Fury: Ideals are peaceful. History is violent.

The David Ayer movie is just another war movie if you look at it that way. Most of the scenes are clichéd, and dialogues are muffled in various American accents. It is tense and has some exciting scenes, which shows research on tank warfare. It is a good movie on many aspects.

 

Bikini Plot: American tank platoons go in deep inside Germany in 1945. They name their tanks, same way you have seen the movies on fighter planes (tank being centre of a movie is only second time in my memory, after The Beast., and one of the tank is, obviously, Fury). Brad Pitt is in command, and his team has lost their first member since 1941. Unbelievable - Africa, France, Belgium and now Germany. Surviving Rommel, possible - might have been with Patton. Surviving Normandy, possible (in a Bob De Niro way). Surviving Belgium - come on, man. Yet, that is the story. They fight their way inside the enemy territory where the Germans fight total war. The SS is making last ditch effort to suicide in German way.

 

Movie has a few really high points - it condenses a million soldiers into 5 characters who become burdened with carrying diverse point of views. It becomes clichéd when it tries to englamour the characters. It shows how war affects people. Losing sanity. Losing virginity. Ayer has a wry sense of humour! The tank battle on field is excellently shot and for first time, the armoured becomes glamorous. Those who admire Guderian and Patton as commanders would love this movie. Those who despise war will hate this movie. Those who think they are immune to ugliness of war will throw random words at this movie. And yet, I think this movie wanted just the same reaction from all of these individuals. The camera work is superb for most part, showing the greyness of cold to perfection. The scenes inside of tank had some misses, especially towards the end where the cinematographer wanted the emotions to be captured and it felt cut off from the tone of rest of the reels. Sadly, the Fury can't match the score of Black Hawk Down or Thin Red Line. A very dramatic last stand dialogue sequence just made me lose all the mojo of the movie built up till then.

 

Brad Pitt is his usual in this movie. An actor whom I hated in his early movies, then grew more and more commanding in his screen presence, until the Jesse James movie just made me love him. Shia LeBouf is very nice in his bespectacled role. He is nicknamed the Bible for quoting from Bible (The De Niro bob). Then there are other two Lerman and Bernthal who portray two ends of spectrum, each doing justice to their roles. Scenes which could have been worth a tear have been made so raw that you feel that actors had to have it while shooting. Micheal Pena has his own portion of the movie all to himself - where his face is not scene at all, but his voice gives more than others on screen. The shooting of a horse is an act of no valour.

 

I did not feel moved by this movie. I could not find fault with this movie either. It ended up in two fold thoughts - a) why do I forget so much on world war, and how could I miss Ypres! and b) What happens to people in war? Or are they always like this. War is ugly. Young die young. Still, there is humanity. Humanity survives with the victory, because most of the people are humane. People do lose it. The ones who regain them without losing themselves are the lucky lot.

The book of Eli

There are few movies in the world which have made me listen to the sound of music very closely. Somehow, for no particular reason, I am very much defiant to myself in the last few months. There might have been reasons which are trivial but I made it a point to take it through.

The music of the movie, The Book of Eli was suggested by virtue of technology to me, a buzz from a friend of mine made me hear it, and I was wonder struck by the use of resonating sounds. The music by Atticus Ross, who is also the sound engineer for the movie, is absolutely magnificent in its subtlety and smooth silence. I was intrigued enough by a poster at a DVD shop which showed the hue of the movie as a very pale greenish yellow. It was good time for me to see it.

I searched for it and I found it among my 'yet to be seen' folder. The movie started in a very normal pace. I did not know what was the movie about. I did not know whether it was a post nuclear fallout movie or a alien invasion, neither did I know about the kind of book Eli had with him. From the start, I could make assumptions but I resisted. The movie has a stellar cast for so few central characters. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman are the main protagonists and carry the movie splendidly on the brilliance of their acting.

Half an hour into the movie, I found the movie to be intriguing. Character of Eli is with many flaws, but lives by faith. He is typical 20^th century man. He wants to do the right, but luckily for him, the 21^st century men around him are so much involved in primal fights that he is left without any temptations. Gary Oldman, the venerable British Shakespearean actor as Carnegie is brilliant as usual. As the story unfolded, I was also lead through the story(which many already might have seen, so I take this liberty to tell a few particulars of the plot). There was a big war, 30 years back and everything went black. People lost everything, and were living a primal life ever since. Some men, decided that the Holy Bible was the reason for all these and started destroying it. In the end, there was only one left and as it can be deduced, Eli has the last one. Eli was told by a voice in his head to take the Bible to a safe place in west. The story follows Eli in his last leg of journey to the west coast.

The Book of Eli soundtrack was good enough to make me see the movie, and it gives a sense of afterthought and calm. Some of the tracks did not give me any feel or a sense of mood of the title, maybe it is the because of the lack of visual support(but what about the movies like, The last of the Mohicans or Forrest Gump?). Having said this, I will still say that I could put many of the tracks in my playlist and listen to it anytime. It has enough quality to soothe me, and there is a bit a melody to it too.

What transpires in between make the story, but the ending is simply fulfilling. The ending may be interpreted in many ways. Some may not even have crossed the mind of those who wrote the story even, but that is why the spoken word is so powerful. The Holy Book itself tells the same thing, God said(he spoke!), let there be light and there was light. He did not think, he did not command. He spoke. The movie talks about faith, in the absolutely best way possible - through music - "It doesn't have to make sense. It's faith, it's faith. It's the flower of light in the field of darkness that's giving me the strength to carry on. You understand? .... Is that from your book? .... No, it's, uh, Johnny Cash, Live at Folsom Prison."

There are few doubts which creep into the mind, towards the end. Eli finishes dictating the Bible and the Holy Book is printed. It is then kept along side Tanakh(practically the Old Testment) and Holy Qur'an which are not destroyed.  Well, you do not ask too many questions to the storyteller ;).

   

Memorable quotes: 
Eli: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.He restores my soul he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.

Eli: People had more than they needed, people didn't know what was precious and what wasn't, people threw away things they kill each other for now.

Eli: Write everything exactly as I say it. The first book of Moses, called Genesis. Chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Eli: Verse 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Eli: Verse 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

[last lines]
 Eli: Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way. Thank you for any good that I may have done, I'm so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I'm so very tired, but I go now to my rest at peace. Knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.