American Sniper -- no spoilers

[jerryskids 5,199]

Saw it last night and dain asked how it was, so I figured I'd start a thread on it.

 

It was good, definitely worth seeing. Lots of combat scenes so lots of blood and guts, but not over the top like a Scorcese film IMO. Good insight into what made him tick and the challenges he faced. I don't feel it glorified our presence in Iraq but others with different political bent may interpret it differently I suppose; in fact I just read a liberal review that ripped it to shreds. It certainly seems to take some liberties with historical accuracy, and does introduce one character who is an over-the-top caricature.

 

There is more I could say but I don't want to give it away. Go see it and we can discuss it.

[joneo 529]

Not giving it away? How can you give any information about this movie and spoil it for someone? It's like saying "Go see Titanic. I won't tell you what happened. We can discuss it later".

[Brad GLuckman 518]

I don't get how it glorified war. It showed how crappy war is, how soldiers have to make awful no-win decisions, how friends die, families are damaged, and those who return fight another battle trying to deal with PTSD.

[cbfalcon 824]

It was decent, but I felt 1993's Sniper was a little more realistic. Bradley Cooper was solid, but Berenger was a bit more authentic and believable.

[SUXBNME 1,328]

I get a bootlegged copy on Monday. Looking forward to seeing it

[shotsup 832]

I get a bootlegged copy on Monday. Looking forward to seeing it

Thiefer

[SUXBNME 1,328]

Thiefer

Prolly. Just too lazy to go to the theater to see it.

[Reality 2,710]

Great movie.

[jerryskids 5,199]

Not giving it away? How can you give any information about this movie and spoil it for someone? It's like saying "Go see Titanic. I won't tell you what happened. We can discuss it later".

Well, you know how he ends up, but you don't know how it is done in the movie. I will say that I think they did it extremely well, and that walking out of a crowded movie theater was as quiet as walking out of a funeral.

[wiffleball 4,640]

some of the stories that I'm hearing now, like him shooting looters in New Orleans, seemed a little bullshit e to me

[joneo 529]

Well, you know how he ends up, but you don't know how it is done in the movie. I will say that I think they did it extremely well, and that walking out of a crowded movie theater was as quiet as walking out of a funeral.

 

Well, I saw The Buddy Holly story and the musical Buddy, and neither showed a plane crash. I would imagine it was handled the same way......Foreshadowing

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

some of the stories that I'm hearing now, like him shooting looters in New Orleans, seemed a little bullshit e to me

Sounds like bs to me too, but even if he did... Meh. Just taking out trash.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,914]

Sounds like bs to me too, but even if he did... Meh. Just taking out trash.

It happend. I don't know if he was one, but it did happen.

 

I've heard to many correlating stories to believe otherwise.

 

I know for fact that mercenaries were here and took out quite a few looters. How the story hasn't been told is amazing after ten years since.

[shotsup 832]

Prolly. Just too lazy to go to the theater to see it.

Me too.

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

The quietest theater I've ever walked out of. Great movie!!! I broke down at the end myself.

[jerryskids 5,199]

The quietest theater I've ever walked out of. Great movie!!! I broke down at the end myself.

 

It was a very intense movie. The war scenes were of course intense, but even the "down" times were not un-intense. Even his meeting his wife had an edge. Until towards the end where you felt like you could let your guard down. I won't say any more because I promised no spoilers.

[GobbleDog 816]

My wife recently asked me if I could find American Sniper for her on-line, which I did.

 

She said she liked it, so I assumed it sucks.

[Mile High Drunk 13]

How does it compare to Lone Survivor?

[DankNuggs 305]

Well, you know how he ends up, but you don't know how it is done in the movie. I will say that I think they did it extremely well, and that walking out of a crowded movie theater was as quiet as walking out of a funeral.

That was like leaving the theater after Saving Ryan's Privates

 

Pee Wee Herman was as somber as a squirrel

[BunnysBastatrds 1,914]

My wife recently asked me if I could find American Sniper for her on-line, which I did.

 

She said she liked it, so I assumed it sucks.

[wiffleball 4,640]

I sincerely believe this guy hadptsd. His qoutes on the supetdome support that. Onl. Ww2 and korea vets werent puss nuts.

[wiffleball 4,640]

I mean that provocatively. Growing up with many such vets.

[jerryskids 5,199]

I sincerely believe this guy hadptsd. His qoutes on the supetdome support that. Onl. Ww2 and korea vets werent puss nuts.

 

 

I mean that provocatively. Growing up with many such vets.

 

You mean what? I have no idea what that combination of letters meant.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,914]

I sincerely believe this guy hadptsd. His qoutes on the supetdome support that. Onl. Ww2 and korea vets werent puss nuts.

What were his quotes about Katrina?

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

They had a current sniper on the news...has like 33 kills. He had a great quote. I don't care what the number is, I know it's not enough. Brilliant!

[wiffleball 4,640]

What were his quotes about Katrina?

you can google them. He claimed to be on the roof of the Superdome after Katrina shootings looters

[SUXBNME 1,328]

They had a current sniper on the news...has like 33 kills. He had a great quote. I don't care what the number is, I know it's not enough. Brilliant!

I like that.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,914]

you can google them. He claimed to be on the roof of the Superdome after Katrina shootings looters

Gotta link? I can't find it. I was here and never heard about snipers on the SD roof. The only target from there would have been the Magnolia Projects. And there is nothing there for anyone to protect.

[wiffleball 4,640]

Gotta link? I can't find it. I was here and never heard about snipers on the SD roof. The only target from there would have been the Magnolia Projects. And there is nothing there for anyone to protect.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/kyleclaims.asp

 

http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/collection/the-controversial-true-story-behind-american-sniper-20141222

 

http://www.vulture.com/2015/01/real-american-snipers-5-alleged-lies.html

[BunnysBastatrds 1,914]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/kyleclaims.asp

 

http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/collection/the-controversial-true-story-behind-american-sniper-20141222

 

http://www.vulture.com/2015/01/real-american-snipers-5-alleged-lies.html

 

 

ndeed, the account does not hold water simply on the grounds cited in the passage quoted above. Imagining that SEALs were deployed to New Orleans in the chaotic days that followed Katrina is not exceptionally hard, considering the level of disorder that followed the devastation wrought by the hurricane. But the notion that dozens of Americans were shot dead on mere suspicion of (relatively minor) crimes, on American soil and with the full support of a system of law that otherwise does not allow for such summary

 

nitive actions, challenges credulity to a very large degree. Moreover, thirty or so bodies of local residents slain in such a manner never turned up as corroborative evidence of such a claim. The circumstance Kyle claimed would have required the silence and compliance of all witnesses, the families of the dead, all involved law enforcement agencies, and untold others who might have become aware of killings meted out under inarguably public circumstances. Had Kyle and his fellows truly dispatched such a large number of looters or "residents who were contributing to the chaos" (who had neither been charged with nor convicted of any crime, much less a capital one), some other evidence of this tale would have emerged. One person disappearing under such circumstances is unusual; thirty or so is truly unbelievable.

 

 

http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/5-years-after-Katrina-storm-s-death-toll-remains-1589464.php

 

Even five years after Hurricane Katrina, the names of hundreds of the dead remain a mystery and the death toll is mired in dispute.

Of an estimated 1,464 victims officially recognized by the state of Louisiana, more than 500 names have not been publicly released. And Louisiana's once-ambitious efforts to tackle dozens of related cases of missing persons and unidentified bodies ran out of money in 2006 and has never been revived.

"We didn't complete the mission," former Acting State Medical Examiner Dr. Lewis Cataldie, a Baton Rouge-based physician who once ran the state's efforts told the Chronicle this week. "I'm very angry about it."

DNA, X-rays and other technology mean that identification remains possible years from now if additional remains get found or family members of the missing submit evidence that gets linked to the nameless.

Yet no state or federal agency today keeps track of those who remain missing from Katrina — or have since been confirmed dead. There is no central place for scattered surviving families to call.

In New Orleans, 31 unidentified victims' bodies were buried in a $1.5 million monument in 2008. None has been identified since then, officials from the New Orleans Coroner's Office said this week.

John Mutter, a Columbia University professor, has been gathering personal testimonials and public records of those killed in Katrina for an effort he calls Katrinalist. Mutter estimates the true death toll will top 3,500 if those killed by the storm and by its many after-effects are accurately tallied. And yet other counts put the toll at an estimated 1,800.

'Third World' event

Mutter wonders whether initial government efforts to supply an accurate victims' list stalled because of the difficulties of the job — or because of a lack of interest in acknowledging the extent of the casualties.

"This is a mass fatality event — one that is more common in the Third World," Mutter said. "To find another one as large in the U.S. in terms of the people who died - you have to go back to 1900 to the Galveston flood when there was no (National Weather Service), there was no Internet ... and there were no automobiles.

"Why on earth did so many people die in 2005? The injustice of it is just amazing."

In 2008, the city of New Orleans contributed $1 million in federal funds to pay for a Katrina memorial where 31 unnamed dead and 54 other unclaimed bodies are interred in six granite-faced mausoleums. Both the city and private donors contributed to a nonprofit that New Orleans Coroner Frank Minyard set up for the project, according to New Orleans attorney Ted George, who volunteered to help.

The Katrina monument sits atop the former Charity Hospital Cemetery, a grassy 150-year-old potter's field for the poor. None buried there are identified by name.

"We know the locations of those that have been identified, and if a family or relative wanted to claim the remains, that could be accomplished very easily," George said. "But rather than putting the names of each one, we thought it would be appropriate to have a memorial to all."

Hundreds of other victims of the nation's most deadly modern natural disaster remain anonymous for unknown reasons. Many were elderly and poor. Around 64 percent of the storm victims were older than 65, based on a study by Louisiana State University pathologists who oversaw a massive temporary morgue in Baton Rouge that processed more than 900 cases from 2005-06. Most came from New Orleans Parish.

Lesson learned

The dead were racially diverse: 56 percent black; 40 percent white; 4 percent Asian; 4 percent Native American and 2 percent Hispanic.

"We present that a lesson learned is about those left behind due to lack of physical or financial means," said Dr. Dana Troxclair when the LSU research was presented in August 2007. "Furthermore, based on the remarkable success of the autopsy as a means of human identification, we emphasize its paramount importance as a component of a nation's response to mass disasters. However, with 135 Louisiana residents still categorized as missing, and 23 (ultimately more) human remains yet to be identified, the final impact of the storm remains uncertain."

She told the Chronicle this week she has no further information. Similarly, the list of 135 missing persons released by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in August 2006 has never been updated.

Wayne Filmore, a storm survivor from Metairie and editor of the website Katrina Connection, said his efforts to update information on storm-related missing-persons cases — he believes the true number is closer to 500 — often get no response. "My conclusion is that they're not concerned and that they're not doing anything," said Filmore, who volunteered after Katrina to help find missing persons.

Roy Allen Clark, an 18-year-old from Missouri, is among those listed as missing. On Aug. 28, 2005, the marine hand disappeared as he boarded a boat near Port Eads, La., to flee the hurricane. Clark's case received attention from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We are still hopeful of DNA hits and ultimate identification," said Ernie Allen, the center's CEO. "The facts are that Clark was on a boat in the area of Louisiana hardest hit by Katrina. The likelihood of survival is remote and the family realizes that."

I believe it. They coroner had make shift morgues (refrigerated trailers) that sat full for months unattended. When the state ran out of money for them, they stopped doing autopsy's. I imagine the ones they stopped doing autopsy's on first where those with clear gun shot wounds. Bodies found with gunshot wounds in the aftermath of Katrina weren't investigated like what's normally done in homicide investigations. Evidence wasn't gathered. Just the body and anything that could identify the victim. If you have snipers using high powered rifles, I imagine that not many bullets, if any, were found in the bodies. I heard gunshots every night two weeks after she hit. Who knows who was shooting who.

[dain11279 928]

Finally got around to seeing it today. Focking fantastic movie. There was probably only 25-30 people in the theater but I'm in agreement with everyone else. It was like walking out of a funeral at the end.

 

The drill scene was incredibly intense

[HenryHill9323 65]

We saw it Sat afternoon. Even then the thing was pretty full Agree with those saying it was like walking out of a funeral when it was over.

 

I give it two thumbs up. BTW, today is Chris Kyle day in Texas.

[shotsup 832]

Feb 21 and just got around to seeing it. Waited for older son to finish the book (I read it when it first came out)

 

Wow. Knew I'd get emotional and didn't until I actually read the words of his death.

 

No one wanted to leave, we all sat there like FVCK.

Then my 13 year old said "wait - this is a true story ?" Then he was upset and had a million questions. FML.

 

It's all good now.

[The Moz 69]

Just saw it also -- really good -- IMO not as good as Lone Survivor but still pretty good movie. No Clue how anyone could single handily kill around 200 people (160 confirmed) and live with it . Not saying it isn't good he did - thats his job and glad we had someone like that on our side - just can't imagine how hard that must be.

[The Moz 69]

Feb 21 and just got around to seeing it. Waited for older son to finish the book (I read it when it first came out)

 

Wow. Knew I'd get emotional and didn't until I actually read the words of his death.

 

No one wanted to leave, we all sat there like FVCK.

Then my 13 year old said "wait - this is a true story ?" Then he was upset and had a million questions. FML.

 

It's all good now.

I choked up at the end of Lone Survivor - not so much with this one.

[shotsup 832]

I choked up at the end of Lone Survivor - not so much with this one.

Agreed. I liked Markus better then Chris.

 

Although the movie made Chris nicer then the book did.

[dain11279 928]

Eh, I don't care if he was a in real life or profited or whatever. He went overseas numerous times and helped protect troops and our country. He'll always be a hero in my mind

[shotsup 832]

Eh, I don't care if he was a ###### in real life or profited or whatever. He went overseas numerous times and helped protect troops and our country. He'll always be a hero in my mind

Totally agree !!!!

[cyclone24 1,814]

We just saw this yesterday. My big take away was that the bad guys.....could make this exact same movie essentially. And that we really won't kill our way through this.....

 

Not saying that with any political view or slant

 

But amazing movie, even more amazing man.

[BunnysBastatrds 1,914]

I worked with a Navy Seal right out of high school at a Home Depot kind of store. Dude wasn't right. And he knew he wasn't. Went from a you and me kind of guy to a natural born killer.

 

Had a 70 year old black lady come into the store and asked how to stop her pet dog "Precious" from escaping and eating the wiring on her house. Me: First thing you need to do is keep her pinned up. Black Lady: No! Me: Put lattice all around the house. Black Lady; No! Navy Seal: Take that motherfawker for a ride! Drop Precious off. Problem solved. BlackLady: WHAT?

 

That's their mentality. Death is the best solution.