GumbyandPokey

    Hey, my theater, Marcus Majestic! It has been killing it on the Ultrascreen all week. .

One thing Passion of the Christ and American Sniper had in common was having a director that treated the subject matter with deep respect. That is far from the case with many movies dealing with the religion/Bible (Noah and Exodus the most recent examples) or the middle eastern conflicts (all the anti-war films that flopped). The reaction from moviegoers leaving the theater with these films is identical.

Eastwood said he decided to make the film from Kyle's POV. IMO, he did a really good job showing his dedication to country and fellow soldiers, the heroism, the PTSD/sadness, and the tragedy. Someone mentioned a while back that the release coming soon after the Islamic terror attack in France might have had an impact, and that could be true. Nobody was chanting USA USA when I saw the film, though. It was the most respectful, quiet and somber exit since Passion of the Christ.

AS has been trending on Twitter again since late last night. The WOM is incredibly positive among the high school/college age demographic.

    Can't look at Marion Cotillard and not think of her death scene in The Dark Knight Rises. That might be one of the worst acted scenes of all time, lol.

    Yep, don't understand how those scenes made it into the finished film. You can see the fingers repeating limited motions just like a store bought battery operated doll.

    A+ Cinemascore

Watching college basketball today and the AS spots are all over TV. And the ads are absolutely fantastic, highlighting the war aspect, the drama aspect (PTSD) and the awards nominations and reviews. It's been trending on-and-off all day, with many saying they wanted to see it and it was sold out. I'm as Conservative as they come and rooted for the film's success, but even I'm amazed that this seems to have hit the cultural zeitgeist. It's now a "must see" movie for college age and young adults.

Saw American Sniper yesterday and haven't seen an audience reaction like this since Passion of the Christ. When the film ended and the real-life photos came on, nobody moved a muscle or said a word. And when people finally left, it was all "wow" and "amazing." Would not be surprised one bit if Sat is gigantic. The movie was severely under-booked and people were being turned away and were buying tickets for Saturday showings. Really liked the film, but why, why, why did they use that awful fake baby? In one scene you could see the hand go through the same finger movements over and over like a store bought doll. Took me out of the film for a bit.

A+ Cinemascore for American Sniper