Upcoming WW2 films list

I really agree with the fundamental line of your review of Monuments Men, Denny.

There is no denying that Clooney made a lightweight movie (deliberate) and that audiences were looking or expecting something else. I do however feel that a director should not be blamed for audience expectation. A movie should not be held accountable for not being what people expected it to be (except for Pearl Harbor, which is still inexcusable).

I liked the cast, myself, but there was indeed an over reliance on their familiarity to an audience over written character development. That doesn't seem to harm "The Expendables" franchise too much...

"Just not a great movie" doesn't cut it, though. Not all movies are trying to be "Great". Some just try to entertain, perhaps touch you a little. I think this is one of them.

 

I saw "The Book Thief" recently and was pretty impressed. I haven't finished the novel yet, and others on this forum have said it is much better than the movie, but I liked it enormously. Did anyone else see it?

 

The book and movie rendition were excellent. Yes the novel was better, and rarely do movies do a good novel justice, but this worked.

 

This could be good. 2nd Armored Division - Hell on Wheels. The directors credits aren't particularly impressive, but I'll withhold judgment until I see the film.

Edited to add that this was filmed in England, and they borrowed a running Tiger I from Bovington Tank Museum!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGvZoIrXpg

 

I got a copy of this for my birthday a few weeks past because the giver knew of my interest in history and WWII.

I agree that over all it was made to be "lightweight" and there is nothing wrong with that approach per se, Kelly's Hero's is great example of this kind of movie. (a personal Favorite)

The thing is though, The Monuments Men is a bad film made with a seriously good cast. When you break it down it is just a series of extended cameo's strung together with a rather left field ending thrown in (Casting the Russian's as the last minute black hat's). Some scenes were entertaining, even poetic, but as a whole uneven. For me the Damen-Blanchett portions were the least satisfying and could have been paired down to one or two scenes at most.

What is particularly galling is that it could have been a great little film. Had they concentrated on having this group hunt for one particular item, as a group, seeing the war as outsider's, they could have mixed comedy, pathos and excitement in equal measures. Sort of a mix of Ocean's 11 and Kelley's Hero's.

Maybe not original in concept, but at least you would not have so many up in arms about rewriting history of the real Monuments Men.

 

I Hear You -
They could have made Good Night And Good Luck.
But instead, they made Indiana Jones (and not nearly as good).

Yeah...those Cate Blanchet scenes were painful weren't they.?
Forced...too cliche...I don't know, I am not a student of film making, but they could have (should have) been some of the most dramatic shots of the entire movie.
I can only guess they were trying to keep the whole think pretty light. It was like a stupid "Buddy Movie".

Instead of a Great Story being an excuse to make a great film.
They used a great story as an excuse to make a mediocre movie.

 

Hard to tell, but judging from the recent stories about it, Fury might turn out to be good. Sounds like it will attempt to portray things as hellish as they actually must have been without glorifying. Here's an article from the NY Times.

 

Just got a copy of "Angel of the Skies" this afternoon. It's a new release on dvd from this summer. Looks low budget. Paid 5$, so I thought "Why not?"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3160230/

 

Haha I am downloading it now!

 

Brad Pitt's "Fury" release date has been moved up to october 17th.

 

Good to know

 

"Saints And Soldiers-The Void" (2014) coming soon or just out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hsKRqjZoD8

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270114/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

Story of an M18 Hellcat tank crew. They get a new member, Sgt. Jesse Owens. (?)
Just released in Utah on August 15th. Has anyone seen it?
Is the production value better than the first two S&S movies?
This one seems to have a roster of more experienced actors.
It's all in the direction, and Ryan Little is on his third S&S movie.

 

Just got around to watching it "Angel of the Skies" (2013) fairly low budget South African film. I liked it. It was far better than I thought it would be. Good production value throughout. Excellent score. Good acting. Beautifully photographed.

Only one SFX shot bothered me. The crash was too obviously a bad cgi. All other fx work was pretty good, though the relative distances between aircraft in the fighter attack scenes may be problematic (?).

South Africa locations standing in for England and Germany. I wouldn't know how well they pull that off.

The "villains" are rather one dimensional, but (correct me if I am wrong) from what I read, bomber crews downed near Berlin in 1945 had little expectation of being treated "correctly" according to the Hague or Geneva conventions. Many disapeared, killed by angry mobs. Some were reported lynched in the streets of Berlin. Also SS and Gestapo troups had standing orders to kill them on sight.

What did you think Pvt. Towle?

 

Generation War (also known as Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter) has recently become available to stream on Netflix. I thought a few of the plot points were a bit contrived, but overall not a bad movie.

Also, couldn't agree more with the reviews of Monuments Men. I thought each individually scene was ok, but put together did not make a great movie. I don't think it could decide what kind of movie it wanted to be, a serious WWII movie or an Ocean's Eleven set during the war.

 

I thought Generation War was not a bad flick as well. It was, as you pointed out, filled with a few viewpoints that some would object. I know it caused quite a bit of protest from the Polish peoples, enough to protest outside the BBC, regarding the Polish Home Army and their presentation as ardent antisemites.

 

Just went to see Fury. Anyone catch it this weekend?

 

I am not a big enough contributor to make suggestions but will give it a go. I suspect "Fury" will generate a fair amount of discussion , On a Sig pistol forum I read it already has had a dozen or so post, so does it make sense to consolidate this one and the 2od Division one under a single new thread and title under WW2 Movies ?. The ground has been well covered as far as the tanks go but I do not believe it will truly end !!
I have not seen the movie but will go to see the machinery alone. When I was a child the National Guard had a Sherman that on occasion nthey let us explore inside and out. It seemed huge. Probably could not fit into it now. !

Gaines

 

I've not seen Fury but will do so eventually. Anything with Brad Pitt makes me cringe, as he is allergic to subtlety, hopefully the film isn't too heavy handed or overwrought and let's the action speak for itself.