Tag: world war 2

Film Review: Fury

Aptly titled with a gutsy delivery.

The Furious Five
The Furious Five

It’s hard to imagine much originality stemming from any new or forthcoming World War II movies.  This was my thought back in 2009 before Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds was released, offering audiences a completely new vision of the second world war and delivering never-before-seen perspectives with style.  This isn’t to say that that film revitalized the genre, but it kinda did.  The newest World War II tale, Fury, starring Basterds alum Brad Pitt, offers a focus we haven’t seen much of (tank vs. tank battles), but otherwise a lot of the same gruesomeness and gritty warfare and dehumanized soldiers we’ve seen before.  If it weren’t for a lack of strong character development, Fury could have been a war classic.  Fury is a strong entry into the World War II genre, focusing on a much-passed over yet crucial deadly type of war machine (again, tanks), yet still overtly showcasing the horrors and disturbing nature of war.

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MVFF Spotlights #3: The Imitation Game/Foxcatcher

The 37th Mill Valley Film Festival wrapped up last night.  The Festival screened some of this fall’s most hotly anticipated pictures: Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler and Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, and many more.  We gave you a look at some of the festival’s lesser known independent films, now here’s a quick look at a few of the hot titles (and Oscar bait) coming out this fall.  For full festival photos and information, visit: http://mvff.com.

The Imitation Game
(US/UK 2014, 113 min; English)

Cumberbatch cracks the code.
Cumberbatch cracks the code.

The Imitation Game is a return to the traditional period bio-dramas of yesteryear (you know, like A Beautiful Mind).  It tells the story of Alan Turing, the British mathematician who cracked the German Enigma c0de during World War II, thus introducing the world to computer science while having a large impact on helping the Allied forces win the war, and who was also subsequently arrested after the war for being a homosexual.  Everything about the film is rock solid, from the stalwart acting, led by a fantastic Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing, to the film’s music and set design.  While many movies, dramas in particular, flounder under the weight of forced contrivances, The Imitation Game embraces and utilizes them to an entertaining degree.  We’re right there cracking the code alongside Turing in this old-fashioned period drama.

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