Instead of watching President Obama's recent State of the Union Address, my son and I paid some of our hard-earned cash to see American Sniper. In retrospect, I'd have to say our money and time were wisely spent. It's probably a little too soon for me to write a full review of the film...to be perfectly honest, at the moment I'm tempted to declare it the best movie ever made in the history of Hollywood. That degree of adulation may be a tad premature. Only time will tell, after the impact of watching the movie fully sinks in. I'd really like to see it at least one more time before going completely overboard with my praise. It surely jaded my opinion that we were watching American Sniper in IMAX, which seemed to turn what would normally be just an emotionally draining ordeal into an absolutely surreal experience. As of this writing, my emotions are simply still too raw. If I may borrow a line from the movie, "I guess I just needed a minute" or more accurately in my case, a couple of days to recover. Even so, I can offer a few of my thoughts on the film with anyone who might be interested. For example, there is no doubt in my mind that Chris Kyle was truly an American hero. End of debate. The cruel irony that Kyle survived four tours of combat duty serving in Iraq only to be murdered by a fellow veteran he was trying to help recover from post traumatic stress disorder has been a bitter pill to swallow. I can easily say that American Sniper may be the very best movie I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few over the years. I actually know a little … [Read more...]