Two Takes: "American Sniper" Review

In our new review column, Cameron and Ali have a conversation and give both of their takes on Clint Eastwood's latest film, which just earned six Academy Award nominations.

Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper."

Cameron: After three weeks in tremendously successful limited release, earning six Oscar nominations and a perfect storm of buzz and press interest, Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” opened up nationwide this weekend. I loved the film on many levels. What was your overall impression?

Ali: Overall impression? I’d say this is a very heavy film. And I loved it, too. I really did, I wish I wasn’t in such a rush after the movie. That way, I could really soak in the feeling I was left with after this film. Particularly with regard to what it means to be a war hero, I felt the entire time Clint Eastwood was playing like a devil’s advocate of sorts. I didn’t know if he was glorifying or horrifying it.

My Oscar predictions, 2013 (Update: 16/24)

Christopher Denham, Clea DuVall, Kerry Bishé, Rory Cochrane, Ben Affleck,
Tate Donovan and Scoot McNairy star in "Argo"

Here it comes! This year is harder to predict than most years– a good thing. I'm sure I'll have more to say post-ceremony, but for now, here are my predictions.

Update: Well, a record bad year for my predictions, but at least us Oscar watchers were kept on our toes. I don't really feel that "Argo" belongs in the Best Picture cannon, despite being a good film. But plenty of Best Picture winners shouldn't have been Best Picture winners and the world hasn't stopped turning yet. The Sound Editing tie was a beautiful double-surprise. I'm thrilled Jennifer Lawrence has an Oscar, especially for "Silver Linings Playbook," but my heart breaks for Emmanuelle Riva. I'm sure Ms. Riva is just fine, however. Not thrilled with either of the wins for "Django Unchained." Tarantino has done a lot better without being rewarded and Christoph Waltz was likely the fourth best in his category (and second best in his film). I didn't see any of the Documentary Short or Animated Feature nominees (I know, I know), so I'm not surprised I missed those. The win for "Lincoln" in Production Design is a welcomed surprise for what I was certain would go to "Anna Karenina" or "Life of Pi." Seth MacFarlane was an adequate host, but I don't know that he'll be back. I live-tweeted the show and participated in Paste Magazine's liveblog. Check them out for a few laughs.

Best Picture

"Argo" WINNER (alt. "Lincoln")

Best Director
Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln" (alt. Ang Lee, "Life of Pi" WINNER)

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln" (alt. Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook")

Best Actress
Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour" (alt. Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook" WINNER)

My dream Oscar ballot, 2013

The 85th Academy Awards are this Sunday and though you've already seen my top 20 films of 2012, I also want to share what I would've nominated in other categories. While my ten Best Picture nominees are my top ten films; my other 'nominees' have shifted a lot in the past couple of months since I've been able to revisit certain films, catch some that I missed earlier and really get to see certain players make their case on the press circuit. This is probably similar to my personal Georgia Film Critics Association ballot from early January, but I'm sure there have been some shifts and substitutions. It's a fun time of year, but I'm looking forward to some resolution on Sunday.

The Best Films of 2012

Instead of going with the usual speech about the subjective nature of film criticism and how one might see this as a weak year, another as a strong year– I'll just say that it was a great year. Perhaps me getting into the swing of life as a critic helped me feel this way. Perhaps we just lucked out with a lot of great films being released in 2012. I can't say, really, but I'm thankful to have seen so many good motion pictures. 

I'm particularly grateful that so many of them featured at festivals in Georgia. "Rabies" and "Restoration" were screened at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. "Welcome to Pine Hill" showed at the Atlanta Film Festival. "Amour," "Rust and Bone" and "Silver Linings Playbook" all featured in Savannah. If you aren't checking out your local film festivals, you are missing out! Sure, you caught plenty of these at your local cinema at some point. But an energy is present at festivals that you can't find elsewhere. You never know when a film is going to come out of nowhere and slap you in the face.

Jessica Chastain one-two punch: "Zero Dark Thirty" (****½) and "Mama" (**½)

Top: Jessica Chastain stars in "Zero Dark Thirty"
Bottom: Chastain stars in "Mama" alongside Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

It's hard to think of another film career that has begun with quite the same bang that Jessica Chastain's has. After Meryl Streep transitioned from the stage to the big screen, it didn't take long for the Academy Award nominations and leading roles to start stacking up. Audrey Hepburn's star rose astoundingly quickly after her first Oscar-nominated performance in "Roman Holiday." But neither Streep nor Hepburn can claim such a seemingly overnight ascent to the top in both the critical and the commercial realms.

Chastain first turned heads in 2008, playing the title character in "Jolene." A small release that mostly played festivals, Chastain earned higher marks than the film itself. In 2011, the Chastain blitzkrieg began. "The Tree of Life," "The Help," "Take Shelter," "The Debt," "Coriolanus," "Wilde Salome" and "Texas Killing Fields" assured her face was in every multiplex and her name was on everyone's lips. A requisite Oscar nomination followed (for "The Help"), and again the next year (for "Zero Dark Thirty"). In 2012, starring roles in "Lawless" and "Zero Dark Thirty" catapulted Chastain beyond her label as a new, critically-beloved actress and into movie star territory. In the past two weeks, Chastain has held the number one spot at the domestic box office twice, and the top two positions simultaneously. The success of "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Mama" is crucially timed. Chastain is on everyone's minds just as Oscar ballots are currently in voter's hands. The hardworking actress could very well receive a trophy on stage at the Dolby Theatre next month.

Georgia Film Critics Association 2012 winners

Jennifer Lawrence wins one of four GFCA awards for "Silver Linings Playbook"

The 2012 Georgia Film Critics Association nominations were just announced Monday, but winners have already been declared. Just as "Silver Linings Playbook" led the pack with eight nominations, David O. Russell's film walked away with four wins, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Ensemble.

"Skyfall" was another big winner, taking home awards for Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), Best Cinematography and Best Original Song. "Beasts of the Southern Wild" won two awards; Best Production Design and Best Score. Director Benh Zeitlin also took the Breakthrough Award, beating the likes of his star Quvenzhané Wallis, Zal Batmanglij, Derek Connolly, Bart Layton and Scoot McNairy. Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director for "Zero Dark Thirty." Other films that took home awards include "Lincoln," "The Master" and "Moonrise Kingdom."

Check out the full list of winners after the jump.

"Silver Linings Playbook," "Beasts of the Southern Wild" lead Georgia Film Critics nominations

The Georgia Film Critics Association has announced their nominees for 2012 and while the usual suspects from the Academy Awards and various other critics groups lead the way, a few surprises can be found. "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" received the most nominations with eight each. Two of the nominations credited to "Beasts," however, are actually Breakthrough nominations for Benh Zeitlin and Quvenzhané Wallis. "Amour," "Lincoln" and "Zero Dark Thirty" each garnered six nods, while "The Master" and "Rust & Bone" earned five a piece.

The success outside of Marion Cotillard's nomination for "Rust & Bone" marks a departure from many other critics groups. Controversial documentary "This Is Not a Film" earned three nominations in the categories of Best Film, Best Foreign Film and Best Documentary. Other highlights include two cinematography nominations for Greig Fraser ("Killing Them Softly" and "Zero Dark Thirty") and screenplay nominations for "21 Jump Street," "The Cabin in the Woods" and "Sound of My Voice." The Georgia-lensed "Lawless" earned two nominations in the Best Song category. 

The Breakthrough Award shortlist consists of directors Zal Batmanglij ("Sound of My Voice"), Bart Layton ("The Imposter") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"); actors Scoot McNairy ("Argo," "Killing Them Softly," "Promised Land") and Quvenzhané Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"); and finally, screenwriter Derek Connolly ("Safety Not Guaranteed").

Check out the full list of nominees after the jump.