HARSH TIMES
Amazon.com
Bleak as the South Central Los Angeles setting, Harsh Times is similar to a suicidal spin swallowing group who ought to know improved but can’t stop their self-destruction. Christian Bale stars as Jim Davis, a stressed-out, former Army Ranger who becomes a really bad shift on his weak-willed buddy, Mike Alvarez (Freddy Rodriguez of Six Feet Under). Together the dual wander by streets at night, removing dipsomaniac and stoned, anticipating difficulty for the own consequence and mouth-watering risk as a protocol of machismo bonding. Mike’s wife, Sylvia (Eva Longoria), a counsel whom Mike, operative as a telemarketer, put by school, is detered by Jim and watches in suffering as her associate chooses a downward spin over renovation and emancipation with her. When Jim’s focus to stick on the L.A. military is incited down, he leads Mike in to pristine anarchy. An unreal shift of happening doesn’t assistance any, and first-time executive David Ayer, who wrote the screenplay for Harsh Times years prior to his book for Training Day, goes to a little lengths, dramatically and visually, to communicate Jim’s unhinged condition. The dreariness of it all, and a clarity which Bale has constructed–but not just lived in–another in his art studio of lost, misfit souls, creates it tough to bond with this film. Still, it is tough to spin divided from these unfortunate and dangerous characters. –Tom Keogh
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This had to be the worst movie I have ever seen in my life. A half an hour into the movie I was thinking – OK this should start getting good, No. There was no plot!! I waited and waited, but nothing happened. I should have known it was going to be some garbage because the theater only had 2 showings. Terrible. Waste of time and money.
Rating: 1 / 5
Christian Bale is an incredible actor and makes the Movie. How He has not even been nominated for an Academy Award is Beyond Me.
This Movie has a Deeper meaning than what is seen at face Value. It brings to screen the real truth of what a soldier goes through after facing Combat. Sadly I feel, many of our Iragi Vets.. will be like the character in Harsh Times.
Please See this Movie …. Christian Bale is wonderful…..
Rating: 5 / 5
David Ayer, the director of “Harsh Times” also wrote the screenplay for the audacious, Denzel starring “Training Day” and from the look and feel of “HT” it seems that Ayer used all the stuff leftover from “HT.” The deleted scenes that didn’t make sense, the bits of the screenplay that didn’t sound right or play properly: all the detritus of “Training Day” and for that matter “Swat” and “Dark Blue” which Ayer also penned.
The extraordinary Christian Bale (“The Mechanist”) stars as Jim Davis, recently released from the Armed Forces and suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction and a tub full of psychoses too numerable to name. In other words: Jim Davis is a mess which in itself might be interesting had Ayer written anything interesting for Bale to perform as well as for his sidekick Freddy Martinez (“6 Feet Under”) as Alonzo. Bale is a master at this type of role: the edgy loner, the criminally insane, the outsider who has no hope nor any desire to “come in”…but the guy needs something to work with. Eva Langoria is wasted as Alonzo’s shrew wife.
“Harsh Times” is a major disappointment: full of ugly violence, devoid of cogent character motivation and rife with repulsive racial slurs. Avoid this turkey at all costs.
Rating: 1 / 5
The last person to rate this movie obviously believes anything that Hollywood produces must be the truth. Hello… This is a movie! Entertainment! Not real life. You probably believe everything you hear on the news, too.
Rating: 1 / 5
This is the third time I’ve written a review for this movie. Both of the previous times my review was deleted for unknown reasons. So, I’ll just say this, this movie is not worth buying.
Rating: 2 / 5