Fury

So one I missed from last year but was able to catch thanks to Cineworld's brilliant 'Take 2' scheme and Fury is unlucky that it didn't make it into the top 10 of 2014.

A harrowing and brutally realistic tale of World War Two this is up there with any other war film you care to throw at it.

There's no patriotism, heroism, American flags or grandstanding battles here just a small tank team completing skirmishes in the German countryside.

Brad Pitt's Wardaddy can arguably be placed alongside the SS officers he takes such great delight in killing (a nice change from American films of the past very quick to place all German soldiers that took part in the war as evil) and, whilst there is some correlation between him and Inglourious Basterd's Aldo Raine, Pitt's performance here is much more explicit and harsh, reflecting the grim realities of a war where ruthless, twisted murderers sat alongside young kids who had absolutely no experience of war (expertly played here by Logan Lerman's Norman.)

Oddly beautiful in places thanks to the slow, long shots and pretty backgrounds but equally prone to throwing in the odd dash of gratuitous violence Fury is a triumph.

The only drawback is a slightly inauspicious and slow start and Pitt and his co-star's thick accents so gruff that it's often difficult to grasp everything they're saying in the tight interior shots.

It's uncomfortable to watch in parts yet uplifting in others, this covers all bases and is a must-see.

4 stars ****