How American Sniper Lets Veterans Down

I enjoyed "American Sniper" way more than I expected to. Going in I was expecting something along the lines of the hero worship of "Lone Survivor" but what I got was a very well acted character piece with some phenomenal action set-pieces. Yet, for all of its strong performances and epic battle scenes, the film completely misses its chance to be something extraordinary by failing to support the very veterans it seems to praise.

While there's some murkiness around the true "legend" status of Chris Kyle, there is no doubt that he was a fearless warrior when his country needed him the most. In the film, I was put-off by his relentless labeling of the enemy as "savages," but was extremely impressed with how director Clint Eastwood portrayed Kyle's relentless sense of duty to country and support of his brothers in arms. I was also moved by the scenes of Kyle interacting with physically wounded veterans at home, something I admire Kyle for more than his record of confirmed kills. Even now after his death Kyle's foundation lives on in helping veteran's get adjusted to life after deployment. It's tragic then that for someone like Kyle who dedicated his life to others that the people who told his story on film don't seem to share his values when it comes to veterans.

It ultimately comes down to the end of the film. Chris, seemingly adjusted back to life stateside, says goodbye to his family and gets in his truck with Eddie Ray Routh (you never learn his name in the movie), a former marine suffering from PTSD. The way Eastwood shoots this scene makes Routh appear like some kind of psycho villain, not someone suffering. Kyle's wife Taya (Sienna Miller) watches hesitantly as Kyle interacts with Routh, who is portrayed as hyper skinny, dark eyed, and intensely brooding - it's an image that carries so much judgement and no balance - something the rest of the film does so well.  By portraying him as some kind of zombie who viewers know is going to kill the hero - Eastwood seemingly is lumping veteran's into two buckets - the tough heroes who can deal with PTSD like Kyle and the dangerous psychos who can't. 

With over 1,000 PTSD cases being diagnosed a week and too many tragic instances of violent acts committed by veterans, the filmmaker's failing at addressing this issue is a disservice to the brave veterans who are struggling with mental health each day. Not every veteran's story ends up on the silver screen, but every veteran's struggles both stateside and in combat deserve more attention. "American Sniper" had that opportunity to ignite the conversation, and failed, and that is a great disservice to veterans everywhere.

New Godzilla Movie Is Some Serious Dynamite

I'm not a Godzilla fan-boy. I saw the original on VHS with my parents and don't remember much besides that fact that I was scared of the nuclear bomb at the end which in hindsight doesn't make any sense (why not the monster, was I pacifist toddler?) As for the 1998 version, I remember the hype leading up to it more than the actual movie, although I do recall the mini-Godzillas at the end were exactly like velociraptors and I was confused why I was seeing them and not the big dog. Although the soundtrack to that movie featuring Puff Daddy & Jimmy Page amongst others is fierce.  But enough talk about the past, let's talk about the present, specifically the wicked badass Godzilla movie that is now in theaters. Holy dynamite is this movie off the chain.

If you know me then you are aware that I love blockbusters and raw spectacle entertainment. I have "Transformers" on my calendar and I'm salivating over it. But the strength of "Godzilla" is that it is shot like like a tight lil indie drama and not like some massive CG spectacle (even though it is that). The director Gareth Edwards shoots the film in a way that feels natural, there are no JJ Abrams lensflares, there are no swooping Michael Bay military fetish nonsense, and no trippy slowdown Zach Synder insanity. It just comes across as real, which is nuts because this is a movie about the end of the world and the monsters that ravage the planet, but the whole thing feels as realistic as it can get. It also is packed with more Oh Shit Moments that left my mouth agape in terror/awe/wonder. Of course I then filled my open mouth with buttered popcorn, butterfingers bites (a new frontier), and peach sprite. Yes it was a good night at the tha pictures!

Let's talk about those monsters though. I don't think I'm spoiling anything here by saying that Godzilla is a good guy in the story who basically wakes up from chilling in the pacific (not a bad place to kick back) and then wakes up because an evil beast has awakened and is destroying everything in it's past/path. It's never really addressed why Godzilla wants to help the humans and I kind of wish that one of the multitude of scientists would just say something along the lines of "this huge bausss creature just likes wrecking sucka MCs who come at him" or "there can only be one" or "who cares let's just let these beasts thrown down." And thrown down they do.

The monster on monster action in this movie is light years ahead of last years limp "Pacific Rim" with the film wisely waiting until the very last couple of minutes for Godzilla to go fully bananas and just start ripping off Mortal Kombat Fatality kills. There is so much anticipation and while some may call it teasing, I love a little build up if the payoff is worth it and damn, it is worth it! Otherwise the filmmakers wisely wrap up the relatively simple plot in layers of Jurassic Park homages, conspiracy theories, coverups, and some half-baked family drama - but it doesn't really matter, if you're seeing Godzilla you're hoping for some wild shit, and on that level it certainly delivers. 

American Identity Through The Eyes of Captain America

How do we define American? Are we defined by the food that we eat, our national holidays, and the sports and music that we enjoy? Does our government, outlined in our much heralded constitution make us who we are? Or, is our American identity not rooted in our shared heritage and traditions but on how we live our lives on a daily basis? These are the questions that "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" addresses in a way that is both entertaining, funny, and unexpectedly moving.

I initially went into the film as a fan boy. I think "The Avengers" is pretty much a masterpiece of large scale storytelling and can easily tell you every movie of Marvel's "phase" based storytelling. That being said "Captain American: The Winter Soldier" has stuck with me in ways beyond nerd obsession. It struck me a brilliant metaphor to raging battle about how we define our cultural identity. The first brilliant clue that the movie will be about this comes not from our hero literally running through the symbolic monuments of our history in Washington D.C. but from the convenient checklist that he keeps of important "American" cultural and political forces that he needs to catch up on.

How do you feel about this list? Do you think it defines what it means to be an American? What would you add or remove from this list? One thing that is missing (definitely on purpose) are the attacks of September 11th and the never ending war on terror that we live with now. This doesn't make the list because this war and all that comes with it is the central issue of the film. The core of the film's story is how Captain stands in the tug of war between lean between "freedom" and "fear" as it pertains to protecting the country in the name of "order." When Captain America learns about a wide-reaching intelligence gathering and "defensive" program he memorably says "you hold a gun on everyone's head and call it protection."

This is a bold line (amongst many) that are clearly directed at the current NSA data-mining program and our continued war on terror. Earlier I asked if our government and constitution define us as Americans and the film presents the terrifying question that if it does, what does it mean if our government is diseased and corrupt? Captain America's choice in the film is to fight directly against the government which he believes has lost its way. The film may be a "super-hero" film but its really a super-revolutionary film. Is Edward Snowden our modern day Captain America? They both were born and raised here and pursued a career in intelligence. Like many whistleblowers or people who expose Governmental wrongdoing, both are labeled "traitor" by their bosses when do they so. The film is brave enough to explicitly draw a connection between standing up for your country's ideals even the when cost may be severe. Pretty intense and thought provoking than your stand blockbuster-fare.

It is not all doom, gloom, and paranoia because the film's true political message is that the strength in America lies not in our military power but in the friendships we make and how we treat our neighbors. I'm not talking about socialism. I'm talking about connecting with one another on an real and emotionally true level. Throughout the film Captain America is defined by his loyalty not to his country but to his friends, both old and new. At first, he jokes about having no personal connections or friends and ,in a painful scene with his old lover, he's reminded of what he once had and doesn't have now. Over the course of the story he learns the value of true friendship after his faith in government betrays him.

His relationship with the antagonist,The Winter Soldier is a driving core of the film and the ending choice the two make shows just how powerful a friendship can be. Throughout the film Captain American and Black Widow become true partners not because of their mission but because of their shared grief and past. The Falcon expresses grief at losing friends in war and leads a group of veterans who are looking for a connection in a brutal world. We're only as strong as the people we trust and cherish, a theme echoed in a memorable showdown in a mission control room later in the film.

It's a shame that many people will immediately write off the film as being a "super-hero" film and not see for the bold political warning story it is. The only other film that comes close to examining our current war on terror was "The Dark Knight" but that was before our current NSA reality and that film was focused on anarchy than repression. "Captain America: The Winter Soldiers" is a masterwork that works well as a surface layer blockbuster, but truly excels in what it says about our current political policies and just how much we're defined by our friendships. We may have different definitions of what it means to be American, but I think we all know that sometimes we all need the help of our people, whether they're super-heroes or not.