American Sniper (2015) Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: R
Directed by: Clint Eastwood

American Sniper tells the real life story of Chris Kyle(Bradley Cooper), a US Navy SEAL Sniper who took four tours of Iraq during the Iraq War. He is credited with the most confirmed kills of any other officer, with an astounding 160. Although this movie is oscar-nominated, it does not live up to the hype and greatness of the other nominated films.

Clint Eastwood has been in kind of a dry spell lately. He has directed incredible films like Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby, but his last couple of movies were piss pour. Jersey Boys was a letdown, and the oscar-hungry movie J. Edgar was just bait for the Academy to nominate Leo Decaprio. Thankfully, the dry spell is over, but with a semi-decent movie that doesn't explore as many themes as it could have.

Bradley Cooper turns in the best performance of his career. It is definitely his most difficult role, as he augments his voice to a deep Texan accent. But, his role in this movie is the only one that we really care about. This is detrimental due to the cast of characters that were are introduced to that have NO backstory, and therefore watching them doesn't really bring any emotion. This includes Sienna Miller as Taya Kyle.

As for the rest of the movie, there is so much more room for improvement. The movie sets up this idea of PTSD and insecurity, but is not explored AT ALL. At a certain point it is just a movie about a person going from tour to tour.

Now, there is a lot of flame about the movie saying that it falsely represents Chris Kyle as a human being. But, what I'm saying is that the movie is not bad for portraying Chris Kyle wrong, but rather I am frustrated with this movie because it could have been so much better. And for that reason, the rating American Sniper gets is:

3/5

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: R
Directed by: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Absolutely tied with Whiplash for the best movie of 2014. It is amazing, and it is real.

Birdman tells the story of Riggan Thompson(Michael Keaton), a former super hero actor who is out to prove himself as a good actor by putting on a broadway play, starring himself, and written and directed by himself. He is accompanied by his lawyer Jake (Zach Galifianakis), daughter (Emma Stone), and a supporting actor(Ed Norton).

Birdman makes fun of everything about Hollywood. Riggan, who has done a whole trilogy of films for this superhero, actually wants to prove himself as a great actor, similar to today's Michael Keaton. It mocks movie critics (ironic, yes), and is able to make us ponder if this guy has TELEPATHIC ABILITIES.

Inarritu is a prophet, along with his screenwriter and director of photography. After a while of watching this movie, you realize that there hasn't been a single cut or break. No cuts. It is made to look like it is one shot, but is actually 6-7 minute shots that are pieced together through clever editing. The fact that these shots are so long only elevates the ability of the actors and actresses, and further shows their prowess.

The acting in this movie is nothing short of amazing. Keaton kills it, and properly shows a torn apart man who is able trying to regain recognition. Oscar-worthy, definitely. Another great performance in this movie was Edward Norton. He properly portrayed an actor who is completely full of himself and vain. His performance made me despise him, which means his acting was good enough to make me think that way. Also Oscar-worthy.

There's nothing more to say. Definitely one of the best movies of the year, with great performances and the mockery of the acting business.

5/5

Whiplash (2014) Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: R (for language)

Directed by: Damien Chazelle

This movie is the best of 2014. Hands down.

Everything in this movie is near perfection. Whiplash (2014) tells the story of Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), an aspiring drummer who wants to be one of the greats. In this process, he is given a window into one of the best jazz groups in the country. There he meets Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), a hot headed conductor who pushes Andrew beyond his limits.

The only two words that came out of my mouth after was "Holy shit." Miles Teller is amazing. Before this movie, I always saw Miles Teller as the guy who gets drunk in those teen party movies. But after this movie, everything has changed. He properly delivers the aspiring drummer attitude. This role seemed to fit him like a glove, because apparently, Teller drummed since he was thirteen, and happened to look like he was nineteen. He met his ceiling, and was able to break through it. Now, he is an acting force. Very excited what else he has to offer.

But who was better then Miles Teller? J. K. Simmons. This stuff was oscar material, definitely. Every word that came out of his mouth was interesting to listen to. Every subtle movement, every tiny detail, was thought out. Terrence Fletcher flattens and stomps on Andrew Neiman, and J.K. Simmons can easily pull it off. He had so many quick comebacks and insults that it seemed like this role was made for him. Imagine Jay Jonah Jameson from Spiderman, a role that J. K. Simmons has played, with a shaved head, but a lot more gritty and mean. That would be Terrence Fletcher, and it is INCREDIBLE. The tension between Neiman and Fletcher make for a very satisfying finale, and it had me at the edge of my seat. 

Honestly, if you haven't watched this, you are missing out. It's nothing short of breathtaking.

5/5

Warrior (2011) Review

By Brandon Fu
Rated: PG-13
Directed by: Gavin O'Connor

Warrior tells the story of Brendan Conlon (Joel Edgerton), a former UFC fighter and struggling family man, and his brother Tommy Riordan(Tom Hardy, an ex-military soldier who was a wrestling prodigy in high school. They both register in Sparta, an MMA tournament in which the top sixteen fighters in the country compete to win five million dollars. Brendan, who is about to have his house taken by the bank, is doing the competition solely for his family, while Tommy does it to give the earnings away to the family of his dead friend. On top of this, there is their relationship with their father, played by Nick Nolte, who used to be a drunkard and a terrible father, with the only redeeming quality about him being his ability to train fighters.

Warrior is able to tell a deep story of family, with events that allude to their pasts but never actually told, particularly about both sons' mothers. Warrior plays around the idea of apology, but is actually a very weak theme and does not carry through the entire film. The actual tension is between the two brothers and father, as their estranged relationship is slowly unraveled through the entire movie. But, this type of story telling is not necessarily effective due to the lack of back-story in the beginning, making characters like Tommy not able to be connected to till later. 

Overall, Warrior is an amazing action movie with great heartfelt moments. Tom Hardy is badass and Joel Edgerton is a great protagonist. If you love ultimate fighting and MMA, you will love this movie.

4/5