Over Christmas break, several major motion pictures made their debut in theaters across the nation. Two in particular have sparked debate and controversy. “American Sniper” and “Selma” have found themselves in several recent headlines centered on the controversy sparked by the two films, respectively.

The buzz about “American Sniper” stemmed from tweets by Seth Rogen and Michael Moore voicing their opinions on the Iraq war film that centers the life of former American sniper Chris Kyle. Rogen took to Twitter to say the movie reminds him of the Nazi sniper propagandistic film that is seen in “Inglourious Basterds.” Rogen backpedaled on Twitter after the initial tweet was picked up by media outlets such as TMZ, The Hollywood Reporter, USA Today, The Daily Beast and Fox News, according to The Huffington Post.

Rogen sent out several tweets explaining the original “American Sniper” tweet, saying, “…I actually liked American Sniper. It just reminded me of the Tarantino scene.” He continued, saying, “I wasn’t comparing the two.” Rogen dropped the subject with a final tweet taking credit for giving media outlets “the opportunity to blow something completely out of proportion.”

Moore took to Twitter to say he was taught “snipers were cowards.” After his tweet was also picked up, he published another tweet saying he actually like the movie. He provided a link to a post on his Facebook page, in which he praised the film, acting, costumes and more.

Moviegoers from both sides of the political spectrum began to chime in and debate over the film. Some have debated whether or not the movie is too right-leaning and whether Kyle was as much of a hero as Clint Eastwood & Co. made him out to be, according to E! Online. The left-leaning audience has questioned whether or not the movie glossed over Kyle’s differentiating views on the Iraq war, as well as the suspected truth to some of his stories.

On the other end of the spectrum, more conservative audiences have praised Eastwood for displaying an American soldier at his best. Sarah Palin chimed in thanking the movie for respecting the military and criticizing those who don’t give soldiers the praise she thinks they deserve.

“American Sniper” screenwriter Jason Hall spoke to Time, saying when people see the movie poster, which features a guy and the American flag, “they think it’s some kind of jingoistic thing.”

Hall said he would challenge that. He said after Kyle’s funeral and hours of talking to his widow Taya Kyle, he changed the script from its original war movie narrative to being a more human-centered drama. Hall said the movie was a character study about what the plight is for a soldier, not a political discussion about war.

“Selma” has also been a popular topic among media outlets. The movie focuses on the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery for black voting rights. When the 2015 Oscar nominations were announced, the movie was up for Best Picture, but all individual nominees were revealed to be white, causing widespread media outrage about a lack of diversity. Ava DuVernay and David Oleyowo, the movie’s black director and lead actor, respectively, have been excluded from Oscar consideration.

Al Sharpton called for an “emergency meeting” of his diversity task force to consider “action” against the predominately white voters of the Academy, according to frontpagemag.com. It was pointed out that ten black actors have been Oscar-nominated in the last five years, and three have won.

In response to the outrage caused by “Selma,” the Academy’s president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is black, noted the film’s Best Picture nod showcases the talent of all involved in the movie’s production.

However, the Oscar commotion isn’t the only controversy caused by “Selma.” The film has been criticized for allegedly depicting President Lyndon Baines Johnson as a civil rights obstructionist. Mark Updegrove, Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library Director, said LBJ and Martin Luther King had disagreements but were partners in the movement. Johnson’s top assistant for domestic affairs from 1965-1969 wrote in the Washington Post that the film takes “trumped-up license” with the truth and should be excluded from awards.

DuVernay told Rolling Stone the film was originally “much more slanted to Johnson,” but she wasn’t interested in making a “white-savior movie.”