Review: "Fury" (***½)

Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Brad Pitt, Michael Peña & Jon Bernthal star in "Fury"

Very rarely do I enter a theatre completely blind to what it is I’m about to see. I’m too greedy, too curious and far too impatient for the kind of diamond-like discovery that comes with digging in the dark. That analogy may have fallen a bit flat, but the point I’m trying to make here is that this was my experience with “Fury;” I went into the theatre knowing only that it was a war movie and that Brad Pitt was in it. I hadn’t heard too much about the film, and I never really felt any pressure to see it. I hadn’t heard anything too great about it, though to be fair, I hadn’t heard that anyone despised it, either. The buzz surrounding “Fury” was essentially non-existent… for me, at least. The only reason I did see this movie was because it was a very, very rainy Sunday and, quite simply, I love the movies. Plus, I have less a tendency to watch period pieces in the comfort of my own home. Had I not seen “Lincoln” in theatres, I never would have watched that movie; and I’m glad I did see it, it’s a very good movie, but I have some sort of mental block against them. They’re not very easy for me. All that being said, “Fury” was a movie I thoroughly enjoyed.

Short Take: RIFF roundup

From top: "Life Through a Lens," "Shoot the Moon," "Douglas," "HowardCantour.com"

The two dozen shorts I saw at the Rome International Film Festival was a mixed bag. Overall, the quality was pretty good. Many of the blocks were grouped together very appropriately, and the shorts attached to features were usually there for a reason, whether it was for quality or thematic purposes. These are hardly astute, scientific observations; just thoughts on what I saw.


"The Winking Boy" - A clever Australian short. Funny, well cast. Homemade feel to it, but with skill.

"Waking Up" - One of the most affecting shorts at RIFF. A lively film about death. Moving, smooth flow. Great music by Gareth Coker.

"In Our Hands" - Very professionally shot. Dense atmosphere, thick like smoke in a tunnel. Time-lapse shots of train aren't in keeping with other aesthetics, but aren't prominent enough to detract. Good score by Sigur Rós.

"Ready to Talk" - Light where it needs to be, heavy where it needs to be. Two great leads in Andres Faucher and Tamara Arias.

"Douglas" - Filmmaker Brandon Vedder does a great job conveying the frantic anxiety of our central character and ultimately his rise above it. Andrew Makishima is a giant Joseph Gordon-Levitt (which is awesome). Received the most whispers out of any short I was in the audience for.

Review: "Lawless" (****)

Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star in "Lawless"

Step one: Get director John Hillcoat and writer/musician Nick Cave back together. Step two: Assemble names like Chastain, Hardy, LaBeouf, Oldman, Pearce and Wasikowska. Step three: Convince Emmylou Harris to work with Cave and Warren Ellis on some new music. Step four: Film in Georgia. This is a perfect recipe to gain my interest.

With my curiosity at an all time high, "Lawless" premiered at Cannes. While it didn't knock any socks off, it didn't receive many bad marks either. When the trailer hit a few weeks later, my expectations were put in check. I remained enthusiastic, but some wind was let out of my sails upon seeing what appeared to be more of a commercial play than an exercise in artistry. Now, having seen the film, I confess to being very pleased with the final product.