SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2014 French legend Bruel returns to New York for inspiration atrick Bruel has long been a face of French popular culture and one of his country’s most successful musicians. But he Psays his career wouldn’t have happened without New York, where he arrived as a young man in 1979. “I think I built every- thing in my career because of this two-year trip in New York,” said the singer and actor, who is now 55. “It was the cultural crossroads of the world and this energy-in terms of the music, dance, movies and the arts-was just fantastic.” Bruel is returning to New York for a concert on November 1 at the historic Beacon Theatre, part of a six-city tour that is his first of the United States in seven years. Bruel described his 2007 show at the 3,000-capacity Beacon Theatre as having one of the greatest atmospheres in his career. He said that his return to the Beacon-after a year and a half on the road that included two dates at Lille’s Grand Stade stadium and a show at London’s Royal Albert Hall-would be the “last cherry” on the cake of a “beautiful tour.” “New York for me is very emotional and very important,” he told AFP in a telephone interview. Bruel was 20 years old when he arrived in New York, a city that has long attracted many French people, and said he was startled by the cultural innovation. “In 1979, New York was 15 years in advance of everywhere,” he said. “For me, there was this feeling that you are somewhere and everything is possible.” One of Bruel’s discoveries was hip hop, which was born in the Bronx in the late . France now has a vibrant hip hop scene, but Bruel recalled that he produced what is considered the first French rap song: “Chacun fait (c’qui lui plait)” by the duo Chagrin d’amour, in This August 28, 2014 file photo shows US actor Brad Pitt posing for pictures before Sherman tank during a media event 1982. to promote his latest film ‘Fury’ at Bovington tank museum in Dorset, southern England. — AFP Preserving French identity Bruel returned to New York to record part of 1989’s “Alors Regarde,” a more introspective pop album that, with some three ‘Fury’ drives a tank through image of war million copies sold, is the fourth best-selling album ever in France. “It was not totally done in New York, but all of the energy rad Pitt’s new war movie “Fury” offers a no-holds-barred view of sus evil, and because the outcome of liberating Europe from slavery is of this album was from New York,” he said. Bruel, a major figure in warfare which some may find hard to stomach-but its director such a positive outcome ... we reverse engineered the fighting itself French film, also started as an actor in New York. He recently Bjustifies the gore as straightforward realism. A stuntman was into some sort of idea (that it) was cleaner, or black and white,” he played in Sophie Lellouche’s “-Manhattan” in which Woody injured by a bayonet during the making of the film, which includes said. To get the cast-also including Michael Pena, Logan Lerman and Allen-a quintessential New Yorker who enjoys a wide French fol- multiple close-up scenes of slaughter, and which has already been Jon Berthal-into the spirit the filmmaker put them through a military- lowing-appears as himself.—AFP turned into a video game. “War is violent. It’s all incredibly realistic,” style “boot camp” run by US Navy Seals, before starting the shoot. director David Ayer told AFP, adding that a lot of the movie’s scenes And even while on set, Ayer made Pitt and the other actors have fist- are based on actual military after-action reports. fights in between takes, to build team spirit. “The sad truth is that the US military in World War II in Europe exe- “It bonded us,” said Leouf told Jimmy Kimmel. “You can only get cuted a lot of prisoners. It was kind of endemic,” he added. The movie so much out in a conversation, with a bunch of boys in that kind of follows a five-strong Sherman tank crew, led by Pitt as battle-hard- setting, fighting was really intimate,” he said. Ayer explained: “These ened army sergeant “Wardaddy,” pushing behind enemy lines in the are people who are mad scientists when it comes to breaking down a dying days of the war in Germany in 1945. Hollywood A-lister Pitt last team and creating a team, and that was the exact purpose of it. led a cinematic Nazi-killing team in Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 “The cast was fed into that process and the cast that came out of “Inglorious Basterds,” and like that film “Fury” includes its fair share of that, they were absolutely transformed individuals and it bonded gory SS officer deaths. The bloodletting starts from the opening them in a way that you really feel on the screen.” The stuntman acci- scene, when Pitt’s character stabs a German through the eye, and dent happened while filming a scene in which bodies were piled on includes a summary execution which tests the scruples of the team’s the battlefield. “They had rehearsed it and one guy was basically stab- young rooky “Bible,” played by Shia LeBeouf. “The movie is about the bing dummies, and accidentally stabbed his mate with a bayonet,” moral toxicity of war, and how that violence impacts what’s effectively said Ayer, adding that there were no permanent injuries. The film’s this family, this ad hoc family of men trying to survive,” said Ayer. violence has been likened by some reviewers to shoot-em-up video The director-whose past writing credits include 2001’s Oscar-win- games-and in fact a “Fury” tie-in has been included in online gaming ning “Training Day”-said history has tended to ignore the savagery website wargaming.com’s “World of Tanks” series.—AFP This July 22, 2014 file photo shows French singer Patrick Bruel on and randomness of warfare in the narrative of victorious Allies defeat- stage during the Monte Carlo Summer Festival in Monaco. — AFP ing ruthless Nazis. Because World War II was such a battle of good ver- Film Review: ‘’ here are no good guys in “John Wick,” but there are some great short-fuse antihero whose ridiculous moniker (borrowed from screen- actors working alongside in his darkest and most writer ’s grandfather) clumsily conveys his explosive Ttormented role yet: a stunningly lethal contract killer who goes temper. There’s nothing clumsy about the actor who plays Wick, how- on a rampage after a Russian thug murders his dog. Yes, his dog. If ever, as Reeves’ lithe physicality enables extended sequences in you can stomach the setup, then the rest is pure revenge-movie gold, which he moves athletically through an environment full of adver- as Reeves reminds what a compelling action star he can be, while the saries, shooting, stabbing or otherwise immobilizing them one at a guy who served as his stunt double in “” makes a remark- time. ably satisfying directorial debut, delivering a clean, efficient and incredibly assured thriller with serious breakout potential, thanks in Killing a dog part to Summit’s simultaneous Imax release. Since brutally efficient action sequences are in such short supply That unsung hero is , the stunt guru who stepped these days, the fact that “John Wick” delivers no fewer than half a into Brandon Lee’s shoes on “The Crow” and spent the next two dozen-home invasion, hotel room, Red Circle club, church parking lot, decades absorbing all the behind-the-scenes filming lessons that Brooklyn safehouse, grand finale-more than excuses Kolstad’s lame- make “John Wick” such a technically impeccable actioner. (Stahelski brained script. Basically, the idea is to mislead audiences into believ- and longtime stunt collaborator approached the project ing that Reeves’ character is a mild-mannered family man, compress- as a team, but only Stahelski ultimately received directing credit from ing the preceding few months of personal tragedy into a montage in the DGA, while Leitch is credited as a producer.) Whereas the tenden- which Wick visits his wife () in hospital, attends her cy among many other helmers is to jostle the camera and cut freneti- rain-drenched funeral (where former colleague Marcus, played by cally in the misguided belief that visual confusion generates excite- , makes an ominous appearance), and weeps upon ment, the duo understand what a thrill well-choreographed action receiving her final gift: a pre-trained puppy named Daisy.—Reuters can be when we’re actually able to make out what’s happening. This photo released by shows Keanu Reeves as John And that’s why Reeves serves as just the right star to play Wick, a Wick in a scene from the film, ‘John Wick.’ — AP