cry. As Twain and Hemingway noted, truth has its way. Quote
overthere Posted June 1, 2015 Report Posted June 1, 2015 Eastwood was wrong to imply that Chris Kyle did all this alone. Kyle didn't. He was part of a group; he was a Seal. (As Obama would say, "He didn't build that. Hi did not imply that or show that on the screen, and you keep repeating this nonsense. Watch the movie, then come back here and edit or delete your posts. Quote Science too hard for you? Try religion!
Je suis Omar Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 Movies generally speaking are an escape from reality, whether they be European, Asian, or American movies. Profits trump truth every time. Everyday life in the USA is a gigantic escape from reality. Profits always trump the truth. Quote
Je suis Omar Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 This, below, captures the cavernous delusional state that most Americans have operated under their entire lives. American Sniper, American Simpletons http://thepriceofreading.com/american-sniper-american-simpletons/ Quote
sharkman Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 Come back when you've got the American army beheading muslims as ISIS is doing to Christians. Talk about delusion. Quote
bush_cheney2004 Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 Everyday life in the USA is a gigantic escape from reality. Profits always trump the truth. Yeah...it's great ! That's why more emigres go to the USA...than ANYWHERE else. Quote Economics trumps Virtue.
cybercoma Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 That's why more emigres go to the USA...than ANYWHERE else. Why do you get away with posting off topic garbage all day every day? Quote
sharkman Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 Je suis's posts on this thread are nothing but an off topic diatribe, why are you not complaining about that? Quote
cybercoma Posted June 2, 2015 Report Posted June 2, 2015 Je suis's posts on this thread are nothing but an off topic diatribe, why are you not complaining about that? Because I have him on ignore and don't respond to his posts. I took bush_cheney off ignore, but am starting to regret my decision. Quote
SpankyMcFarland Posted October 16, 2015 Report Posted October 16, 2015 Leaving aside the veracity stuff, I thought it was convincing on its own terms and gave an authentic portrayal of a how a soldier lives, including the costs involved. Eastwood is not a great artist but has still made some extraordinary movies, my favourite probably being Bird which brought Charlie Parker's music into my life. And I can tell you of Detroit relatives of mine who could be straight out of Gran Torino. Quote
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