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Based on the life story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) and his experience in the Middle East contrasted with his homelife stateside; Kyle’s sniper eye is deadly accurate, but, with four tours of duty under his belt the ravages of PTSD can bring even the strongest individuals to their knees. Finding the strength to make it home to his wife (Sienna Miller) and kids will take all the tenacity he can muster, will it be soon enough? Echoes and reminiscent of 1978’s Oscar winning The Deer Hunter, Director Clint Eastwood takes a slight departure from his “Letters From” wartime format to focus on the very current, topical, and equally horrific military experience and the accompanying baggage that our soldiers bring back mentally. Emotionally detached at times, Eastwood’s stark and unapologetic examination drives home just how devastating war is to both sides. And, Bradley Cooper, simply put, offers his best performance to date; this is powerhouse material through and through. Totally worth your time, American Sniper is rated R.

Drifting between clarity and a drug induced haze that was the 70’s, Private Investigator Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Pheonix) is called into action when a former girlfriend, Shasta (Katherine Waterson), goes missing with real estate tycoon Michael Z. Wolfmann (Eric Roberts). Meanwhile, Lt. Detective Bigfoot (Josh Brolin) has an interrupting crime fighting agenda of his own. Will Sportello manage to solve his mystery before Bigfoot makes more trouble and all is lost? With hints of a Hunter S. Thompson adventure yet based on the novel of Thomas Pynchon, Director Paul Thomas Anderson has created an interesting mix of impeccably fast and sharp dialogue mixed with a slow burning story that smolders and smokes but never seems to erupt into an inferno blaze. While oddly shaped characters fill our minds, the ensemble does a fantastic job melting into their misshapen figures; and, for those in the mood to take a swim in the chaos of L.A.’s ridiculous underbelly circa 1970 whilst on peyote, look no further, you’ve found your escape, grab your swim trunks and that baseball bat over there in the corner, you might just need it, you might also just wind up confused, so there’s that. Worthy of at least your matinee dollar Inherent Vice is rated R.

A genius to some, a literary professor to others, a gambler to a whole different crowd, Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), has managed to get into the pocket of some difficult men– dangerous men who want to be paid back for their loans. It’ll take cunning, smarts, a woman/student (Brie Larson), and the sage advice of loan shark named Frank (John Goodman), to dig his way out of his own misery, but is it too late?
Directed by Rupert Wyatt this suspenseful, dramatic, and unintentionally dry comedy shines a light on the seedy underbelly of the gambling world, big dollars, high stakes, and bigger problems. And for Wahlberg, while its hard to take him seriously as a lit prof, he still manages to create a likable antihero; despite his character’s flaws we still want to see him learn and succeed, well done Mark. And, John Goodman, the man steals the show, he’s like a modern day Buddha with a foul mouth, the uncle you never had (but wished you did), the right guy at the right time. All but for a final running sequence in the film where no one breaks a sweat, you’ve got a winner here as well. The Gambler is rated R.