Fury (2014)

With events that take place in the final months of the second world war, Fury tells of the exploits of a tank crew and the hell they have to endure.  Having fought their way from Africa, through France and Belgium, the crew of the Fury commanded by Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) are now in the lion’s den and are fighting their way through Germany.

Many war films concentrate on how horrible war really is, and though few have the impact of those first scenes in Saving Private Ryan (1998), Fury is none the less very visceral and hellish.  However, when he does it right, director David Ayer creates some very dramatic, tense battles.  There's a tremendous sequence when four allied Sherman tanks face off against a singular but far superior German Tiger tank; I think I really did hold my breath.

Brad Pitt is Brad Pitt; his tank commander a toned down version of his character from Inglorious Basterds (2009).  Though despite enjoying the killing, Wardaddy does still like behaving like a human, as witnessed in the scene with the two German girls in their flat.

Perhaps not a revelation, Shia LaBeouf shows again that he can be good, as he was in Lawless (2012).  As gunner Boyd “Bible” Swan and resident pastor, he's a well written character and the most memorable along with Wardaddy and Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) the newbie to the crew, through whose eyes we see the world of Fury.  Norman is very wet behind the ears, thrown into a situation he never thought he'd be.  His first task is to clean out the remains of the guy he's replacing: finding half a face by your seat is enough to make anyone throw up.

Steven Price who composed the excellent score for Gravity (2013) is the maestro here as well; though to be honest I don’t really remember the music as the percussion of firing tanks and artillery provide most of the accompanying sound.  There isn’t as much gore and viscera as I expected and that’s probably a good thing otherwise it may have strayed into sensationalist territory.  However, since the film was essentially about 5 men in a tank, I had hoped for better focus on the characters with more of a cabin fever vibe to proceedings.

Having said that, I thought this was a great film, with some very tense moments, made all the more real as so little computer imagery was used.  I think I remember reading/hearing that the only CG used was for the tracer fire from the guns.  But, well, you know, that’s just, like, er, my opinion, man.

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (AJJ) does exactly as it says on the tin, but does so in a truly spellbinding way. The film charts the final days of Jesse James’ life (Brad Pitt) following his last train robbery, his descent into paranoia & depression and finally his murder by Bob Ford (Casey Affleck) who has ingratiated himself into Jesse’s gang before his ultimate betrayal. Brad Pitt is as excellent as he usually is, but it is Casey Affleck’s performance that stands out. He really nails the nervous determination of Robert Ford; in the scene just before he kills Jesse he looks truly terrified as if he’s about to throw up. Surrounding these two main players are an impressive support cast including Sam Rockwell and Jeremy Renner.

Robert’s character is quite an interesting one; rather than being a coward, as the youngest member of the James gang, he is butt of all the jokes and never taken seriously. It is this insecurity and desire to prove himself that drives him to murder Jesse. This is despite the fact that he worships Jesse. For years Robert has collected comics of the adventures of Jesse, and at one point Jesse says to him that he doesn’t know if he wants to be just like him or to be him. There is never any mention of the fact that he could be gay, but the way he constantly glances at Jesse certainly raises that possibility. Actually Robert is no less cowardly than Jesse himself, as during his descent into paranoia Jesse takes an ex gang member “for a ride” and shoots him in the back!

The movie is beautiful, really stunning. Andrew Dominik’s direction is sweeping, yet simple; and the cinematography by Roger Deakins is as amazing as usual and gives the film an epic feel. The pace is slow, but perfect for the film, and a shorter run-time would make everything feel very rushed. Complementing the bleak, melancholic feel the film has is the beautifully haunting, lugubrious soundtrack composed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, who bring an incredible atmosphere to the film. These are the guys who composed the soundtrack to The Road, so you can imagine the ambience, but the AJJ soundtrack is easier to listen to. For those with Spotify: Jesse James

A really interesting film, with amazing scenery, great cast, beautiful music and tremendous atmosphere.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are perfect as Thelma and Louise, two women embarking on a road trip to escape their boring repetitive lives. Both are very headstrong characters, and the relationship between the two actresses is completely believable. Ridley Scott managed to surround these two main characters with a really good supporting cast; Harvey Keitel is the policeman chasing down the two girls but always has the girls best interests at heart; Michael Madsen against type is a caring and confused boyfriend to Louise; but it is Christopher McDonald as Thelma's husband Darryl who steals the show. His over-dependence on Thelma is the complete inverse of how strong-willed and  independent Thelma actually is when she gives herself half a chance, plus he is very naturally funny. The film is also famous for introducing Brad Pitt to the world.

It's a very interesting story seeing these two girls who are just out for a jolly until everything starts to fall apart; it doesn't take long until the girls' sense of morality has shifted, and we all know what eventually happens to them at the end. A cool film that has a nice twist on the usual sort of road trip story.

The Tree of Life (2011)

Grace... Nature.... Mother... Brother...

So starts Terrence Malick’s Palm d’Or-winning The Tree of Life. I’m sure words such as epic, ambitious and stunning have been levelled at this film; and to that I might add sprawling, as its scope really is huge. Not that this is a bad thing, in fact it’s really rather good. Admittedly, this is not a film that will be appreciated by all (or understood; I most certainly didn’t understand it all), but definitely worthwhile.

Red-haired girl looks out of a window in wonder... Sunflowers... Red-haired girl stands in a field of cows.... Her dad puts his arm around her and gives her a hug.

The film is essentially like a slide show, as if sections of celluloid had been spliced together. There are chapters showing different events, but there is no “story” as such (at least not a resolved one anyway). Generally the film follows the exploits of Jack, (the eldest son of three), over the period of one defining summer.

Big bang... stars and star dust and colours... geology.... biology... evolution... dinosaurs..

Perhaps this is Malick’s view on life. Take a typical day; breakfast, travelling to work, interacting with people at work, dinner, relaxing at the end of the day. If you imagined a 5 minute film made of this typical day, then all of these chapters could be seen as separate events with no specific coherence. This is exactly how Tree of Life is made; the scenes don’t necessarily flow together, (sometimes they do); they are just an insight into the life of this one family.

Sean Penn is grown-up Jack in modern day, somewhat lost in the world, thinking about his family, his relationship with his parents, and growing up that summer. As he gazes out of a window (instead of listening to a work colleague), it is through his eyes that we experience the film. Brad Pitt is the father (Mr O’Brien), and is torn between being an über-disciplinarian and a loving father. Jessica Chastain is Mrs O’Brien and is much more open with her sons and sees them as equals rather than adhering to the strict parent/child dynamic that Mr O’Brien does.

Red-haired woman on a swing... Red-haired woman plays with her sons... running... running down the street.

As I’m writing this I’ve come to the conclusion that I really did like the film. It’s taken a couple of days to try and decide what I thought of it; I really didn’t know where to start, but now I know where I stand. Like I said at the beginning, not the kind of film that everyone is going to enjoy, but if you get comfortable, take it as it comes, and be patient with it, then it is a rewarding film.

                                     There are lots of trees in the film too. Which is nice.

Inglorious Basterds

This is one of those films I think is really great because everyone speaks the language they should (similar to Zwartboek). The Germans speak German, the British and Americans speak English and the French speak French. Brilliant! There is some cross-over but it's all done well.

I guess I generally like World War 2 films anyway, as long as they're done a bit differently (Zwartboek, Downfall, Enemy at the Gates, erm Where Eagles Dare?); and this is unmistakably Quentin Tarantino. From the irreverent casual chat between characters (which Christoph Waltz does so well) to the particularly gruesome, bloody violence. There is even some very similar camera tracking movements to Kill Bill, the main lobby of the cinema with it's staircases particularly reminded me of The House of Blue Leaves restaurant.

Brad Pitt is generally great in films anyway, and here is no different, even if we can only understand half of what he is saying! I guess my only slight criticism of the film would be that Tarantino's burning desire to once again produce a soundtrack that people will love, results in some funky tunes being used that I though were totally incongruous to the film. The effect for me was to jerk me out of the film and disrupt the atmosphere/involvement with the film. Only a minor gripe though; loved it really.

Best bits:
1, Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), having been so smarmy and spot on throughout the film, suddenly looking terrified in front of Aldo Raine at the end of the film.
2, Aldo, Donny, and Omar try to speak Italian.
3, Stiglitz putting his pistol in Major Hellstrom's crotch, and knifing him in the head in the ensuing shootout.
4, The reaction of Shosanna Drefus when Landa approaches the table in the café.
5, Anything Brad Pitt says generally!