Retreat, Hell

Fury zones in on the tank battles in the wake of the German retreat, at the fag end of World War II, in April 1945. The Germans are determined – well, by and large – to protect every inch of territory down to the last man, woman and child. Enter battle hardened Don Wardaddy Collier (Brad Pitt) ad his Sherman tank crew. Minor skirmishes – turns out that resistance can be led by children too, blossoming love and loss, but above all, intense tank battles – especially pitted against the significantly superior Tiger tank, are the hallmark of this movie. Fury is not one of the best World War II movies ever made, but captures the theater of tank battles rather well

13/20

This Series Hereby Sleeps

Wall Street – Money Never Sleeps – has the tough task of measuring up to its legendary predecessor that was anchored by two extremely strong leads – Charlie Sheen (featured in the current movie in a cameo is a shockingly aged incarnation) and Michael Douglas (not quite his former self in this edition, as an out-of-prison Gordon Gekko). Lead Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) is a level-headed investment banker, with a reasonably modest existence (by IB standards of course) and a penchant for the ethical and for clean technology. Jake works through the meltdown and the collateral damage of looking to marry Gordon Gekko’s daughter – is Gekko now a changed man or the same marauder that he was in the 80’s? With strong overtones of the fall of Bear Stearns and the continued survival of the likes of Charles Schwab, this movie is a bit of a mishmash between high street finance parleys, and good old family values. Generally entertaining without being edge-of-the-seat, and marred by shoddy cinematography and editing in some degree, this is an entertaining movie but cannot hold even the merest hint of a candle to the original

11.5/20

Someone Transform this Series

One part of me wants to trash Transformers II – Revenge of the Fallen so bad that Michael Bay and his merry men would think twice before turning this into a trilogy. Another part, however, asks – what is it we were expecting anyway. Sam Witwicky, vulnerable and quite the center of affairs. Megan Fox, sizzling, a modicum of dialogue also thrown in for effect. Relentless action sequences (with the added side effect of trashing the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). This is a teenage movie series, and we stepped in, forewarned of the same, and got everything that we might have expected. The question is – did this movie lift the franchise to a higher level? Did it lend character to Optimus Prime the way it clearly sought to do. Did you want us to make up our minds about whether humans should be taking sides in an extraterrestrial battle, or whether the Autobots should be sharing their technology with humans. I guess not, because this movie did not quite click

9/20

The Eagle hasn’t Landed

America is threatened by terrorism and this time the threat emanates from within its own borders. Part science fiction and part action flick, Eagle Eye delivers. The movie is fast paced and that takes care of the fact that it is barely believable, because you will not pause to think. Shia LaBeouf does not hurt his progression as one of the rising stars of Hollywood, while not accreting much to the same either. There are remarkable moments but on the whole the extent of power attributed to Eagle Eye is a little over the top. Good entertainment