American Sniper (2014 Clint Eastwood)

Long film both celebrates and criticises American involvement in Iraq war via a man who becomes dehumanised through becoming a 'legend'. The sucker punch is the ending - Kyle and his colleague Chad were killed by a schizophrenic ex-soldier they were trying to help at a firing range - the irony of that is enormous...  And underlined by the absence of play out music over the end credits.

Spielberg was going to direct, came up with the idea of the sniper on the other side.

The skull symbol we see more and more in evidence is from Marvel's The Punisher graphic novel.

Clint is my Dad's age... Has just directed another true story, The 15.17 to Paris. He seems single-handedly to be celebrating American courage...

Cooper ate 8000 calories a day to bulk up - those massive weights he's lifting are real. Off camera he would chat to Clint about directing, it being an ambition of his own - and look, here comes another Star Is Born!