"Ideals are peaceful. History is violent."

- "Fury.""Fury" is aptly titled. The movie, with a story set in the waning days of World War II, is filled with the fury of battle, the fury of civilization devastation and the fury of human emotions.The movie's title is taken from the nickname "Fury" painted in a white scrawl on the gun-turret of a Sherman tank.The storyline in "Fury" is based on the heroism of the United States Army Second Armored Division, dubbed "Hell on Wheels."It is April 1945. Brad Pitt stars as Don "Wardaddy" Collier, a United States Army sergeant and commander of the Sherman tank dubbed "Fury.Collier's mission is to drive behind enemy lines of one of the last Nazi strongholds in Germany. His five-man tank battalion is outgunned, outmanned and often outsmarted by desperate Nazi soldiers determined to fight to the finish.There are several strategic goals for Collier and his five-man crew: secure a German town held by Nazis, defeat Nazis holding a key crossroad and prevent another Nazi division from destroying an Allied supply column."Fury" is a hyperrealistic film with graphic depictions of violence and is not for the faint of heart. Several of the gunshots, explosions and deaths of soldiers made me jump in my movie theater seat."Fury" can be recommended for the very reasons that it is so startling. It depicts a facet and an intensity of war in the European Theater of World War II as perhaps no movie before."Fury" is also an important film to see because it should receive several deserved Oscar nominations."Fury" compares with "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) for its examination of the European Theater of World War II; "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) for the closed-in desperation of soldiers at war, "Apocalypse Now" (1979) for a sense of the futility in combat, and "Paths Of Glory" (1957) and numerous well-known World War II-set movies for its depiction of military grit."Fury" is an unconventional war film, especially in its middle portion for scenes in a German village where the U.S. soldiers befriend two German women (Anamaria Marinca, Alicia von Rittberg). This scene brings out aspects of the soldiers' personalities and the tragedy that can occur when a soldier's emotions get in the way of his duty.Writer-director David Ayer (director, "Sabotage," 2014, "End of Watch," 2012; writer, "Training Day," 2001, "The Fast And The Furious," 2001) pulls no punches.Ayer doesn't flinch in depicting war in all its hellacious glory. The contemporary term, collateral damage, is taken for granted. The fanaticism of the Nazis resulted in German civilians who didn't join in the fight being hung from telephone poles. Perhaps most heartbreaking is a scene of the surrender of Nazi-uniformed soldiers who file out of a building. Many are teenagers and children in uniform.The commander's tank charges represent a cross-section of then American ethnic groups. The tank unit soldiers are not necessarily shown as "The Greatest Generation," but rather a group of malcontents who don't really like each other. This does not prevent them from bonding as a "Band of Brothers" when the going gets tough. In "Fury," the going is always tough.Pitt is superb as the tenacious, tough-talking, take-no-prisoners tank commander. Pitt is mostly in full scowl or grimace for the lengthy two and one-half hour film. In two pivotal scenes, with the German women and later inside the tank, Collier's core of human kindness is revealed. Look for an Oscar actor nomination for Pitt.Shia LaBeouf ("Transformers") is nearly unrecognizable as one of the tank's soldiers, Boyd "Bible" Swan. He's a Bible-quoting, one-man Horseman of the Apocalypse (a white horse early on symbolizes the movie's Old Testament fire and brimstone motif). Look for an Oscar supporting actor nomination for LaBeouf.Jon Bernthal (TV's "The Walking Dead") as Grady "Coon-Ass" Travis, is a loudmouth who would lay down his life for his fellow soldiers. Michael Pena ("American Hustle") as Trinil "Gordo" Garcia is portrayed more sympathetically.Logan Lerman ("Percy Jackson") as the young recruit, Norman Ellison, thrust into the tank crew with no prior experience ("I can type 60 words a minute," he exclaims.) gives the most remarkable performance. His character arc from greenhorn to seasoned combat veteran should bring him a supporting actor Oscar nomination, although his role is more that of a leading actor and central to the storyline."Fury" is a must-see on your list of potential Oscar nominees."Fury," MPAA Rated R (Restricted. Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian.) for strong sequences of war violence, some grisly images, and language throughout; Genre: Action, Drama, War; Run time: 2 hrs., 34 min.; Distributed by Columbia Pictures.Credit Readers Anonymous: "Fury" is the first time that a German Tiger I tank, said to be invincible and superior to the Sherman tank, was used in a World War II movie. The tank, "Tiger 131," said to be the only working Tiger tank, is from the Bovington Tank Museum, Dorset, South West England, United Kingdom.Box Office, Oct. 24: "Ouija" was hands-down No. 1, opening with $20 million, snuffing out Keanu Reeves' comeback thriller, "John Wick," opening at No. 2, with $14.1 million, and outflanking Brad Pitt's World War II action film, "Fury," dropping from No. 1 to No. 3, $13 million, $46 million, two weeks;4. "Gone Girl," $11.1 million, $124 million, four weeks; 5. "The Book Of Life," $9.8 million, $29.9 million, two weeks; 6. "St. Vincent," $8 million, $9.1 million, three weeks; 7. "Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," $7 million, $45.5 million, three weeks; 8. "The Best Of Me," $4.7 million, $17.6 million, two weeks; 9. "The Judge," $4.3 million, $34.3 million, three weeks; 10. "Dracula Un-told," $4.3 million, $48.3 million, three weeks;Unreel, Oct. 31:"Nightcrawler," R: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and Bill Paxton star in a crime drama about the undergrounds world of Los Angeles freelance crime journalism. What?"Before I Go To Sleep," R: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Anne-Marie Duff star in a mystery-thriller about a woman who wakes up every day not knowing who she is. We've all had days like that."Horns," R: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple and Heather Graham star in a fantasy-horror film about a young man who sprouts horns. It's enough to make the "Harry Potter" star reach for his Invisibility Cloak.Read Paul Willistein's movie reviews at the Lehigh Valley Press web site, thelehighvalley-press.com; the Times-News web site, tnonline.com; and hear them on "Lehigh Valley Art Salon," 6 - 6:30 p.m. Mondays, WDIY 88.1 FM, and wdiy.org, where they're archived. Email Paul Willistein:

pwillistein@tnonline.com. You can follow Paul Willistein on Twitter and friend Paul Willistein Facebook.Four Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes