New Jersey Stage January 2015 | Page 53

FILM REVIEW: American Sniper By Eric Hillis, TheMovieWaffler.com The phrase ‘journeyman director’ usually carries negative connotations, but many of cinema’s finest artists could be labelled in such a way, simply for not making the same movie over and over. Clint Eastwood is one of the best journeymen we have today. Few directors could follow up Jersey Boys with American Sniper in the space of a year at the age of 84. Where he found SHARE BUTTON the energy to put together a film as ambitious as his latest is baffling to this reviewer, who at less than half Eastwood’s age gets tired tying his own laces. Eastwood stepped in when Spielberg decided he couldn’t deliver American Sniper with the budget on offer. It’s difficult to imagine Spielberg’s take on this subject, which benefits from the less stylistic agenda of a director Read each issue at www.NJArtsMag.com pg 53