I Love That Film: fury

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Tuesday, 21 October 2014

My Top 10 of the London Film Festival 2014

Quick disclaimer: some of these I saw at Cannes earlier this year but they were still playing at the LFF so I have included them here even if I didn't get a chance to see them again. I should also mention that I didn't get to see loads of films at the LFF such as The Imitation Game, It Follows, Whiplash or Men, Women and Children to name a few. Sounds like Whiplash may be many people's favourite of the festival but I'm afraid I will have to wait to see it like everybody else!

Anyway, here is my top 10. Click the titles for my reviews:

10. A Hard Day

9. Son of a Gun

8. Timbuktu

7. '71

6. Fury

5. Foxcatcher

4. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

3. Monsters: Dark Continent

2. Wild Tales

1. White God

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Tuesday, 9 September 2014

International Fury Trailer Unleashes War as Hell

It's so long and tanks for all the action in the breathtaking latest international trailer for David Ayer's World War 2 film Fury. Closing the 2014 BFI London Film Festival and starring one of the most exciting casts of the year with Brad Pitt, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal all crammed in a tank together, Fury is definitely going to be a must see movie, even for those who can't stand Shia LaBeouf.

The official synopsis says it's 'April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.'

Director David Ayer may have slipped into silliness with his previous film Sabotage, but his best work includes End of Watch and the casting here suggests something very special. The new trailer is more focussed than any previous ones with showing the relationship between Pitt's team leader and new boy Logan Lerman as he struggles to fit into a close-knit group of surviving soldiers as they roll into Germany nearing the end of the war.

For me, Lerman is the unproven one out of this cast but I hope that this is the moment where he is going to shine, even with the impressive cast that surround him. Pitt is usually good, Pena is frequently excellent and I think we have still yet to see LaBoeuf's best. While Bernthal depends on a few too many recognisable mannerisms, he was also the best actor for a long time in The Walking Dead. Ayer did a fantastic job with End of Watch and from this trailer, Fury has all the hallmarks of being a great war movie. It certainly looks like an explosive way to close the BFI London Film Festival.

Watch the trailer:

What do you think?

More on the BFI London Film Festival 2014

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

BFI London Film Festival 2014 Gala Screenings

The full programme for the London Film Festival has just been announced and there are a huge number of films to be very excited about. First up, the galas are ridiculously exciting. I was lucky enough to see some of these at Cannes this year. Click the titles for my reviews of Mr Turner, Wild Tales and The Salvation.

Here is the list of galas in full taken from the BFI London Film Festival website, where you will also find the remainder of the programme.

I also saw Foxcatcher at Cannes. It is an unbelievably gripping film with a trio of exceptional performances from Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and most surprisingly Steve Carrell. My review is coming soon.

The films I’m most excited to see from this list are Whiplash, Mommy and Fury. However, for those who have not yet seen Wild Tales, this film was my favourite from Cannes 2014 and is an absolute must-see!

Opening Night Gala: The Imitation Game

The life of Alan Turing, the codebreaker who helped turn the tide of WWII. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Closing Night Gala: Fury

David Ayer’s brilliant action drama tells the story of US soldiers and the demons they face down as they drive their tank through occupied Europe during WWII. Great cast!

American Express Gala: Foxcatcher

A riveting, tense and unsettling exploration of the power of money and obsession from the acclaimed director of Capote and Moneyball. Must see for Steve Carrell’s performance!

Accenture Gala: Whiplash

A gifted young drummer finds himself challenged by a brilliant mentor intent on pushing his student to greatness. Stars Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons.

Virgin Atlantic Gala: Men, Women & Children

Jason Reitman explores the way the modern technologies both enhance and hinder our lives and relationships in this cross-generational comedy drama.

May Fair Hotel Gala: Wild

Reese Witherspoon impresses in this moving account of one woman’s attempt to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

Centrepiece Gala Supported by the Mayor of London: Testament of Youth

Vera Brittain’s extraordinary life during WWII is explored in this magnificent period drama.

Festival Gala In association with Time Out: Mr Turner

Mike Leigh’s Cannes-winning account of the later years of J. M. W. Turner, brilliantly played by Timothy Spall. Click the title for my review from Cannes 2014.

Archive Gala: The Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands

This dramatic reconstruction of two decisive naval battles from the First World War is one of the finest films of the British silent era.

Debate Gala: Rosewater

Jon Stewart brilliantly tells the story of Maziar Bahari, the journalist who was detained for 188 days in Iran.

Dare Gala: Mommy

Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan impresses again with his latest award-winning exercise in stylistic and imaginative melodrama.

Love Gala: A Little Chaos

Kate Winslet plays a landscape gardener employed by King Louis XIV to transform the gardens at Versailles.

Laugh Gala: Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

Six hilarious short stories combine to form a macabre tango at the gates of madness in this outrageous comedy about the trials of modern life. An absolute must see! Click the title for my review.

Thrill Gala: The Salvation

Mads Mikkelsen does what a man’s gotta do in the lawless pioneer West in this violent and stylish, smørrebrød western. Check out my review by clicking the title.

Journey Gala in association with Sight & Sound: Winter Sleep

The Palme d’Or-winner of Cannes 2014. Cult Gala: The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom

Sonic Gala: Björk: Biophilia Live

Family Gala: Song of the Sea

What are you excited to see from this list?

More on the BFI London Film Festival 2014

Wednesday, 27 August 2014

BFI London Film Festival to close with Fury

What could be more exciting than The Imitation Game opening the BFI London Film Festival? Well apart from the prospect of most of London coming to a standstill and getting all quivery at the knees over Benedict Cumberbatch, it is the closing night film that has really got my motor running. The European Premiere of Fury from director David Ayer is rolling into Leicester Square on Sunday 19 October and promises to close the LFF with a spectacular bang.

As far as I’m concerned, Ayer hit a pretty major stumbling block with his last film Sabotage but before that he had written and directed one of my top 3 films of 2012, End of Watch. That film had also been screened at the London Film Festival and was an intense ride around the badass streets of LA with two cops in the thick of cartels and drug dealers. Swapping the cop car for a tank, Fury takes us back to World War 2, a subject Ayer hasn’t written about since U-571.

Starring one of the most exciting casts of the year, Fury sees Brad Pitt, (a post-meltdown) Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal and Logan Lerman rolling around in a Sherman tank behind enemy lines in 1945 as the war is drawing to a close. I can’t say much for little Logan Lerman yet but the rest of that cast promise big things for this film. If Ayer can capture the horror of fighting in World War 2 as well as he captured the danger of being a cop on the streets of LA, Fury will be a belting way to close this year’s BFI London Film Festival.

No doubt Pitt, Ayer and hopefully more of the stars of the film will attend the premiere and get their snaps taken on the red carpet while delighting fans with their smiles and regaling journalists with tales of not washing and living like soldiers while working in English fields on the film. If you can’t get to the London premiere, there will be simultaneous screenings in various cinemas across the country.

Here is a snippet about the film from the BFI LFF website:

‘In Fury, it is April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.’

Festival Director Clare Stewart calls Fury a ‘resounding cinematic achievement. Rarely is a film so successful at balancing the human drama of war with such thrilling action sequences’. David Ayer says ‘It’s a true pleasure to be returning to England, where we shot the film – the fields of Oxfordshire and Bovingdon Airfield in Hertfordshire were our home for 12 weeks last year, so it’s something of a homecoming for us to present the movie at its European premiere’.

Fury will be released across the UK on 24 October 2014. The 58th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express runs from Wednesday 8 October to Sunday 19 October. The full programme for the Festival will be announced on Wednesday 3 September and tickets for public booking will open on 18 September.

Here is the trailer:

More on The BFI London Film Festival 2014.

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

FURY Trailer brings out the big guns

The new film from director David Ayer gets a fantastic looking new trailer featuring its impressive cast battling through World War 2 in a tank. Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal will be packing that war machine with so much testosterone, you'll be able to smell the sweaty balls dripping off the screen.

This is the director of End of Watch, one of my top 3 films of 2012 as well as the guy who wrote Training Day. His last film, Sabotage, may have been a bit of a misstep but at least it gave Arnie a bit of a darker character for his post-Governor career.

World War 2 are often action packed and though The Monuments Men was a recent star packed disappointment, Fury looks like a gritter, dirtier and far more exciting ride that George Clooney's film. Logan Lerman is the only one of the major players who I'm not thrilled to see in this. No offence to Lerman who I'm sure is great but when he comes toe to toe with Pitt, Pena, Bernthal and LaBeouf, he's bound to struggle. What a cast and what a trailer! Can't wait for Fury to be unleashed in November.

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Friday, 3 January 2014

Top 25 Films to see in 2014

2015 might be the year of the really big mega-franchises but that means 2014 is packed with plenty more originals before we get stuck in to the Star Wars, Avengers, Jurassic World and Terminators of 2015. There's also the usual bunch of sequels, reboots and even a sequel to a prequel to a film that already had 4 sequels (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

2014 will no doubt be filled with surprises but at this early stage, these are the films that I've heard of and am most looking forward to. Begin the countdown:

25. Noah

Biggest draw for me is Darren Aronofsky but to be honest, this looks a million miles away from Requiem for a Dream and probably a million miles away from the bible story it is based on. Should be big though.

24. Need for Speed

Reason to see is quite simply post-Breaking Bad Aaron Paul. Also the car action looks like it might be more fast and furious than a certain other franchise.

23. Human Centipede 3

I could give you a hundred reasons not to see this and I'm personally not looking forward to the experience but I bet this one gets people talking when it arrives with its 500 person centipede.

22. Her

Joaquin Phoenix and Spike Jonze together at last?

21. Maggie

Arnie is a father who must over see his daughter's slow transformation into a zombie along with his wife Joely Richardson.

20. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

Excited for it all to finally come to end to be honest. It's been a long and drawn out wait.

19. RoboCop

Early trailers have received mixed opinions but the politics of this prescient remake might just pull it through.

18. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I grew up on these guys. I can't help but get excited for their return.

17. Transcendence

Cinematographer Wally Pfister finally has a go at directing. Johnny Depp takes over the world!

16. 22 Jump Street

The first one was unexpectedly hilarious. Hope this one can pull it off again.

15. The Green Inferno

Not a massive fan of Eli Roth but hoping this one is as extreme as Cannibal Holocaust without any of the actual animal cruelty that went into that abomination!

14. Birdman

Alejandro González Iñárritu finally cheers up a bit. Great cast and premise too.

13. Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowski siblings return after Cloud Atlas with another sci-fi epic. Not sure about Channing Tatum's make up though.

12. Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto may just give the performance of their careers in this true life story of coping with AIDS.

11. REC 4: Apocalypse

Jaume Balagueró returns to the franchise, continuing the story of the first two films and confining the zombie infested action to an off shore oil tanker.