Harsh Times
From the creator of Training Day comes Harsh Times, a gritty look at friendship, loyalty and ambition set on the extremely rough streets of south central LA. Jim Davis is an ex-Army Ranger recently discharged from the military, yet still haunted by nightmares of hs former occupation. While seeking a position at the LAPD, Jim kills time chilling with his best friend, Mike. Unable to find jobs, Jim and Mike are soon cruising the streets of South Central, slipping back into a deceitful life of drugs, violence and petty crime, just like when they were kids
Member Reviews
Waste of time. - Elena007
This movie was awful! I thought it would at least be decent since Christian Bale is in it and he has some decent movies under his belt - Boy was I wrong!! I could barely understand what they were saying with all the profanity that was being used. There was nothing I enjoyed about this movie other then it's ending. Complete waste of time.Difficult - Irving
Many of the performances in this film are incredible. Sadly, the film itself wanders around without much to do except harass everyone in sight, including the viewer.
I hope someone can find some redeeming quality because the actors have talent. The shooting style is gritty and pretty unforgiving. Occasionally the thing airs towards documentary realism. I was at time gripped and a times urged to look away.
Unfortunately it seems as if Bale's character was mentally ill before the war, not as a result of it, even if the slapped-together dream sequence at the top of the feature attempts to disprove that - it feels like it was added as an afterthought.
Either way, it's hard to believe in so much evil everywhere. A trick pony as a redeemingly nice "felon" is a calculated touch, too much though. Other plot points are predictable and overly calculated, though it remains hard to escape the grasp of insanity Christan Bale's character exudes. His interactions with people are either calculated to the point of sociopath (and I believe he is) or simply explosions of pure emotion.
But the title is apt and if you a fan of anyone involved, well, you shouldn't be faulted for checking it out, or finding something of value therein.Good movie but could be better - JC05
War is hell.
That seems to be the driving thought behind Harsh Times. This new film from David Ayer (writer of Training Day) shows the sociologicial problems of training soldiers to be nothing more than killing machines. The movie opens with a disorienting night attack with soldiers systematically slaughtering their enemy spliced with cuts of a main character calmly smoking a cigarette surrounded by bodies. This type of disassociated violence continues throughout.
Christian Bale plays the violent and erratic lead character, Jim. Having been discharged from the army, it's illustrated early that Jim is only able to function when given an order, a stark contrast to Freddy Rodriguez's portrayal of his foil and best friend, Michael. The first half of the movie is dedicated to the relationship between the two characters. Jim is on the fast track to a glowing career with the LAPD and Michael has his beautiful, curvaceous girlfriend Sylvia (Eva Longoria). The happy times fall apart when Jim is kicked off the force and he and Michael go on a bender.
Shot in a gritty, in-your-face style similar to Training Day, Harsh Times forces viewers to empathize with Jim's plight, but also be terrified of his incredible volatility. His downward spiral towards mental instability and increasingly violent actions is sold with a sympathy only an accomplished actor like Bale could.
As a character obviously suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Jim shows a total disregard for human life and this is illustrated well by both the acting and directorial style. The grainy filmstock and expressionistic lighting convey almost as much as the actors. Subtle touches, like differences in colour saturation, go a long way to describing Jim's emotional state. During the day, the colours are brighter and Jim is happier, but the night brings out his demons. While this movie would be easy to write off as nothing more than a gory spectacle of violence, the violence ends up
Member Reviews
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Waste of time. - Elena007
This movie was awful! I thought it would at least be decent since Christian Bale is in it and he has some decent movies under his belt - Boy was I wrong!! I could barely understand what they were saying with all the profanity that was being used. There was ...Difficult - Irving
Many of the performances in this film are incredible. Sadly, the film itself wanders around without much to do except harass everyone in sight, including the viewer.
I hope someone can find some redeeming quality because the actors have talent. The ...Good movie but could be better - JC05
War is hell.
That seems to be the driving thought behind Harsh Times. This new film from David Ayer (writer of Training Day) shows the sociologicial problems of training soldiers to be nothing more than killing machines. The movie opens with a disorienting ...