In the cinema: Fury
Whether your tastes travel more in the direction of Brad Pitt (aged 50), Logan Lerman (22) or Shia LaBeouf (28), one thing’s for sure: World War II film Fury presents the best-looking tank crew that ever served in the US army. From the writer of Training Day, Fury sees the five men of the titular Sherman tank facing off against spirited German resistance in the final months of the war. It’s pretty much a boy’s own action adventure – Michael Pena (End Of Watch) and Jon Bernthal (TV’s The Walking Dead) play the other tank crew members – that climaxes in a heroic act that probably only the movies could make up. But it’s not all gung-ho heroism: the price of war is also brought vividly to life, ditto the ethics of conflict. Lerman, playing the rookie in the tank, provides an audience identification point, and it’s another fine performance for the young star, following The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.
On DVD: Northern Soul
Last weekend, a movie came out at cinemas that most people in the film industry barely knew about. It’s called Northern Soul, and is set in the north of England in the 1970s, when local affection for obscure, euphoric black American soul music gave birth to a whole subculture of all-night parties and athletic dance moves. Directed by acclaimed fashion photographer Elaine Constantine, who has long been connected to the Northern Soul scene, the film has seen crowds of devotees flocking to sold-out screenings of the film, especially in the north of England and Midlands. The story is plenty familiar – a teen lad in a dead-end town has his horizons opened when he discovers a new sub-culture – but it’s told with authentic verve, and showcases a talented cast of newcomers (Elliot James Langridge, Josh Whitehouse), alongside familiar names in smaller roles, eg Steve Coogan as a grumpy schoolteacher. Antonia Thomas, currently in TV’s Scrotal Recall, is predictably winning as the love interest. The film is still playing in about 70 cinemas, thanks to huge and unexpected box-office last weekend, but if you prefer to watch it at home, it’s already on DVD.
On TV: Limitless (E4, Saturday, 9pm)
Bradley Cooper is best known for the Hangover trilogy of movies, as well as his two films co-starring Jennifer Lawrence: Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. Limitless came out in 2011, and didn’t benefit from either popcorn blockbuster status or awards buzz. It’s one of those mid-level movies, propelled more by word of mouth than aggressive marketing. If you didn’t ever catch it, you should know this: it’s really good! Bradley plays a down-at-heels writer whose girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) is giving up on him ever getting his life together. Then he encounters an experimental drug that allows him to access 100% of his brain capacity – and watching the transformation is a giddy ride. Of course, there’s a price to be paid. Limitless is actually a better film than this summer’s Lucy (starring Scarlett Johansson), which has a somewhat similar premise, and is also a lot more relatable. Bradley is back in cinemas this weekend (with J-Law again) in period romance Serena. Our advice: skip that one, stay in and watch Limitless instead.