Looks like our favorite ex California Governor is back in the saddle as the new installment of the Terminator series is coming out.
Sony Pictures
FURY Review: 'Ideals are peaceful, history is violent'
On Friday night, I walked into the theater to see Brad Pitt’s new movie Fury. The night started well—by buying my ticket at the door, I got a free Fury shirt. Upon sitting down I immediately got up when the trailers started and Interstellar was the first one. Then later in the weekend, the trailer assaulted me while watching the Bronco’s beat up the 49er’s. Apparently nowhere is safe.
In Fury an American tank crew heads behind German lines at the close of WWII to discover they are out gunned and out manned. Writer/director David Ayer (Training Day, End of Watch) brings us a well-crafted war tale focused on this crew as a new member joins after one of their own falls to German attack.
The movie opens with a beautiful long take of a German soldier on horseback riding through a battlefield. Wardaddy (Pitt) jumps from behind the seemingly broken down tank and kills the soldier. After they get back to base, they say goodbye to their fallen brother and welcome Norman (Logan Lerman) an 8-week green soldier, trained to be a clerk. The tough crew struggles to accept Norman into their fold as they were together since the beginning of the war, through North Africa, France, Belgium, and finally Germany.
“Wait till you see…what a man can do to another man,” warns Shia LaBeouf’s character Boyd, who everyone refers to as ‘Bible’. Like a lot of replacement soldiers in the war, Norman finds integration hard and Wardaddy even takes drastic actions to bring him up to speed.
A few scenes later, we arrive at what might be the most tense scene of the whole film. But it’s not in the form of an action sequence. Wardaddy leads Norman to clear a building and they find two German women. Interrupted by the rest of the crew (LaBeouf, Michael Peña and Jon Bernthal), they share a tiny meal with the two women. It’s during this scene where we hear of the horrors that the crew has seen. After leaving the town, Norman makes his decision that he will kill Germans and won’t hesitate again. The crew is finally brought together when they receive a mission to protect a crossroads from German advances.
Peña (End of Watch) and Bernthal (Walking Dead) perform very well and Pitt and LaBeouf really shine. Lerman (Noah, Perks of Being a Wallflower) plays his part of hesitant soldier coming around to accept his fate. On the whole, it is a well acted film with Ayer able to take us along on this intense ride. And it’s no wonder—both of Ayer’s grandfather’s served in WWII and he was in the military before turning to screenwriting and directing. The relationships and interactions are grounded in a reality that he knows and has heard much about from those who where there.
We’re currently working on a rating system to rate movies, but for now, I would definitely go see this one.
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA and UNBROKEN Trailers
In the Heart of the Sea is directed by A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 director Ron Howard. It's based the book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick about the sinking of the whaleship Essex in 1820. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) stars with Cillian Murphy and Tom Holland. The film will be released March 15, 2015.
Unbroken follows the true story of Louis Zamperini, Olympian and war hero. Based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand (“Seabiscuit: An American Legend”), the film is directed by Angelina Jolie, who also produces. During WWII Zamperini and two other crewmen survived in a raft for 47 days but are captured but the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. The film will be released Christmas 2014.
TOMORROWLAND Teaser Trailer
Check out the mysterious teaser to Disney's super-secret new movie, Tomorrowland, a project from director Brad Bird (The Incredibles and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and writer Damon Lindelof (co-creator of Lost and writer of The Leftovers and Prometheus). The trailer is narrated by George Clooney's character as he muses about the possibilities of the future and changing the world.
The film also stars Britt Robertson and Hugh Laurie. The trailer was just shown today to at Disney's presentation of the film at New York Comic-Con. Tomorrowland is due out May 22, 2015.
Austin Film Festival 2014 Slate Announced
Austin Film Festival & Screenwriters Conference announced their slate for 2014 to take place October 23-30.
The festival was founded in 1993 and was the first of its kind to focus on the contribution of writers in filmmaking. It initially started as a conference for screenwriters, providing a place for professionals and screenwriting hopefuls to network and work on their craft. Since then it has grown to incorporate a film festival, which this year plays host to 15 World Premiers with films from 20 countries. Past participants include Wes Anderson, the Coen brothers, Russell Crowe, Bryan Singer, Oliver Stone, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson and many, many others.
This year’s conference and festival hosts writers from last years big movies (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Dallas Buyers Club) and will feature television creators, writers, and producers from shows such as Mad Men, True Detective, Breaking Bad, Fargo, Justified, and Orange is the New Black. In attendance this year: True Detective director Cary Fukunaga, closing night presenters Jon Stewart and Maziar Bahari, writer/director Jay Duplass, Rita Wilson, Scott Eastwood, Jason Ritter, Alex Anfanger, Glenn Morshower, and others.
If you’ve taken a look at our Fall Preview you’ll recognize two films - Wild and The Imitation Game. We’ll have updates, reviews, and recommendations on those two films and also others including AFF’s marquee selections Escobar: Paradise Lost, The Sound and the Fury, The Homesman, Black and White, Big Hero 6, Red Army, 21 Years: Richard Linklater, and Dawn Patrol which is based on a script out of the Screenplay Competition.
For further info and cool happenings around the festival check out onstory.tv and austinfilmfestival.com
You can find the full schedule of films and conference events here.
We’re very excited to head down to Austin this year and cover the festival for all of you!
Fall Movie Preview
After another summer of big movies and loud explosions, the fall season turns out award hopefuls and festival favorites. As in any fall lineup, it’s not just the award chasing movies that are released. Scary movies pepper October in preparation for Halloween (Annabelle, Before I Go To Sleep, Horns). We have returns of sequels, with Horrible Bosses 2, Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. And there are also animated offerings with Big Hero 6 and Penguins of Madagascar. While some of these look more entertaining than others - those of you who know me will know I won’t be seeing those scary flicks - this fall preview focuses on the stories and characters we’re most excited about seeing on the screen.
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