The five movies you have to see in Madison: Oct. 17-23, 2014

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1. “Fury” (all week, Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — David Ayer is known for bruising L.A. cop movies like “End of Watch” and “Training Day,” but turns his attention to World War II with this “‘Saving Private Ryan’ in a tank” drama about a group of soldiers mopping up Germany at the end of the war. It looks great and is supposed to be brutally realistic — the question is whether Ayer can avoid the cliches in his screenplay.

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“Rudderless”: Searching for redemption at Open Mic Night

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“Rudderless” opens Friday at Sundance Cinemas. R, 1:45, three stars out of four.

As an actor, William H. Macy has never had much time for sentimentality on screen. In his first film as a director, “Rudderless,” he expresses a similar reticence to get mawkish, even when handling material that has such potential to get maudlin. Instead, “Rudderless” is a well-acted, sensitive, and surprisingly funny at times debut.

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