American Sniper

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Hakaman
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American Sniper

Post by Hakaman » Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:47 am

I saw the new movie out "American Sniper" yesterday, and although there are mixed
reviews, I liked it. Some critics complained about such trivial things as "he didn't
have a sun shield on his scope optics, or the movie didn't contain enough space on
the rigors of becoming a SEAL, etc. One of the people I went with was a VN vet
and he was really moved by it, and thought it was well done. I thought the movie was
also a great movie. Amazing a person could go through 3 tours to Iraq and make it
back home only to meet his fate on American soil. Anybody else see the movie
or have an opinion?

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Bullseye
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Post by Bullseye » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:02 am

I have not seen the movie yet. I typically wait until the movies come out on DVD or hit the cable channels as my bride is deaf and closed captioning is essential for her to enjoy a screen performance. In most movies too much dialog is rendered off screen by the characters, and she cannot lip read that conversation, so major elements of the plot aren't available to her without the captioning.

Everybody else seems to have some kind of opinion on this movie, whether they've seen it or not. Some center around political views, others technical and military aspects they know little about. I saw one movie review where the author commented how much he liked the scene where Bradley Cooper wears cartridges on his left wrist in a wrist bandoleer type device much like a Spec-ops warrior would do on over-watch duty. For the same reason you would want an optical sun diffusion screen cover in the desert environment, a sniper wouldn't wear a chain of exposed shiny brass cartridges on his wrist in a hide - Stealth is life.

Myself, I'll just see it and enjoy the story, because I know it is based around the accomplishments of a real individual. Much like I did with the book about the wartime exploits of Carlos Hathcock, whom I knew personally and spent many hours with in his later years. Besides, I have grown fond of movies directed by Clint Eastwood, especially the ones depicting military characters and military life.

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Post by greener » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:28 am

I probably won't see Sniper until it is on one of the movie channels. That cycle seems to be about a year.

I've been surprised by the reactions to snipers from a few people I know. They seem to differentiate death by bullet from a sniper and other means of firepower.

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Post by Bullseye » Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:42 pm

Good point! KIA is the same outcome regardless of the method of destruction.

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Post by greener » Mon Jan 26, 2015 11:19 am

I seem to recall the folks in the artillery thinking that the terminal effects of a call for fire were something like that.

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Post by Tigerbeetle » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:36 pm

I saw the movie this past weekend. It is one REALLY good show. A lot more than just an army shootem-up movie. Nothing at all like that. I am a VN vet and counted the days to go from the first day in country. I was offered a chance to extend, but turned it down. One tour (year) was enough. For Chris Kyle to go back again and again speaks for the type of man he was. If you look at the ribbons/medals he was decorated with is even more of a testament to the type person he was.

This movie is the real deal. It is about the man, his family, his problems, and a wife that stayed beside him and brought him back.

All you heard during the movie if anything were sniffles or sobs. When the show was over, nobody moved for several minutes. No one said a word. we just dried our eyes and left in silence.

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