Most people will be happy to see the movie begins from where the trailer left off, one crucial decision to make behind the scope of the rifle of an American Sniper, does he take a life to save a life, and how will he live with his decision.

This isn’t your typical war movie, it’s aim is to take an artistic view of the shell shocked psyche of the American soldier in the aftermath of modern warfare, featuring everything from civilian control through terror techniques to war drone technology.

The problem with the movie is it takes you on the journey of one individual, Chris Kyle, who we follow with minute detail as he evolves from a boy, to a young man, to a husband, to a hero, to a war veteran with a troubled conscience. The problem with that is that the journey is slow moving and its transgressional nature makes it a bit hard to watch. It nearly punishes its audience into walking in the man’s shoes so that they can understand how the war actually impacts on his life.

The film has a lot going for it though, from the relaxed summer shots of family life in America, BBQ’s in green gardens, beers with friends, and the warm rush of hunting fields to the contrasting barren landscape of war torn Iraq.

The film also has a lot of realistic scenes that you’d expect from a war movie, like when Sienna Miller gets sick from drinking too much whiskey, if there is one thing I can’t stand in films these days it’s the amount of drinking that goes on without anyone falling over.

The film’s final scenes cleverly feature a well placed copy of B.F. Skinner’s ‘Science and Human Behaviour’ which is a precursor to behaviourism and explores possible ways in which human behaviour can be predicted and controlled. This one prop says a lot about why one American citizen decided to join a war fought on foreign soil, and his motivations to continue in a personal battle despite the emotional and physical impact it takes on the soldiers who fight with him. In that sense this is a story about Chris Kyle being caught in the eye of the storm, as it’s savage power desolates everyone around him.  That’s what gives the film a case for being an anti-war film, even though if you ask me an anti war movie is more like Dr Strangelove, The Last King of Scotland, or Gandhi.

The film’s plot also disappoints, part of the reason the movie is hard to watch is that there is a lack of storyline that boils down to a Marines version of Moby Dick.

The film lacks an entertainment factor and feels a bit like a blockbuster exploration into the psychological aftermath of war, which is an important statement as a generation of young Americans have been affected by this war, but most Europeans were not in favour of the war and void of the patriotic feelings that drive Chris Kyle (to protect Family, Country and God), so perhaps the movie has a select audience. If you’re already of the view that war should be avoided where sanctions can be implemented and if you’re already aware that war is more like Braveheart than Rambo then you’re not going to take anything away from the film. So congrats to Clint for making a war movie with some thought and the utmost respect to the boys who make up Team America but if you’re looking for a good evening at the cinema it doesn’t feature high up on the list as one to watch. 

First of all this is the must see movie in cinema at the moment. The movie is Black Swan on cymbals, it’s a diverse work of genius in human thinking, the kind of emotional highjacker that all writers hope to achieve. We get so wrapped up in Andrew Neyman’s desire to achieve greatness that we have no idea what’s going to happen next. Tragedy, suicide, murder, love, death, and triumph are all possible in the pulse of the script.

The lead character, Andrew Neyman, is a shy introverted kid with a single minded desire for greatness, a desire that the ruthless and perhaps sadistic Terence Fletcher sniffs out and dangles before him, permitting Fletcher to influence a psychological hold over the young musician.  

Interestingly after Neyman bumps his head at the start of the movie, things get a bit hazy and this film could easily be ‘inception’ or just Neyman’s brutal reality, as he ends up in a nightmare realm full of his own fears and exerts little control over his rage, confronting his family, his peers and his mentors. At times the formerly introverted protégé has exuberant confidence to overcome the emotional hurdles in his life, at other times he is inflicted with the worst case scenario setbacks one could only find in dream like fantasy. The running theme of dripping blood is comatosing, it reminds us that this kid is on the edge and the bloodletting continues to build up anticipation of an intense eruption which could swing one way or the other.

Secondly I was a bit disappointed to read detractors like The New Yorker’s Richard Brody who complained that the protagonist was a tunnel visioned individual with no passion for creativity, and the film failed to capture the essence of jazz. Quite simply I don’t understand why critics pick holes like this in movies, such critics are basically reality tv junkies who’ve forgotten that movies are only two hours long, we don’t expect to go to the cinema to come out four days later having a well rounded view of the lead character’s entire life. This film is a tension boiler with psychological impact, if you want to go watch jazz there are plenty of musicians worth supporting and talking about, why spout a highbrow opinion on music about the one movie with a jazz element to actually come out of cinema.

Finally Whiplash deserves credit for the emotional roller coaster it provides, winner of both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the movie delivers every beat without rushing or dragging in a brilliantly rhythmic cinematic masterpiece. 

The following is a brief review of singularity in cinema, the life of Stephen Hawking from his college days to the publication of his theory on the universe.  The movie begins in 1963, we get an insight into the everyday life of a young genius, he’s fun, he’s flirty, he’s a messer just like most young college kids. His charm and intellect captures the heart of the poetically sensitive Jane Wilde and love begins to bloom, but the tide soon turns on Hawking as he’s diagnosed with motor neuron disease and given two years to live. Hawking comes to terms with his mortality over a game of croquet with the very lovable Jane, I have to say I don’t really understand croquet very well so I think I missed out on some of Hawking’s game but he ends up with the girl in his bedroom so he obviously plays it just right. I think the rest of the movie plays out a little like ‘Love & Other Drugs’ but it replaces risqué romance with risqué mathematics. All in all the film is a slow moving drama, it’s concerned with the decline of the human body when afflicted with Motor Neuron, it’s about changing views in science, the depth of the cosmos and the more complicated intricacies of love. 

There’s a brief Michael Jackson moment where Hawking is left holding his baby and you’re not sure what’s going to happen, but other than that the film doesn’t really deliver on suspense. The movie doesn’t challenge the various relationships that develop within the household and fails to really deliver on the science kicks, it’s too appeasing to be entertaining and you’ll get more insight on the life of Hawking from Wikipedia. The movie is well acted and pays huge respect to a man who’s dedicated his life to scientific development, but if your inclined to see the film I’d recommend waiting for the DVD or for free-view tv to pick it up because it’s not going to have you on the edge of your seat, it’s not going to change your life and it’s just not worth venturing to the cinema to see.