Don't be put off by the provocative title, "American Sniper."

Don't be put off by the empty chair.Clint Eastwood is clearly and firmly in the director's chair for "American Sniper," perhaps the boldest and probably the most controversial film in the career of the 84-year-old director-actor-producer (it's the 37th film Eastwood's directed; he has 67 actor credits)."American Sniper," which has received kudos and brickbats, broke numerous weekend box office records in January and is nominated for six Oscars, including picture and actor (Bradley Cooper, who plays the lead character Chris Kyle)."American Sniper," with a screenplay nominated for an adapted screenplay Oscar by Jason Hall ("Paranoia,"2013; "Spread," 2009) is based on (and the operative words are "based on") the autobiography, "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle, Scott McKwen and Jim De Felice.Kyle (Bradley Cooper) was a Navy SEAL sniper nicknamed "The Legend," who is credited with some 160 kills in the Iraq War. Kyle died several years ago when he and another veteran were shot by a fellow veteran at a stateside shooting range.The trial is set to begin next month."American Sniper" recounts not only the battlefield story, but the home front story, too, between Kyle and his wife, Taya (Sienna Miller).Cooper convincingly conveys the emotion of a soldier called on to shoot enemy soldiers in an attempt to secure and clear a battlefield area in advance of his fellow soldiers. Cooper juts out his lower lip, has an effective Texas drawl and a slow-moving solidity that evokes a soldier, or person, for that matter, you don't want to mess with.Miller creates a sympathetic portrayal as Kyle's steadfast but conflicted wife who must deal with two pregnancies, births and infants while her husband is deployed for four tours of duty.Eastwood re-creates the post 9/11 mindset of the United States, the grueling training of SEALS soldiers, the camaraderie and cajoling of soldiers in the field of action, and the dichotomy of a home front soldier's wife.Each scene is effectively rendered, with dialogue key to character insights."American Sniper" is a gripping war drama that will have your eyeballs popping and your face grimacing at the graphic scenes of war one minute, and you smiling and chuckling at Chris Kyle's and his wife Taya's goofy sentimentality the next minute.The film deals with the problem of post-traumatic stress syndrome for veterans.Stylistically, the film has the look of director Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987). In content, the film recalls director William Wyler's "The Best Years Of Our Lives" (1946) and director William Wellman's "Story of G.I. Joe" (1945)."American Sniper" joins the growing ranks of war dramas about the United States' contemporary conflicts, including director Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" (2001), director Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" (2008) and director Peter Berg's "Lone Survivor" (2013).These films also join the ranks of Vietnam War era films, including director Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979), director Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (1986) and, yes, even director Ted Kotcheff's "First Blood" (1982), aka "Rambo," in trying to process wars that perhaps were not as universally revered on the home front as World War II.The film is in keeping with the body of work of Eastwood in front of the camera and behind the camera.It presents a "cowboy politics" world view consistent with many films that Eastwood starred in or directed, including director Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" (1966), director Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry" (1971), "Unforgiven" (1992), for which Eastwood received picture and director Oscars, and "Flags Of Our Fathers" (2006)Call it politically incorrect or what you will, in Eastwood's world of action, things are black or white. Shades of gray occur after the deed is done.Keep this in mind when you see "American Sniper."And you should see "American Sniper."It's the closest most Americans will get to the Middle East field of battle with all its gory detail, acts of glory and remnants of regret."American Sniper," MPAA Rated R (Restricted. Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian.) for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references; Genre: Action, Biography, Drama, War; Run time: 2 hrs., 12 mins.; Distributed by Warner Bros.Credit Readers' Anonymous: "American Sniper" was filmed in Morocco and California. There is no music during the closing credits.Box Office, Jan. 23: "American Sniper" continued to defy naysayers, No. 1 at the box office two weeks in a row in wide release with a still hefty $64.3 million, and $200.1 million, five weeks, keeping Jennifer Lopez's "The Boy Next Store" opening way back at No. 2, with $15 million;3. "Paddington," $12.3 million, $40 million, two weeks; 4. "The Wedding Ringer," $11.6 million, $39.6 million, two weeks; 5. "Taken 3," $7.6 million, $76 million, three weeks; 6. "The Imitation Game," with eight Oscar nominations, again held at No. 6, with a nearly identical $7.1 million, $60.6 million, nine weeks; 7. "Strange Magic," $5.5 million, opening; 8. "Selma," marched on with its Oscar picture nomination, with $5.5 million, $39.2 million, five weeks; 9. "Mortdecai," $4.1 million, a Johnny Depp-Gwyneth Paltrow opening bomb; 10. "Into the Woods," despite its Oscar actress nomination for Meryl Streep (her 19th), continued to get lost in the box-office woods, dropping further, $3.8 million, $121.4 million, five weeksUnreel, Jan. 30:"Black Or White," PG-13: Kevin Costner stars as a widower who has raised a biracial granddaughter. Octavia Spencer and Gillian Jacobs costar in the drama."Project Almanac," PG-13: Teens build a time machine. What could go wrong? Amy Landecker, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Virginia Gardner and Jonny Weston star.Read Paul Willistein's movie reviews at the Lehigh Valley Press website, thelehighvalley-press.com; the Times News website, tnonline.com; and hear them on "Lehigh Valley Art Salon," 6-6:30 p.m. Mondays, WDIY 88.1 FM, and wdiy.org, where they're archived. Email Paul Willistein: pwillistein[[AT]tnonline.com. You can follow Paul Willistein on Twitter and friend Paul Willistein on facebook. Four Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes