American Sniper

Spanks – 5

Director – Clint Eastwood

Writer – Jason Hall

Starring – Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Sammy Sheik, Kevin Lacz, Jake McDorman & Cory Hardrict

Release Date – 16 January 2015

MPAA Rating – R

Run time – 132 Minutes

American Sniper is a was film based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal who did four tours in Iraq. Kyle is the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history with 160 confirmed kills.

The film is amazing. I didn’t know the story about Chris Kyle before I saw the movie. I saw the trailer for the first time a few days before it was released nationwide and I wanted to go see it that night but couldn’t. I am sure you will feel the same if this is the first time you view the trailer. His story is great and some parts are unexpected. The movie also includes the life of his wife which war movies never include as well as when he is home on leave between his tours.

The war scenes were done very great and they even did one scene in a sandstorm. The casting was perfect and Bradley Cooper even looks like Chris Kyle. The film has been nominated for Best Picture and if I was a voter for the Academy Awards I would give American Sniper Best Picture.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Spanks – 5

Director – Peter Jackson

Writers – Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson & Guillermo del Toro

Starring – Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman, Aidan Turner, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, Adam Brown, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Mikael Persbrandt, Sylvester McCoy, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch & Stephen Fry

Release Date – 17 December 2014

MPAA Rating – PG-13

Run time – 144 Minutes

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is an awesome movie. It is the final part of The Hobbit trilogy that started in theaters two years ago. The events of the film begin immediately from the events in The Desolation of Smaug and go right up to the beginning of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The title of the movie fits better then the original title of There and Back Again because the movie is all about keeping the Lonely Mountain from the orks.

I though this film is the second best of the trilogy behind An Unexpected Journey. It wraps everything up perfectly. I am a huge Tolkien fan and Peter Jackson did a great job turning the book into a film series. I didn’t think three movies would be needed for a book under 400 pages, but it worked out well.

Even though most of the film is the battle, the movie still has character development and conflict that isn’t just fighting. The sub-plot with Gandalf off on his own mission is very interesting. The love story created for the movie is emotional too.

If you liked the first two films in the series you will not be disappointed in the conclusion. If you didn’t see them, I suggest watching them and then to the theater to see The Battle of the Five Armies.

The Interview

Spanks – 3

Directors – Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Writer – Dan Sterling

Starring – James Franco, Seth Rogen, Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park & Diana Bang

Release Date – 25 December 2014

MPAA Rating – R

Run time – 112 Minutes

Since there was no show today and Sony decided to put The Interview on cable On Demand yesterday “The Former Future Mrs. Spanky” and I sat down this afternoon to watch it. We were interested in watching this movie when the posters and trailers showed up last summer, but it wasn’t a must go see film. After all the controversy came out with the Sony Leak and then eventually cancelling the opening on Christmas I wanted to support the filmmakers. If there was a local theater showing on Christmas we would have went because we didn’t want to sit around a small computer or tablet screen for almost two hours to watch the movie. Putting it on cable On Demand was a great move.

If there is anyway you don’t know what the film is about, it follows a tabloid show host and his producer to North Korea to interview Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-un allows the interview because he is a fan of the show. When word gets out that he will do the interview, the CIA recruits the two to assassinate the dictator.

The movie is funny. It is funnier than Pineapple Express and almost as funny as This Is the End. The comedy, like the other mentioned films, is dumb and dirty humor (and sometimes you need a dumb comedy to watch). There wasn’t many funny movies out in 2014 so if you are looking for a new funny movie it is worth the rent.

If I watched The Interview in theaters and it was distributed the traditional way, I would still give it the same rating.