“Fury” (2014) — movie review | |
Today’s review is for the World War II action / drama “Fury” starring Brad Pitt as Staff Sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier, Shia LaBeouf as Boyd “Bible” Swan, Logan Lerman as Norman “Machine” Swan, Michael Peña as Trini “Gordo” Garcia and Jon Bernthal as Grady “Coon-Ass” Travis. The movie gives the impression that it is all happening in a single day, but that seems improbable (if not impossible), but whatever. It is late in the war, the Germans are on the verge of defeat, and four of the five main characters have been together for three years fighting and surviving. The exception is Lerman’s character Norman / “Machine” who is a raw recruit brought up as a last minute replacement. He was supposed to be a clerk / typist and knows nothing about fighting a war or manning a tank. | |
“Fury” refers to the nick-name the crew has painted on the barrel of the the tank’s main gun. | |
The movie follows the tank through a day of “war-is-hell”. There are several battles, multiple random deaths, lots of gore, violence, and cursing and two implied sexual relations. And then we have the main battle, where the tank doesn’t actually fight against another tank. The tank is disabled at a critical road intersection and the men have an option to abandon the vehicle or stay and risk their lives in defeat in an upcoming battle against a several companies of SS-troops. Pitt’s character chooses to stay and fight, but he gives his permission to the others to leave. They also choose to stay / fight / die. | |
So, a movie which starts out as a morality play about the horrors of war and its debasing of the human spirit then reverts into a heroic / mythic journey with the “hero” leader (Pitt) staying behind to struggle against impossible odds to make a difference in the war (and to defend his emotional home). | |
Is this movie any good? Is it an accurate depiction of combat? Is it at least entertaining? I found this movie to be very good as an action / war movie. Yes, it is gory and some of the violence is random, but both of these things are by design / intent. Real war IS hell and it can be heart-breakingly random. If you thought the opening beach scene from “Saving Private Ryan” was “good” movie making, then you’ll almost certainly enjoy most (if not all) of this movie, because that’s pretty much what you get for almost two hours. | |
Final recommendation: Strong to highly recommended movie. If you can get past the gore and the profanity – it’s “R” rated and obviously not for folks with a weak stomach – I think you’ll find a lot of pretty good to very good acting. And, by that I mean ALL five of the main actors do a great job in these roles. There are telling glances, flinches and all out emotional confrontations. Heroes don’t always have a happy ending to their story, but that doesn’t detract from their effort to do their duty. I would add one qualification: the movie stands on its own, but to “really” understand it you will need to watch the deleted scenes. They provide a lot of character background info which I hope will someday in the future be integrated into a “Director’s Cut”. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2019 | The Ones Worth Remembering, Anyway |
Boot Edge Edge (My New T) | |
2018 | To Reach The Next Threshold |
2017 | Streaking Tales |
2016 | Singular Reality |
2015 | He Says It’s Hard To Get There From Here |
2014 | Question From A Founding Father |
2013 | Make Heroes |
2012 | See And Hold |
2011 | Am Not, Are So |
Posts Tagged ‘Jon Bernthal’
Heroes Die Too
Posted in Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, tagged Boyd "Bible" Swan, Brad Pitt, Fury -- movie review, Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis, Jon Bernthal, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Norman "Machine" Swan, Shia Labeouf, Staff Sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier, Strong To Highly Recommended Movie, Trini "Gordo" Garcia, World War II on April 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »
I’ve Got A Pocket Protector
Posted in Movie Review, Movies, tagged Alison Wright, Andy Umberger, Anna Kendrick, Batman, Ben Affleck, Christian "Chris" Wolff, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Dana Cummings, Highly Recommended Movie, J. K. Simmons, Jean Smart, Jeffrey Tambor, John Lithgow, Jon Bernthal, The Accountant - movie review, The Punisher on October 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Movie review: “The Accountant” (2016) | |
“The Accountant” is an action / adventure / mystery / martial arts movie starring Ben Affleck as Christian “Chris” Wolff (accountant / really Batman as an internal auditor) and Anna Kendrick as Dana Cummings (female object of hero’s protective instincts). Other main characters include J. K. Simmons as Raymond “Ray” King (government agent one – Obi Wan), Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina (government agent two – Luke Skywalker), Jon Bernthal as Braxton (accountant’s brother / better known as the Punisher), Alison Wright as Justine (accountant’s sister), Jeffrey Tambor as Francis Silverberg (accountant’s mentor – Yoda), John Lithgow as Lamar Blackburn (bad guy), Andy Umberger as Ed Chilton (victim one) and Jean Smart as Rita Blackburn (victim two). CAUTION: Spoilers follow! | |
Basically, Batman is feeling the heat from Gov Agents 1 & 2, so he decides to take an “easy” job, sorting out a bookkeeping error at a company about to go public and make a killing in their IPO (Initial Public Offering of stocks). The female bookkeeper (Kendrick) has discovered the error and reported it to management, who feel obliged to sort it out before the IPO. Enter Batman. Blah, blah, blah, in early plot misdirection feign, victims one and two are killed by the Punisher. Blah, blah, blah, action scene at farm. Blah, blah, action scene saving object. Blah, blah Batman and object fall in love. Unrequited, of course. He can’t say it and she can’t be sure he feels it (love). Did I mention Batman is autistic? Yup. See above: “Blah, blah…” Anyway, blah, blah blah… Big fight at rich guy’s / bad guy’s house. Batman reconciles with brother / Punisher after killing bad guy and all of the Punisher’s henchmen. Batman gives object / unrequited love a going away present and rides off into the sunset. Setting up the inevitable sequel… | |
Final recommendation: this is a highly recommended movie! The martial arts and gun play are both well done and realistic (ok, maybe I’m pushing that part a bit). There is also a surprising amount of humor. The acting is good: I don’t consider myself an Affleck “fan”, but he is terrific in this role – much better than as Daredevil or Batman. I’ve only seen Kendrick in “Perfect Pitch“, and I also like her in that role, so I guess she’s two for two in my book. I loved Bernthal in his Netflix “Punisher” role, and he too, is a winner in this movie. Is it great cinema? No, but it’s a very entertaining action movie woven into about a dozen (it felt like that many, anyway) story lines. There is a substantial amount of violence, (gun violence specifically), so the movie is not appropriate for small kids. Given the recent events in Las Vegas, there are probably quite a few adults who shouldn’t watch it either. (Just saying…) There is also a terrific closing song at the end of the movie! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Three Or Four Elements |
Something In My Eye | |
2020 | I Am Shocked! Shocked I Say! |
But You Gotta Have Faith | |
But Only Half | |
2019 | …And Bullet-Proof Suits |
The Bottom Line (Is No Surprise To Me) | |
2018 | What Do You Hear? |
2017 | I’ve Got A Pocket Protector |
Word Up! | |
2016 | Better Value |
2015 | Any Port In A Storm |
2014 | Babies (II) |
2013 | Why The Young Stay In College Longer These Days |
2012 | Perceptions Of Worth |
2011 | Flavor |
2010 | Giants Win 1-0 !! |
Punishing Red Binge
Posted in Series (TV or Streaming) Review, tagged Élodie Yung, Daredevil, Daredevil - Netflix TV series review, Daredevil Season 2 - Review, Elektra Natchios, Frank Castle, Jennifer Garner, Jon Bernthal, Netflix, The Punisher on March 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Daredevil: Season 2 — Netflix TV Series Review | |
This week I completed my mini-binge of “Daredevil: Season 2“. (For my review of Season 1, click here.) I say “mini-binge” because the season is only thirteen episodes (roughly the same number of hours) long. I promised myself I’d mini-binge the entire first season to get myself in the mood for Season 2, but in the end, I didn’t. I just jumped in. I must also admit I really enjoyed seeing DD in his own TV series. | |
Season 2 is a lot more of the same… Dark and very violent. Once again, this is not a series for children viewing. And I emphasize, very violent. | |
Having said that, is it any good? And, is it interesting? All the stuff which made year one a good-to-great show are back in Season 2: great martial arts choreography and very good character development. The down side? Sometimes the dialog felt more like monologues and kind of dragged. The season introduced two new characters: Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) aka “The Punisher” and Elektra Natchios (Élodie Yung). Both of which were pretty awesome. Of the two, Castle is more fun to watch and root for. Yung makes you almost completely forget the “other” Elektra (Jennifer Garner). Bernthal is powerful and Yung is almost campy. Both are deadly, but one is brutal while the other graceful. The contrast is truly Yin / Yang. And the over-arc story of each with the “no-kill” philosophy of Daredevil is equally stark. This contrast is what leads (ironically) to the dull-ish dialog. I guess “dull” isn’t the correct way to analyze the writing, but we had to listen to the same arguments in every single episode. Enough already. Daredevil, although a vigilante, is a hero. He saves lives and doesn’t kill. We get it! | |
Last season, DD got his uniform / costume. This season, DD gets his baton. We don’t know all of what it does, but it’s very cool so far! | |
So, final recommendation: very strong! This is an excellent adaptation of the comic book character into a TV series. I highly recommend you watch the whole of the first season before trying to dive into season two. It’ll make a lot more sense. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2015 | Bits In The Soup |
2014 | More Beef, Less Bull |
2013 | Where Are Your Mountains |
2012 | Spherical Knowledge Of Hamsters |
2011 | Taking Stock Over Time |