Brad Pitt will go back to World War II with the major studio thriller Allied, set for release by Paramount Pictures on November 23; he last visited the war two years ago, as a battered tank commander in Sony’s Fury, and had been there in 2009, with Inglourious Basterds for the Universal Pictures and The Weinstein…

In the video above, I talk about the first part of my picks for the best films of 2014, with a war-minded bunch of movies coming in at Nos. 10 through 6. And it was a battle picking these, given the possibilities out there. We’ll have my final five in a couple of days, but in the meantime, take a look at this end of…

Battle leaves “a fingerprint…on the soul,” says writer/director David Ayer, a military veteran from a family of military veterans, talking in this video above about what he was trying to capture in Fury, his movie about a Sherman tank crew marooned behind enemy lines during WWII. Stars Logan Lerman and Jon Bernthal…

David Ayer lately has garnered a reputation as a filmmaker adept at capturing man at his brutal worst. His blood-soaked, L.A.-gang drama End of Watch, after all, had cops getting shot, beaten to a pulp, even stabbed in the eye. But deep down, Ayer will tell you he's a softie. A friend once told him he makes "chick…

Now it’s getting busy. Awards season, that is. Judging from the frantic calls trying to schedule interviews and other things as various voting deadlines loom, I would say we are in the thick of it. Golden Globe nomination ballots are due back Monday. SAG nominating ballots go out now, and both key precursor verdicts…

Days after five of its films leaked online, Sony has seen a huge spike in followers of its main Facebook page and in viewers of trailers to some of the leaked films, says social-media consultancy RelishMix. It doubtless is small consolation for Sony executives after the five films – including Oscar hopefuls Fury, Annie…

Sony’s hacking woes continue: Over the holiday weekend a number of the studio’s watermarked awards DVD screeners leaked online, including WWII actioner Fury and the upcoming Annie, Still Alice, and Mr. Turner. The leaks come just days after an online attack crippled the company’s computers. A fifth film, the March…

5TH UPDATE, MONDAY 6:05 PM PT: Actuals have poured in from the studios with the weekend's big bird Mockingjay — Part I whistling a fine $154.3 million. Worldwide, the third installment of YA rebel Katniss Everdeen stands at $276.2M. The other major global player, Interstellar, came up slightly higher after Sunday was…

Final UPDATE, Monday, 4:23 PM, PT: Final grosses are in for the following films: Lucy in China, Disney/Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, Disney Animation’s Big Hero 6 (which bows Nov. 7th in the states), this weekend’s domestic No. 1 and No. 2 openers Ouija and John Wick. Sony just reported for Fury, Whiplash, The Equa…

Final UPDATE, Monday, 2:25 PM: The finally tallies are in with Universal’s horror film Ouija and the Keanu Reeves’ actioner John Wick winning the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. St. Vincent, which went wide, did okay for The Weinstein Co. With terrific exit polling, it should get some more play. In their second…

Ouija opened last night at 8 PM in 2,061 houses and scared in $911K to start its weekend off in what is expected to be a spirited opening for the micro-budgeted Blumhouse horror film. It is expected to best the other newcomer, the Lionsgate actioner John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, which pulled $870K in over 2000…

Ouija, another micro-budget pic from Blumhouse Prods., is likely to take the weekend, despite Universal keeping this one away from the critics (Danger, Will Robinson!). It opens tonight at 8 PM in over 2,000 theaters before its Friday run of 2,857. Universal is thinking it could do high-teens, but the horror crowd…