Brad Pitt returns to the screen in the WWII blockbuster Fury as War Daddy, the head of a tired US army unit sent into Germany in the last month of the war. Fury also stars troubled but talented young actor Shia LaBeouf.

Also this weekend, intense musical drama Whiplash opens in Australian cinemas. Whiplash has commanding performances from leads Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons in the story about the dark side of musical genius and what it takes to be a performer.

· What it’s like to have your book made into a Hollywood film

Fury

Director: David Ayer
Cast: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Xavier Samuel, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Scott Eastwood, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena
Duration: 134 mins
Rating: MA15+ – Strong war themes, violence, blood and gore and coarse language
Release Date: 23 October, 2014

Verdict: Thrilling

Why you should you see it: Aza for thelowdownunder says: “Set in April 1945 Germany as the Allies advance on the German Army, Fury takes centre stage as the name of an American tank that’s been out in the war killing Nazi’s since North Africa some three years prior. The rowdy crew are led by ‘War Daddy’ Don (Brad Pitt – in a not so Aldo Rein persona), with a crew comprising ‘Bible’ Boyd (Shia LaBeouf), ‘Coon-Ass’ Grady (Jon Bernthal), ‘Gordo’ Garcia (Micheal Pena) and, when we meet them, a now deceased 2nd driver. When Norman (Logan Lerman), a military typist drafted into the war, is assigned to fill the place in the rag tag team he becomes our entry into this unit of men who’ve been in battle for near on four years. David Ayers frequently brutal and consistently grim new film lends heavily from other, very notable, war and blockbuster films to make up his narrative as he tries to cast a human shadow on the nature of war. Comparisons to Saving Private Ryan and Patton come easy, especially in some of its more overt setups, but the film does have moments of real power and prowess.

Whiplash

Director: Damien Chazelle
Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist
Duration: 106 mins
Rating: MA15+ – Strong coarse language
Release Date: 23 October, 2014

Verdict: A masterpiece

Why you should you see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdownunder says: “Terrifyingly brutal and mesmerisingly beautiful all at once. There is one school of thought that says the genius is all but equivalent to madness. Then there’s another that says genius is equivalent to almost having your head decapitated by a cymbal hurled furiously at great velocity. So the story goes with Charlie ‘Yardbird’ Parker, the legendary saxophonist who allegedly only ascended to greatness when his bandmate, in frustration, threw said instrument ant his head, inspiring a year’s intense practice. This story, tall or not, is the guiding light for J.K. Simmons’ psychotic, shaven-headed and ripped music teacher Fletcher in writer/director Damien Chazelle’s magnificently compelling, if almost always excruciating to watch (in a good way), sophomore feature Whiplash.”

This Is Where I leave You

Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver, Timothy Olyphant, Kathryn Hahn, Dax Shepard
Duration: 103 mins
Rating: M – Sex scene, sexual references, drug use, coarse language and mature themes
Release Date: 23 October, 2014

Verdict: Disappointing

Why you shouldn’t see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdownunder says: “Neither particularly funny, nor moving. Strong cast drowns beneath the fluff. Bateman plays Judd Altman, who separates from his wife (Abigail Spencer) at the start of the movie, after finding her in bed with his sleazy shock jock boss (Dax Shephard). To add insult to injury, he receives a call shortly afterwards informing him that his dad has died. Returning to the family home, and the ridiculously augmented bosom of mother Altman (Fonda), in a rather creepy joke that’s laboured for all it’s not worth, she reveals that their technically Jewish but practicably atheist father’s dying wish was that the family sit together for Shiva, the traditional seven days of mourning. Having drifted apart, the frays at the seams of this somewhat eccentric family soon come apart, in ways neither particularly interesting nor original. Fey, as Wendy Altman, is horribly underused and never gets a chance to shine through the turgid dialogue dumped on her. A sub-plot featuring Timothy Olyphant as her former lover, living with a brain injury, is also short-changed.

Before I Go To Sleep

Director: Rowan Joffe
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong
Duration: 92 mins
Rating: MA15+ – Strong themes and violence
Release Date: 16 October, 2014

Verdict: Nicole Kidman in unsually good form

Why you should see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdownunder says: “Hot on the heels of David Fincher’s Gone Girl, writer/director Rowan Joffe’s pot boiling adaptation of S.J. Watson’s Before I Go To Sleep offers a psychological game of cat and mouse that keeps its audience in the dark as to exactly what’s going on, this time played out for the majority of its runtime. Following last year’s Boxing Day release The Railway Man, Nicole Kidman is once again united with Colin Firth in this Hitchcock-lite tale of a married couple dealing with an unusual obstacle to their union. Following a mysterious ‘accident’ 13 year previous, Kidman’s Christine is an amnesiac whose brain resets overnight, each day, resulting in her repeatedly awakening in a heightened state of confused fear. Firth’s Ben appears to draw on boundless reserves of patient love in order to guide her through her lost recollections, but it soon becomes apparent that he’s an unreliable narrator who’s incredibly selective over what parts of their history together he’ll allow her to access.”