American Sniper: Bradley Cooper= Big Time Star

American Sniper is an amazing and true story about Chris Kyle, most possibly the greatest sniper in American history. He was, by all definitions, an American hero. He served 4 tours in Iraq during the most dangerous times of our war, had over 120 confirmed kills, and saved a lot of american troops in the process. This film does much more than just touch in his incredible service record though. This film dives into the toll these feats took on Chris in his life back home, and to his family, particularly his wife played by Sienna Miller. Miller does a VERY good job as his wife. It actually, and quite disappointingly, took me until the end credits to find that out. The movie does an incredible job of filling in some back story on Chris, then handling his military and civilian life, all in 150 amazing minutes. Cooper is incredible in handling not only the incredibly difficult job of playing a believable Navy SEAL sniper, but in showing the difficulties of handling civilian life. His performance is incredible and just adds to the amazing best actor category at the Oscars this year, which I spoke about the disappointment in David Oyelowo not being nominated, but it's just a stacked category full of deserving performances. Cooper proves he's capable of being an incredible and blockbuster carrying leading man. His career, though it's been on a seemingly meteoric rise since The Hangover, is now firmly hanging out in the mega-star stratosphere. The hope with this film is highlighting the need for care, and in your own life, just a willing heart & ear to help returning veterans deal with PTSD and the after-effects of their service. Chris found that helping other veterans go to the shooting range and spending time together not only brought him joy, but made a positive impact on the other veterans. The difficulties with this are that it's impossible to know and understand what happened to the men and women in combat without having experienced it yourself. Their is a brotherhood among those who have served, especially in combat. I hope the movie leads to greater communication between veterans who can gain strength, friendship, help, and comfort from talking with each other through the issues and struggles they are experiencing. Ideally it will also help veterans feel comfortable and confident in seeking out help from others if they are struggling with life after combat. It's something very near and dear to me as my Grandpa almost certainly suffered from undiagnosed PTSD from WWII and the total inability to deal with, or communicate with all the issues from it. It lead to depression, anger, and ongoing racism that plagued his "civilian" life. I also have a friend from high school who has struggled and continues to bravely deal and live with PTSD from his service in Enduring Freedom. Bottom Line: 9.3 out of 10. Excellent film highlighted by Cooper's timeless performance. It's certainly worth seeing in theatres and reflecting on. It will linger in your thoughts after the film and you will never find a more silent movie during and after the credits. Phenomenal, Oscar-worthy stuff. Similar to the 2014 Best Picture category, this is another great year from what I've seen in Selma, the Imitation Game, American Sniper, and in a different way Birdman.