The Most Corrupt Cop You've Ever Seen on Screen?

Rampart (2011) / US / Out on DVD now / Directed by Oren Moverman / Written by James Ellroy and Oren Moverman / Starring Woody Harrelson, Ned Beatty, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Robin Wright, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi, Ice Cube, Brie Larson / 108 minutes

"Woody Harrelson is the most corrupt cop you've ever seen on screen" - the tagline which is plastered across the posters and the trailers for Rampart, Oren Moverman's follow-up to the marvellous 2009 film The Messenger. If a film makes such a bold claim, you can only be sure that it is doing that because it truly means it, right?

Unfortunately, that's not the case with Rampart. I haven't seen too many cop movies, so I wouldn't know how corrupt they can really go, but I'm sure that Rampart's Dave Brown (Harrelson) doesn't really reach the top of the coppo-corrupto-metre. That isn't because the character doesn't have a corrupt soul - because he sure does - it is just that the film never really decides if it wants to show that corruption. In fact, the film never really decides on what it wants to show us at all. What we have instead is a disappointingly incomplete screenplay, which seems like it is more happy contributing ideas to a story instead of building it. Through that, we have multiple characters coming in and out, contributing to dynamics that are never sustained. Those characters happen to be played beautifully by a range of actors who contribute to probably one of the best ensemble acting performances of the past year, and at least make sure that this isn't just one long acting exercise for Harrelson. In the end, Rampart has a lot to contribute, but not a lot of getting up and doing things for itself.

"You've done some bad things, sweetie": Holy Rollers, Hall Pass, The Mechanic and The Warrior's Way

You remember how around a month ago, when I was wallowing in the pain of getting my tonsils out, I had a big clump of movies which I found really bad? Bad enough to get the "You've done some bad things, sweetie rating? Yeah well, that has happened again. Except this time there wasn't anything that made the experience really bad. Okay, Holy Rollers was watched during a thunderstorm, Hall Pass was watched after I'd been walking around in the rain, and The Mechanic and The Warrior's Way were watched last night when...uh, I had a blister on my foot? Yeah, these were just really mediocre flicks.

So, without further ado, here are my paragraph long reviews on movies which don't deserve I can't be bothered doing full reviews on.

Holy Rollers

Jesse Eisenberg was once this awkward geeky actor that everyone was billing as 'the next Michael Cera!' That was until he got nominated for an Oscar for playing an awkward geeky guy. But even though I love Jesse dearly, I can't help but be a little worried that he might not ever get nominated again, or, heaven forbid, ever get out of the Michael Cera mold. I thought that Holy Rollers had the right sounding material to ensure Jesse's acting extraordinaire future, but I could see Cera playing his part. The part in question is that of a Hasidic Jew named Sam who lives in an Orthodox Jewish community and is destined to become a Rabbi. Well, that's until some 'cool' Jew by the name of Yosef (played by Doug from The Hangover - Justin Bartha) decides to get Sam into dealing some ecstasy. And this is the true story of how ecstasy got into America via some Hasidic Jews. The problem with this true story is that it sounds exciting, but it really wasn't. I tried really hard to like Holy Rollers, believe me. Unfortunately, the movie moved quite slowly and there wasn't a lot really happening as such. This was due to it's overly cliched script and it's lack of depth into any of the characters. However, Jesse was brilliant in his role, with the awkward air hanging around him and all. Bartha, too, was impressive, even though his character fell prey to the lack of dimension. Just the rest of it felt like a wasted opportunity: the good premise, the interesting insight into Jewish life, and Ari Gaynor's character, who was pretty much just a sex object. It was such a shame that this didn't work.

Hall Pass

Every one I've spoken to absolutely loved this movie. My question is, why? Sure, there were some very funny parts. But when I went into this movie I was hoping for something similar to The Hangover - lots of fun without any consequences. Because, after all, a 'hall pass' and a night out on the town with the boys are pretty much the same thing, right? Hmmmm. The problem with Hall Pass is also it's best feature: the guys that have been granted a week off marriage never actually commit to anything that would hurt their significant others. That's all good, because in most movies, the guys are always doing all sorts of stuff and they're always the bad ones. But because of it's attention to all of this heart and domestic values, there are a lot of laughs missing. In fact, there's a whole lot of laughs missing from most of it. I just don't find Owen Wilson very funny anymore, as he is definitely better being a little more serious. In this movie, he barely gets any of the laughs, instead pushing across this movies dark undertone. Jason Sudeikis, on the other hand, is hilarious, especially in the scene where he tries out all of these different pick up lines on chicks. I am really warming to Sudeikis. But other than a few laugh at loud jokes, Hall Pass is trying so hard that it's not funny. At least it's a hell of a lot better than the Farrelly's last movie, The Heartbreak Kid.

The Mechanic

I really dislike Jason Statham. All I've seen him do is say 'menacing' things in his weird little voice, whilst walking around without any emotion. And then he goes and beats the bejesus out of someone. Yes, there's not much different about him in The Mechanic. In fact, this movie was everything that I thought it would be: mindless violent with lots of killing and guns. Except it stars Ben Foster, whom I loved in The Messenger. Sure, this isn't the best that he could have starred in, but he makes it work, somehow. With his good acting skills and Statham's...ah...persona, their relationship is surprisingly interesting. Especially seeing as their relationship is based on betrayal: the Statham is an assassin who has to train Foster who just so happens to be the son of someone Stathe killed. Now, while this is an okay premise, it's riddled with the same old cliches you expect to find in the average action thriller. The end is especially cliched. I really don't have much else to say about The Mechanic, I've pretty much forgotten it already even though it's been barely 24 hours since I saw it. All I remember is the mind numbing violence which I didn't find fun at all.

The Warrior's Way

I never watch films like The Warrior's Way. You know, the kinds with Asian assassins and ninjas and...clowns. The ones that look like video games. The ones with more slow-mo then you can shake a stick at. I would have given it a miss, but the promise of Geoffrey Rush starring in it made this seem like a bit of a better time. I'll admit, he wasn't in this as much as I would have liked him to be, but he made it a bit better. However, this is a prime example of why I usually ditch these sorts of films. I found it very over the top, using style over substance far more often then it needed to, and the lead actor, who remained silent for a lot of it, Dong-gun Jang, was so awfully blank that it hurt to watch him. He was impressive in the action sequences, but nothing more. The action sequences...well, they really were something else. It was exactly like watching a dramatization of a video game. A bad dramatization, that is. I really didn't dig all of the style that went into it, even though I do admire their effort. Apparently this film was made in NZ. I wouldn't have been able to tell. The cinematography is great, and I'm sure that everything looks like a set for a reason. But when I picture NZ, I picture lush green forests and pastures...none of that was present here, thanks to the whole thing practically having a green screen as the backdrop. If there was one thing that I did like about this movie was the Eastern/Western clash, but that was by no means enough to make this film passable.

Of course, all of these movies got this lovely rating:

Got any thoughts on these movies?

DVD--The Messenger

or: War and grief.

One word to sum it up: Emotional.

Movies about the Iraq war have become about as popular as Jennifer Aniston romantic comedies in Hollywood these days. One of them, The Hurt Locker, even won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2010 over the highest grossing movie of all time. However, this movie wasn't the only one tackling the Iraq war as a topic at the Oscars in 2010. The Messenger was nominated for two Oscars: Best Supporting Actor (Woody Harrelson) and Best Original Screenplay (which it lost to The Hurt Locker). The most amazing thing is that it has taken this long to get to our shores, only to wind up as a straight to DVD release. Which is a shame, because this movie is truly amazing, no doubt about it.

Instead of focusing on the actual war going on, The Messenger follows the people who go around telling families that their son/relative has died in Iraq as a consequence of war. US Army Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is sent back home after he is injured by an improvised explosive device. He is upset when he gets the job of being in the 'Casual Notification Team', because he hasn't had much experience in counselling or grief management, so he doesn't know how suited he is to the job. He is paired with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson), who has been doing the job for much longer, and teaches Will a thing or two about what they are doing. One case which takes Will by surprise is that of Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton), who also has a young child. He is taken by her, even though it may not be in either of their best interests to start a relationship.

The Messenger took me completely by surprise. I thought it would be just another war film with all these explosives and espionage and that kind of thing, but it wasn't. It handles such a dark topic, but yet it is still completely engrossing and emotionally powerful. It deals with all type of grief, but yet, it isn't as depressing as it may have you believe, and has a good deal of humour spread throughout it. It's deftly handled by writer/director Oren Moverman, who was also the brains behind the brilliant screenplay for I'm Not There. He clearly knows his agenda: to make a movie about such a timely matter which also has a nice romantic story which is nicely, if slightly ambiguously rounded off in the end. The way the characters are developed is a high point. This is particularly seen in Will's monologue towards the end, which is so beautifully done.

The performances, however, are the best reason to see this movie. Ben Foster does a stunningly good turn in the lead role, and is slowly building up to be one of the future's finest actors. He gives the character the right amount of mysteriousness, and did remind me of the 'war is my drug' character James in The Hurt Locker. Samantha Morton is sweet and realistic as the love interest who was charming to watch. Jena Malone, in a small role, makes the most of her opportunity and shows that she is ready for bigger things now, like the upcoming Sucker Punch. Steve Buscemi, also in a small role, is brilliant as always. It is really Woody Harrelson who steals the show though, in his Oscar nominated performance. His turn as a recovering alcoholic with an incredible attitude towards grief was brilliant to watch. The strength he had over everyone was obvious. Yet, he could still lighten things up with some trademark Woody humour.

THE VERDICT: A well performed, well written movie tending to an issue which is both depressing and interesting to watch, but never failed to blow me away.

What I hoped for:

 
 
 
 
 
What I got: