"Harsh Times"??

Writing Jedi said:

Has anyone seen this? It stars Christian Bale. The person at my local Blockbuster recommends it but she said it's "different". They were out of copies this evening but I might go back tomorrow for it IF it is worth it.

So...has anyone seen it and are you willing to give me your review?

Thanks!

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Haven't seen it, but I generally like the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.

I got this movie earlier this week and have only watched about half so far. That should tell you something right there.

Here’s my take on why I didn’t like it (and remember – this is only my opinion.)

There really wasn’t a strong and compelling storyline, in my opinion (as evidenced by me shutting it off halfway through with no problem whatsoever.)

It seemed kinda episodic; just a couple of guys driving around, drinking beer and getting stoned when they’re supposed to be looking for jobs.

Also the two main characters weren’t sympathetic at all. The protagonist especially wasn’t someone I liked or wanted to follow through a story (especially a weak one.) I’ve heard the screenplay was much better than the final product.

While it’s set up that he’s supposed to be an ex-Army Ranger and suffering from his experiences at war, he basically is portrayed by Christian Bale (an actor I like and admire by the way) as just an asshole with no redeeming qualities; a hedonistic psycho of very limited intelligence who makes his own situations worse and lacks the self-knowledge to change or even bother trying to fix them.

Like I said that’s just my opinion. Some might like it. I guess it all depends on what types of movies and stories you like and what you expect to get out of a movie.

When I first saw the box and read the logline and saw Christain Bale on it, I wondered why it went straight to DVD as it seemed like a movie I’d really like.

Now I know.

Writing Jedi said:

Yeah, I went ahead and watched it today...hmmm I still don't know if I liked it or not. After 30 minutes or so I was wondering, "Um, is there any storyline to this movie or is it just these two guys driving around acting like idiots?" LOL.

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Hahahaha! Exactly what I was thinking! That's why I shut it off halfway through.

I'll probably finish it sometime this week though - at least to see if it's a complete washout or if the second half kinda lifts it out of the gutter zone where it's at right now.

I liked it, to an extent. It felt more like a character exercise than a plotted film, however. Then, in the final act, it fell into the Training Day trap of trying too hard to end on an exciting note.

Christian Bale's performance grew on me, however.