American Sniper simplifies war and soldiers far too much for me to "like" but it did a good job of showing what battle can be like and how hectic it can be. I felt it was a well made movie and Cooper did a great job of showing how complex the character was and how difficult it is for soldiers to return but the whole hero thing was turned up a bit too much. He was good but no one soldier could ever have as much of an impact on the 'war' as he did in that film. PS he was known to be a pretty hefty embellisher even in the memoir he wrote but the basics are all legit. My favorite part was actually that they used a bottle of water on a string to make an automatic door closer in their plywood B-Hut, exactly how it's done IRL.
i would disagree that the acting was anything special. even if i were to spot bradley cooper a fair number of points for his performance (which i don't because it was mediocre at best), sienna miller single-handedly tanks the movie in the acting department. it's not her fault that her part is written paper thin and with all the tact of a circa-1995 network drama, but she is still dreadful. the direction is also pretty poor imo. eastwood is notorious for often refusing to do more than one take and that tendency is evident in a lot of scenes in the movie. also, the baby was literally the worst prop i've seen in a film in years.
apart from criticizing the performances and direction, i think the movie raises interesting questions about stories which are ostensibly based on true events and the obligations of filmmakers who try to tackle such a story.
Personally I think Boyhood is a lock for best picture, the Academy loves that 'pushing the envelope' crap.
i agree that boyhood is the favorite, but if the academy wanted to just give it to the movie that pushed the envelope, birdman would win for sure. the only way boyhood pushed the envelope is that it was filmed over 12 years, a fact which, if not for the marketing, would likely not even occur to the casual moviegoer. in its lack of basic plot points, it's the same as most movies linklater was writer/director on: slacker, dazed and confused, waking life, before sunrise/sunset/midnight.
if anything, the academy is averse to awarding best picture to a film that pushes the envelope. look back at the last several years' best picture winners and notice which higher concept or edgier movies were passed over in parentheses:
2013: 12 years a slave (her)
2012: argo (beasts of the southern wild, django)
2011: the artist (the one possible exception, but with the tree of life nominated, it was not even close to being the film that most "pushed the envelope")
2010: the king's speech (black swan, inception)
2009: the hurt locker (district 9, inglourious basterds)
2008: slumdog millionaire (curious case of benjamin button)
the academy's treatment of the best picture category is for the most part like the republican presidential nomination process: include in the process a few options that will make you feel better about yourself, but ultimately give it to the most benign, safest candidate.
