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New American Sniper.
New wow I like his writing
but that was an extremely shitty review.

First off Apocalypse Now was the defining Vietnam movie followed by a mile by Platoon, with even John Wayne's Green Berets at the bottom of the list which is still more relevant than Forrest Gump to the war. Forrest Gump was a historical review of the time and culture of the late 60's in America sharpened by the stake that was Viet Nam.

The longest recorded hit was well over a mile by a Brit sniper.

I have met a lot of shooters and looters, I will not watch the movie or read the book. I have never met Kyle nor do I have any interest in seeing the movie but if it a standard Eastwood production it is designed to have a simple message, an ordinary man doing extraordinary things for love or country. That is the usual content of his excellent films. No more no less.

Seems like a lot of political woo went into that review.
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 59 years. meep
New That's Taibbi in a nutshell. :-)
Yeah, using Forrest Gump as a cudgel is pretty low.

There's another review at RS that is much shorter, but much more impressed with the film.

Cheers,
Scott.
New Not a review, an editorial.
New Political woo?
I read it as more a moral/ehtical/sanity condemnation of the gullible Murican public, evidenced by their support of such monsters as Cheney, Wolfowitz, KRISTOL! and bat-shit Neoconmen on up to the Top: the Daddy-besotted foil for Cheney's (self-selected) Veep-in-title/but master agitprop originator and exploiter, working from his very-own office-sector in the Pentagon.

What Eastwood (is here said to have done--I haven't seen it nor would I) is veritably a sop to jingoists of every stripe, saying implicitly: forget the historical facts of the entire illegal/gamed-invasion; let's just wallow again in some mindless destruction (we'll pay $Ts to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed, natch) and portrayal of vicarious killings: for a high game score, in the competitive mind of the Hero-perp.

Screw all the facts: what is this creation but War-porno aping Rambo, John Wayne and playing to modern Birchers? There's the 'political' framing, just as with the post-Vietnam, similar apologias.

Agree then, that Taibbi doesn't "properly review" this Movie X: on its cinematography, acting, puppy-dog sentimentality Rating and such. He lambasts it for being a transparent propaganda pitch to re-Frame the whole, ongoing [where's that marlowe cartoon when we need it!?] Quagmire...

Should be retitled, American Jingoist, Sub-titled, An evening of red-meat eviscerations to go with your post Big-Game popcorn.

(At least, in the '60s enough citizens Marched in opposition to LBJ's deranged escalations of civilian massacres.. quite Enough of us to torpedo his re-election. Thus, via the RFK assassination to clear the way for Tricky Dick's ascension. Win the big One/Lose the ongoing War against sanity. Oh. Well. Shit happens.


The only thing 'United' in these dis-USA 'States' is the common thread of violence for fun and profit--Muricans' most popular gun-fotainment--voyeurs of the processes of creating heaped dead burned bodies. Watch from your sofa.

Good 'review' Taibbi, but it won't fix pathology this deeply ingrained, nor probably: prevent similar whitewashes of the perpetual War on Error ... over the next decade?
New "7 heinous lies “American Sniper” is telling America"

The film American Sniper, based on the story of the late Navy Seal Chris Kyle, is a box office hit, setting records for an R-rated film released in January. Yet the film, the autobiography of the same name, and the reputation of Chris Kyle are all built on a set of half-truths, myths and outright lies that Hollywood didn’t see fit to clear up.

1. The Film Suggests the Iraq War Was In Response To 9/11: One way to get audiences to unambiguously support Kyle’s actions in the film is to believe he’s there to avenge the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The movie cuts from Kyle watching footage of the attacks to him serving in Iraq, implying there is some link between the two.

2. The Film Invents a Terrorist Sniper Who Works For Multiple Opposing Factions: Kyle’s primary antagonist in the film is a sniper named Mustafa. Mustafa is mentioned in a single paragraph in Kyle’s book, but the movie blows him up into an ever-present figure and Syrian Olympic medal winner who fights for both Sunni insurgents in Fallujah and the Shia Madhi army.

3. The Film Portrays Chris Kyle as Tormented By His Actions: Multiple scenes in the movie portray Kyle as haunted by his service. One of the film’s earliest reviews praised it for showing the “emotional torment of so many military men and women.” But that torment is completely absent from the book the film is based on. In the book, Kyle refers to everyone he fought as “savage, despicable” evil. He writes, “I only wish I had killed more.” He also writes, “I loved what I did. I still do. If circumstances were different – if my family didn’t need me – I’d be back in a heartbeat. I’m not lying or exaggerating to say it was fun. I had the time of my life being a SEAL.” On an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show he laughs about accidentally shooting an Iraqi insurgent. He once told a military investigator that he doesn’t “shoot people with Korans. I’d like to, but I don’t.”

4. The Real Chris Kyle Made Up A Story About Killing Dozens of People In Post-Katrina New Orleans: Kyle claimed that he killed 30 people in the chaos of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, a story Louisiana writer Jarvis DeBerry calls “preposterous.” It shows the sort of mentality post-war Kyle had, but the claim doesn’t appear in the film.

5. The Real Chris Kyle Fabricated A Story About Killing Two Men Who Tried To Carjack Him In Texas: Kyle told numerous people a story about killing two alleged carjackers in Texas. Reporters tried repeatedly to verify this claim, but no evidence of it exists.

6. Chris Kyle Was Successfully Sued For Lying About the Former Governor of Minnesota: Kyle alleged that former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura defamed Navy SEALs and got into a fight with him at a local bar. Ventura successfully sued Kyle for the passage in his book, and a jury awarded him $1.845 million.

7. Chris Kyle’s Family Claimed He Donated His Book Proceeds To Veterans’ Charity, But He Kept Most Of The Profits: The National Review debunks the claim that all proceeds of his book went to veterans’ charities. Around 2 percent – $52,000 – went to the charities while the Kyles pocketed $3 million.

Although the movie is an initial box office hit, there is a growing backlashagainst its simplistic portrayal of the war and misleading take on Kyle’s character. This backlash has reportedly spread among members of the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences, which could threaten the film’s shot at racking up Oscars.




http://www.salon.com/2015/01/23/7_enormous_lies_american_sniper_is_telling_america_partner/




Satan (impatiently) to Newcomer: The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous.
- - - Mark Twain, "Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar" 1897
New Contrast with Hathcock in "Marine Sniper"
It's been years since I read it, but I don't recall him ever addressing how he felt about it. It was all technical: This is what I did and how I did it. He was a close to a "killing machine" as I've ever read about.
--

Drew
New I have an in-built knee-jerk negative reaction...
...to anything titled "American $THING".

What the shit is that all about?

Is it just an attempt to tap into the deep-seated and endemic jingoism of the vast unwashed between the left and right coasts?
New Brevity Award, with three Belladonna-leaf Clusters
New It was the title of his autobiography.
Probably someone in a cubicle at Murdoch Harper came up with it. Eastwood can't be faulted for that.

Cheers,
Scott.
New I know. That doesn't change anything.
     American Sniper. - (Another Scott) - (10)
         wow I like his writing - (boxley) - (3)
             That's Taibbi in a nutshell. :-) - (Another Scott)
             Not a review, an editorial. - (pwhysall)
             Political woo? - (Ashton)
         "7 heinous lies “American Sniper” is telling America" - (lincoln) - (1)
             Contrast with Hathcock in "Marine Sniper" - (drook)
         I have an in-built knee-jerk negative reaction... - (pwhysall) - (3)
             Brevity Award, with three Belladonna-leaf Clusters -NT - (Ashton)
             It was the title of his autobiography. - (Another Scott) - (1)
                 I know. That doesn't change anything. -NT - (pwhysall)

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