I have to admit - real life (and Super Art Fight gigs) have had me more behind the ball than usual when it comes to seeing the latest and greatest movie trailers.

This weekend, though, I got back out to the movie theater - seeing Gone Girl, which was great - and alongside the movie, I saw a trailer that knocked me on my ass…the first trailer for Bradley Cooper’s American Sniper.

www.youtube.com/watch

American Sniper has been a passion project for Cooper for a few years. I recall him talking about it on the press run for Silver Linings Playbook, and I think Steven Spielberg was attached to direct at a point, too.

Clint Eastwood eventually settled into the director’s chair, and as this first trailer (or more accurately, extended clip) shows, the final film is going to be intense.

Bradley Cooper has become an actor that, to my surprise, always delivers. Between Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, he’s an actor I now give extra attention to, and American Sniper definitely jumped up on my “must see” list.

This makes three movies I now want to see on Christmas Day - between the absurd humor of The Interview, Disney’s attempt at bringing Into the Woods to the big screen, and now American Sniper, there’s going to be something for everyone.

American Sniper hits theaters on December 25, 2014.