Comments on 'American Sniper'

We went to see Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper' on Saturday afternoon.  The movie stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya Renae Kyle.

Movie Poster for 'American Sniper'

The screenplay by Jason Dean Hall is based on the autobiography 'American Sniper' written by Chris Kyle.  Kyle became known as 'the most lethal sniper in U.S. history' during his four tours of duty in Iraq during the Iraq war.

Growing up in Texas, Kyle's father instilled the belief that there were three kinds of people: 'sheep', 'wolves', and 'sheepdogs'.  Chris definitely aspired to be a sheepdog -- protecting the sheep from the predators.  His father also taught Chris how to shoot and hunt.  The 1998 U.S. embassy bombings by al-Qaeda in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam led him to join the Navy and become a Seal.  He meets Taya Renae in a bar near the Seal training base.  Three days after their wedding Chris leaves on the first of four deployments to Iraq.  Much of their marriage is told through telephone calls -- often while Chris is in the middle of battles and skirmishes and Taya Renae is either pregnant or coping with raising their son and daughter with an absent father.  

Following his final deployment and discharge Chris finds redemption working with wounded warriors of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.  In early 2013, he was murdered by one of the veterans he was trying to help.

Despite the chaos of war Eastwood is largely successful in clarifying the action sequences which pulse with adrenalin fuelled bravado.  He is less successful in depicting the stateside intervals between deployments and following Chris's discharge when he is uncommunicative and jumpy, suffering from PTSD.  Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller are both excellent in portraying the struggles of a long distance marriage often tattered by the incomprehensible gulf between the violence of battle and the anxious wait at home.
The almost entirely male supporting cast is convincing -- though largely undifferentiated -- as a collection of brothers in arms, aloof commanders, and Iraqis caught between the ever shifting allegiances of the war.

Banner for 'American Sniper'

Thoughts on the movie, 'Top Five'

We went to see 'Top Five' on Monday.  It's written and directed by Chris Rock and stars Rock and Rosario Dawson.  It earns its 'R' (for raunchy) rating with a delightful mix of stand-up black comedians throwing out jokes and the 'n' word in nearly every scene -- hell, in nearly every sentence.

'Top Five' movie poster.

Chris Rock plays Andre Allen, a stand-up comic who has become famous playing 'Hammy' -- a cop who wears a bear suit -- in a three-picture franchise.  Hammy's tagline is 'It's Hammy time'.  Bored with the easy success of the Hammy franchise, Andre has just completed a movie, 'Uprize', in which he plays the leader of the slave rebellion in Haiti during which over 50,000 were slaughtered.  The reviews of 'Uprize' have been brutal, especially the one from the New York Times.

Andre is being interviewed by Chelsea, a reporter from the New York Times (played by Rosario Dawson), who tags along with him as he goes through the day leading up to his bachelor party at the start of his three-day, televised wedding to a needy, greedy TV reality star (played by Gabrielle Union).  There are digressions to meet old girl friends, old stand-up buddies, old school buddies, the reporter's family.

The movie is a little disjointed and uneven, but the performances by Chris Rock and especially the radiant Rosario Dawson are wonderful.  The supporting cast contributes comedic riffs and put-downs and also a series of 'top-five' (usually six) favorite rappers -- at least I think they're rappers.

'Top Five' banner

Italian Trip Diary -- Day #21 -- Rome

Tuesday, July 3, 2001, Rome:

For the last day of our trip, we began by walking down the Via Veneto to Piazza Barberini

'Fontana dei Tritone' by Bernini in Piazza Barberini.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and then up the Via delle Quattro Fontane,

Row of Telemones (male Caryatids) on Via delle Quattro Fontane.  Photo by Blomme-McClure  

'Goddess Juno' fountain at the intersection of Via delle Quatro Fontane and Via del Quirinale.
There's a fountain on each of the four corners.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and on up the Esquiline Hill to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (we missed the fourth major basilica, San Giovanni in Laterano, on this trip).  The basilica is the largest Marian church in Rome.  Based on the 1929 Lateran Treaty it is wholly owned by the Holy See and has the same status as a foreign embassy.  

East facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore with circular stairs leading up to protruding semi-circular apse is on the Piazza dell' Esquilino.  There is an Egyptian obelisk in the center of the piazza on the axis of the church.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Romanesque bell tower is the tallest in Rome.  The huge Baroque façade faces a large square, the Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore.  The façade consists of an elaborate central section with five bays in the base rising above a shallow podium surmounted by three bays in the upper story with a triangular pediment rising above the center bay.  The central composition is lively but it is somewhat deadened by wings on either side. 

Baroque west facade designed by Ferdinando Ferga and the 14th century Romanesque campanile
 of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The interior contains a long nave with mosaics from the fifth century. the side aisles separated by Doric colonnades, at the end a semicircular apse covered in mosaics enclosing an elaborate baldaquin and altar.

Nave of Santa Maria Maggiore.  Thirty-six of the columns are marble and four are granite.
The nave ends with a triumphal arch with mosaics depicting the lives of Christ and the Virgin.
The coffered ceiling is thought to be gilded with gold brought back from the New World by Columbus.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Off of the south transept is the square Sistine Chapel (aka Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament) designed by Domenico Fontana for Pope Sixtus V (the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican was created for Pope Sixtus VI) under a splendid dome. 

Dome of Sistine Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore by Domenico Fontana.  It contains the tombs of Pope Sixtus V
and his patron, Pope Pius V.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

It is focused on a group of four angels holding a model of the chapel done in gilded bronze which is directly under a very high dome encrusted with gold and frescoes. 

Four gilded bronze angels hold the ciborium -- a model of the chapel -- by Sebastiano Torregiano.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The chapel's proportions are exquisite and despite the sumptuous ornamentation it provides a lesson in the effective use of space.

From Santa Maria Maggiore we walked to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) which houses the famous sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. 

'Moses' by Michelangelo, marble, 1515.  It is part of the tomb of Pope Julius II.
Photo by Blomme-McClure (from a 1985 trip to Italy)

Unfortunately, by the time we found our way up the Esquiline Hill (one staircase was closed for construction) we got there just as the church was closing for siesta.  This was the one time where we ran into a problem with opening/closing times, but it is worthwhile to note that travelers should always check schedules when deciding on an itinerary.

Instead of Moses, we settled for tramazinni at a sidewalk café across from the park surrounding the Domus Aurea – the ruins of Nero’s “house of gold” on the hill above the Colosseum. 

The Colosseum from the park surrounding the Domus Aurea on Palatine Hill.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

After lunch we walked down through the park to the Colosseum and then took a taxi to San Pietro in Montorio on the Janiculum Hill above Trastevere.

Church of San Pietro in Montorio on the Janiculum Hill.
It is considered to be the site of St. Peter's crucifixion.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

We climbed past the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola

The Fontana dell'Acqua Paola designed by Giovanni Fontana and Flaminio Ponzio built in 1610-1612.
It marks the end of the Acqua Traiana aqueduct originally built be the emperor Trajan and restored by
Pope Sixtus V to provide fresh water to people living on the left bank of the Tiber River.
Photo by Blomme-McClure  

to the American Academy in Rome. 

The front court of the American Academy in Rome.  It is on the Janiculum Hill.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Some years ago Carl had worked in New York for the American Academy and was able to get us into the complex for a quick tour of the facilities and a gallery containing the work of some of the residents. 

Interior courtyard of the American Academy in Rome.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

It is a beautiful, tranquil complex and the showing of projects the fellows had developed was fascinating.

From the American Academy we found a café where we stopped for drinks.  Then we walked through the park along the brow of the Janiculum, savoring the views of Rome and the Vatican through the pines of Rome,

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica from the Janiculum Hill.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

eventually descending into St. Peter’s Square. 

St. Peter's Basilica from the edge of Piazza San Pietro.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

It was a lovely way to spend our last afternoon in the peace and sunshine of the park high above the domes and spires of the city below.

For our last evening we dined at Ristorante Le Sans Souci (Via Sicilia 20, Rome, 06.42014510 or 06.42013557) just off the Via Veneto.  It is like a time capsule from the 1950’s 'la dolce vita' – grandly appointed with intimate banquettes where middle-aged roues snuggled with gorgeous 'starlets' – we expected Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg to stroll in at any moment -- still dripping from a dip in the Fontana di Trevi.  We had a delicious meal with excellent service.

Italian Trip Diary -- Day #2 (part 2) -- Rome -- St. Peter's Basilica

Monday, July 2, 2001 Rome (continued):

After the gelato break, we walked along the Vatican walls and on around to St. Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro).  The arms of Bernini’s colonnades are always impressively, grandly welcoming.  They really are a wonderful invitation to come inside the basilica.  

St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) as seen from the steps of the Basilica.  The piazza was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1656 and 1667.  It consists of two semi-circular arcades of Tuscan columns four-deep bracketing an oval plaza centered by an Egyptian obelisk installed in 1586 and flanked by two granite fountains.
The Pope would be celebrating his last open air mass of the summer in the piazza before heading to
his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

However, a note of caution to visitors – be properly dressed.  This is the one place in Italy where the “propriety police” are strictly enforcing the signs about proper dress.  People in shorts, tank tops, and tight clothes were being turned away.

Young man being turned away from the Basilica -- his pants are too tight and too short to meet the strict
dress code of the St. Peter's 'propriety police' (see the pictogram behind him).  Photo by Blomme-McClure

We saw women tying on wrap skirts over their shorts and people zipping on the bottoms of their convertible shorts.  Several people pulled out light weight trousers and tops similar to those worn in operating rooms to slip on (it was hot).

St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the grandest churches in Christendom.  Nearly every part of it is done on an enormous scale that is overwhelming and ultimately oppressive.  There is so little human scale to the place that the throngs of tourists seem like a busy ant colony. 

Nave of St. Peter's Basilica looking west from the altar.  Successive architects included Bramante,
Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Bernini.  The barrel vault is supported by four giant arched bays
with transverse barrel vaults over the side aisles.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

This is probably the impression that the Roman Catholic builders wanted to convey to “the faithful”, but for those of us simply interested in the art and architecture it is a building that you respect, not one that you love.  Michelangelo’s dome

The interior of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica designed by Michelangelo rises over the main crossing.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

sits grandly above Bernini’s baldaquin

The baldaquin designed by Bernini is reputed to be the biggest piece of bronze in the world.
The twisting columns are decorated with bees (the symbol of Pope Urban VIII) and laurel leaves.
Bernini's 'Cathedra Petri' which houses the 'throne of Peter' is visible on the back wall of the apse.
In front of the baldaquin, two marble staircases behind the balustrade lead down to the tomb of St. Peter.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

covering the altar over the tomb of St. Peter.  Tombs and monuments for popes and famous Catholics are scattered everywhere.

Monument for Pope Alexander VII designed by Bernini.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Tomb of Queen Christina of Sweden, a devout Roman Catholic who abdicated the throne and moved to Rome.
Greta Garbo played her in a movie.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Michaelangelo’s “Pieta”, kept behind bullet-proof glass, is a mob scene and virtually impossible to see. 

'Pieta' by Michelangelo, marble, 1498-99.  After a madman attacked the sculpture with a hammer in 1972
it was placed behind bullet-proof glass.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

We stood in a line   

Line (heavy on nuns) to view the sarcophagus of Pope John XXIII.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

to see the body of John XXIII which lies near a famous statue of St. Peter.

Body of Pope John XXIII in a glass coffin.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Although everyone is dressed properly, the behavior of the mob seems more appropriate for a carnival than for the center of the Roman Catholic church.  Flash bulbs are going off everywhere – a young man takes a picture of his girl friend making a mock confession – nuns have their picture taken with the body of the Pope.

We left the church somewhat dispirited by the experience.  Fortunately, the sun on the square with the enclosing colonnades is somehow more inspiring. 

Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square) with canopy and chairs for outdoor papal mass.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

This is in spite of the fact that much of the square and the steps leading up to the church are obliterated by chairs, barricades and a temporary stage which we learn will be used for the Pope’s final mass of the summer before his retreat to Castel Gondolfo. 

Tourist seeking directions from a member of the Swiss (papal) Guards.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

We found the taxi line on the far side of the square and headed back to the hotel.

Piazza San Pietro with trees on the Janiculum Hill rising behind. 
 The colossal statue of St. Paul from 1847 is in the foreground.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

After a nap break, we took a taxi to Trastevere.  It’s advisable to carry a good map of the area because most taxi drivers will not take you into the maze of narrow streets which are often for pedestrians only.  By trial and error and with the help of an Italian couple with a map who spoke some English we found Ristoranti Sabatini in Trastevere (Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere 13, Rome, 065812026, http://www.ristorantisabatini.com/
) where we dined outside with the lively street life of the square as entertainment and the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere as a backdrop across the square.  The food was delicious, but our waiter was the most obnoxious we encountered on our trip.  He seemed to be the only surly waiter in Italy, including all of the others at Sabatini and we decided that it was just bad luck.  We did manage to beg him to call us a taxi at the end of the meal.  The taxi could only come to the edge of the square and then had to back up several blocks before he even had enough room to turn around.

Italian Trip Diary -- Day #20 (part 1 of 2) -- Rome -- Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel

Monday, July 2, 2001 Rome:

Monday was Vatican day.  We got up early in order to be in line for the Vatican Museums by 7:30 a.m.   Fortunately, our taxi driver was smart enough to take us to the end of the line, which saved us about a 10-minute walk back from the entrance.  The museums open at 8:45 a.m. and we got to the front of the line about 9:25 a.m.

The Vatican Museums are vast – divided into separate areas for painting, antiquities, books, maps and archeology (at least).  Nearly everyone, though, is headed for the Sistine Chapel.  We discovered that there are at least two ways to get to the chapel, one (a longer and more crowded route) through the Raphael Rooms and one (a faster and less congested route) through the modern art galleries.  Doug and Carl took the Raphael, while George decided to try the modern art route.  The apartments in the Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) painted by Raphael and his students are wonderful.  The frescoes in the first of the four rooms, the Hall of Constantine, were actually created by three followers of Raphael after his death in 1520 AD. 

'The Battle of the Milvian Bridge' by Giulio Romano, fresco, circa 1525 AD.
The fresco depicts the battle between the Emperor Constantine and his rival Maxentius in 312 AD.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The ceiling of the Room of Constantine by Tommaso Lauretti  is an allegorical depiction of the triumph of Christianity over paganism with the classical statue lying broken at the foot of the Crucifix.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo) depicts scenes from the lives of Popes Leo III and Leo IV.  It was painted by Raphael's assistants using designs of Raphael.

'Fire in the Borgo' by Giulio Romano, fresco, 1514 AD.  This fresco depicts an event in 847 AD when Pope Leo IV (in the window right of upper center) stopped the fire in the Borgo with his benediction.  
The fresco was executed by Romano from designs by Raphael.  Photo by Blomme-McClure 

The Room of the Signatura (Stanza della Segnatura) contains the most famous of Raphael's frescoes, 'The School of Athens'.

'The School of Athens' by Raphael, fresco, 1509 AD.  This fresco shows the search for truth through knowledge.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Still, everything in the Vatican is overwhelmed by the splendor of Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel.  This was the first time that we had seen the Chapel's frescoes since the completion of the controversial restoration and cleaning in 1994.  The difference from the mellow, smokey look we first saw in the early 1970's and the vivid look we saw in 2001 is incredible.  The brighter colors clarify the shapes of the hundreds of figures and make all of the frescoes much more three dimensional.  The panels in the Creation sequence on the ceiling seem more sculptural and the sibyls and prophets in the surrounding lunettes are magnificent -- vigorous and muscular.   

The Sistine Chapel with frescoes by Michelangelo on the ceiling, 1508 to 1512 AD,
and the west (altar) wall, 1535 to 1541 AD.  The frescoes on the walls below and between the windows are by a who's who of famous Italian Renaissance artists -- Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and others.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Unfortunately, viewing the chapel is like trying to meditate in the middle of a three-ring circus.  You know that you are in the presence of great art, but you are constantly distracted by the hubbub of tourists around you jostling for position.

'Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1508 to 1512 AD.  This is probably the most famous panel from the 'Genesis' series of frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Expulsion from the Garden of Eden' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1508 to 1512 AD.  This panel from the 'Genesis'
series seems newly vivid and three-dimensional following the 1984-1994 restoration.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Delphic Sibyl' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1508 to 1512 AD.  On the arches supporting the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo painted in heroic scale the prophets who foresaw the coming of Christ.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

We actually circled back to the Chapel again after lunch at the Museum’s café.  While there were less crowds in the early afternoon the light on the frescoes made them seem somewhat more prosaic.  Let’s just say that they are awesome under any lighting conditions and that the controversial cleaning and restoration has left them more vivid and more exciting.  We were particularly taken by the enormous 'Last Judgement' fresco covering the entire altar wall.  

'The Last Judgement' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1535 to 1541 AD, detail.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

In addition to the Chapel, the Vatican painting collection (Pinacoteca) was also worth visiting – a lovely Raphael “Transfiguration” 

'Transfiguration of Christ' by Raphael, oil on canvas, 1518-1520.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and Caravaggio’s “Descent from the Cross” in particular.  And among the ancient statues in in the Octagonal Courtyard of the Pius-Clementine Museum, the Apollo Belvedere

'Apollo Belvedere', Roman copy of a Greek bronze original, marble, circa 130 to 140 AD.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

the Venus Felix, 

'Venus and Her Son, Cupid' aka 'Venus Felix', Roman, marble, circa 170 AD.  Some scholars have
suggested that the placement of the arms might approximate the missing arms of the Venus de Milo.
Photo by Blomme-McClure 

and the Antinous as Hermes in the Octagonal Courtyard of the Pius-Clementine Museum are also extraordinary and beautifully displayed.  

'Hermes' formerly known as 'The Belvedere Antinous', Roman copy of Greek original, marble,
circa 2nd century AD.  Antinous was the Emperor Hadrian lover.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Nearby, the early Greco-Roman Belvedere Torso was sketched by Michelangelo and is supposed to have inspired much of his later works.  

'Belvedere Torso', Roman copy of an earlier original, marble, circa 1st century BC or 1st century AD.
Michelangelo made sketches of this sculpture and it is believed to have inspired figures in his'Last Judgement' in the Sistine Chapel.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

You certainly sense the connection between this piece and the muscular bodies of the Sistine Chapel's 'Last Judgement' and also the unfinished Michelangelo 'captives in stone' at the Accademia in Florence and the Louvre in Paris.  

Everywhere you look there are opulent ceilings and paneling and beautiful and significant objects.

The Sistine Hall of  the Vatican Library.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

There is a lovely outdoor terrace with views of the Papal gardens and the dome of St. Peter’s which offers a respite from the sensory overload of the museums.  

View of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica by Bramante and Michelangelo as seen from a terrace of the Vatican Museums.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

We staggered out of the museum into the mid-afternoon sun and stopped along the walls of the Vatican for ice cream.

(I'll continue with our visit to St. Peter's Basilica in my next post on Italy:  Italian Trip Diary - Day #20 (part 2) -- Rome -- St. Peter's Basilica.)

Ballet Quibbles and Bits . . .

'Nutcracker' Featured in Elle:

Here's a nice series of backstage pictures from New York City Ballet's production of George Balanchine's 'The Nutcracker' that appeared in Elle magazine:

http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/best/behind-the-scenes-new-york-city-ballet-nycb-nutcracker#slide-1

Mouse heads ready for the court of the Mouse King in 'The Nutcracker'.  Photo from Elle

The series of 37 photos provides a lot of interesting and unusual angles on this holiday classic.

'Live from Lincoln Center' SAB Broadcast Still Available On-line:

If you missed last Sunday's broadcast of the SAB Workshop Performance on WNET, Channel 13, or on your local PBS station during the past week, you can still watch it online here:

http://video.pbs.org/video/2365385279/


It's a wonderful account of a lovely performance by the future stars of American ballet.

NYC Ballet Names New Music Director -- at last:

New York City Ballet has named a new Music Director, Andrew Litton.  Maestro Litton is currently the music director of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Bergen (Norway) Philharmonic.  He was formerly the music director of the Dallas Symphony and chief conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony.  He will begin his duties at New York City Ballet with the start of the 2015-2016 season in September, 2015.

Maestro Andrew Litton, newly named Music Director-designate of New York City Ballet.
Photo by Steven J. Sherman

The company has been limping along without a music director since Faycal Karoui left at the end of May, 2012.  During that time, Andrews Sill has been 'Interim Music Director'.  Sill will continue with the company as Associate Music Director.  Maestro Litton will only be available for 13 weeks during the 2015-16 season and 16 weeks during the following season, so Sill will continue to play a significant role in the company's music program.

I think that the company performs 21 weeks in New York City each year, plus 2 weeks in Saratoga Springs and 1 week in Washington and the company usually has three or four weeks of either national or international touring.  Then there are four weeks of full company rehearsals prior to the fall, winter and spring seasons and the Nutcracker season.  That's a lot for a music director to cover in just 13 or even 16 weeks with the company.

Litton does appear to know the company and its repertory from his years studying at Julliard -- when he was dating a member of the company.  The New York Times article says that Litton will be only the company's sixth music director.  There have been three of distinction in the 50+ years we've been watching the company -- Robert Irving, Andrea Quinn and Faycal Karoui.  Let us hope that Andrew Litton will join that illustrious list by inspiring and challenging the musicians, the dancers and the choreographers so that we, the audience, really do 'see the music' and so that the music is consistently worthy of the Company of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Lincoln Kirstein.