Movie Review: Fury (2014) – A refreshing step away from glorifying War and focusing on the True Devastation

movie still from the movie Fury

 This big budget war movie, featuring a very rough looking Brad Pitt, is currently topping the box office and pleasing critics. So what is it about ‘Fury” that’s working everyone up into a fervor?

The time is April, 1945. A bulky looking Brad Pitt plays a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt). Wardaddy commands a 5 man tank crew. Their mission takes them behind enemy lines, facing overwhelming odds because they’re both outnumbered and outgunned.

This is a tense movie. I haven’t seen a movie this tense since I saw U-571. It’s not only tense, but tense and gritty, and unlike many of the other war movies out there, this film takes a step back at glorifying war and instead shows the devastation.

The movie is shrouded in grays and browns, which is an excellent visual representation of the movie itself, which focuses on the end of the war. The soldiers are exhausted, and battle weary, as they should be and the aesthetic design really plays this up.

This is a war movie along the lines of Saving Private Ryan, in that the director didn’t flinch away from being harsh. It shows true war, and not the dressed up versions that seem to be nothing more than Army recruitment films.

furt-brad-pitt

Fury movie still pictures a tank rolling with Brad Pitt

One great part of this movie is the contrast. It’s the very definition of ‘losing the battle, but winning the war.” By the time the tank crew starts work, it is well known that the Americans are going to be victorious over Germany. But that doesn’t matter to the soldiers in Fury, as they are facing a deadly, almost unwinnable mission. There’s almost a claustrophobic feel to Fury, especially in scenes inside the team’s tank. The movie does well by maintaining an impending sense of doom, leaving the viewer convinced that there is no way the team is making it out alive.

Brad Pitt, still gorgeous at 50, is fantastic as the hardened sergeant. With his booming voice and grizzled good looks, he’s able to spew lines like ‘the dyings not done, the killings not done’ without seeming over the top. He is a man tired of war, but at the same time, he’s a man who doesn’t know how to live outside of war.

My biggest complaint about this movie is that there is absolutely no relief from the tension. There’s very little comedy, even when the team has down time, and after 2 hours and 15 minutes, I was pretty sure it was giving me an ulcer. I could have used something to break severity of the movie.

One thing I really liked was the accurate use of tracer rounds. In a dark movie, the only color we see is the green shots from the German tanks, and the molten pink one from the Americans. They are virtually the only colors you see in a sepia toned movie and the contrast makes a huge difference in the battle scenes.

Fury is the kind of movie that stays with you. It’s an excellent watch with well done battle scenes and a competent cast. This is not your average feel good military movie. Instead, it’s a dark depressing look at the end of the war, with very little hope thrown in. While a bleak look at war, it’s absolutely worthy of all the buzz it’s receiving.

WE GAVE IT: 4.5  Stars: Official Movie Trailer and Movie Poster Below

four and a half stars

 

 

[youtube id=”FLiamMVgoxc” width=”680″ height=”383″]

Official Fury Moive Poster featuring Brad Pitt

Watch Logan Lerman, Brad Pitt And Shia LaBeouf’s Mustache In New ‘Fury’ Trailer!

fur

A brand new trailer has just been released online for David Ayer’s World War ll movie, Fury. The action-packed film stars Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, and some dude named Brad Pitt.

The film is set during the last month of World War ll back in April 1945. Mr. Pitt plays hardened war veteran “Wardaddy.” Fury follows the Staff Sergeant as he directs a Sherman tank and a five-man crew on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines.

In the new trailer down below, Brad Pitt’s character tries his best to toughen up the new crew member “Cobb” played by Logan Lerman. The film certainly looks promising. Any movie starring Brad Pitt will generate a lot of buzz. Fury is set to release October 24 in the UK. Folks in the US will have to wait until November 14.

We suggest calling up some of your buddies and scheduling a little man date. Maybe swing by Applebee’s before the movie. Flirt with some soccer moms. Make it a night!

Movie Review: Noah (2014)

NOAH-Movie-PosterGladiator Gets Religion

3.5 stars

Everyone’s favorite bible story is back again. This new installment stars the even-tempered Russell Crow are the movie’s headliner.

Noah is the story of an animal hoarder (Russell Crowe) who builds a giant boat to store all his animals. Ok, well it’s a bit more complex than that. The film pretty much follows the bible story. Noah needs to build a boat for the flood. Everyone around him, including wife Naameh (Jennifer Connelly, Crowe’s “A Beautiful Mind” co-star) is skeptical. But they help anyway, because it was wacky bible times.

I’m not a particularly religious person, so I hate it when a film feels like it has the agenda to convert me. This one doesn’t do that. Instead, it follows Noah for the story that it is. While believers might find their opinions validated, those who don’t won’t feel like they’re getting the door-to-door hard sell.

Maybe that’s because the movie stars Russell Crowe. The same Russell Crow who gets into bar fights like they are a hobby and has a passionate opinion on circumcision. I just find it very hard to take a religious agenda from that guy seriously. Crowes natural ability to seem a little grey and depressed plays well into the part of Noah. He reminded me a lot of the part he played in Gladiator.

Come to think of it, every movie he’s in reminds me of the part he played in Gladiator.

noah-movie-photo-4

I will say that the movie dragged a bit. There were some seriously terrifying moments at the beginning of the flood, but not much after except for water sloshing and everyone looking wet and miserable. Weirdly, I missed a lot of this movie because I had to get up and go to the bathroom 75 times.

The special effects varied. In some cases, like the flood, they were pretty good. In others, i.e. the Garden of Eden snake, they were nearly laughable. Also, rock monsters? Were there rock monsters in the bible story? If so, there shouldn’t have been because those were just plain stupid. One minute, you feel like you’re watching an action packed mass disaster movie. The next, you feel like you’re in an episode of Xena Warrior Princess.

noah gogo

noah photo 6

However, when the movie stays away from strict fantasy and focuses on action packed scenes, it shines. If it had been filmed for pure action, Noah would be an absolute winner.

As a side note, this movie fails to answer the age old question “does god like fish better?” Think about it. He chose to flood the planet, effectively eliminating every species that didn’t have gills. Are fish God’s angels?

Sorry, off topic, but it needed to be said.

Anyway, when not in CGI, Noah is a good movie to watch. The story is interesting, though it could have moved a little faster. The action scenes were tense and exciting. Russell Crowe is his usual surly self. This movie has commercial success written all over it and is currently performing at number 1 in the box office.

Watch the Official Trailer for the movie below:

[youtube id=”6qmj5mhDwJQ” width=”633″ height=”356″]