Rampart

JP Liz V1

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1640548/

Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeTnYROosEM

This from the writer and director of The Messenger Oren Moverman (co-written also by James Ellroy) and stars both Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster again plus Ned Beatty, Cynthia Nixon, Sigourney Weaver and Steve Buscemi. Woody seems to be getting some oscar buzz for his role. I guess if you liked Street Kings and Training Day (which I did) you'll enjoy this if it gets a release over here.

abouttobebanned

And strangely enough a perfect copy of this has shown up online. A shame really. (for some)

craftypaddy

a must see, better than all the rubbish thats been coming out lately

adox

I found it disappointing. Meanders along disjointedly IMO. The shakey cam, which I usually don't mind, is extremely annoying. There are no likeable characters and it just seems directionless.

Shryke

I liked this. It's not amazing but it's good. It's a case of dropping in and out rather than being a linear thing. Solid acting and a good script. The characters aren't care bears on the inside which is a serious relief from the usual crap. I'd recommend it.

bnt

Saw it this morning at a preview (IFI). I thought it could have been so much better. It's set in a specific place (LAPD Rampart division) at a specific time (1999), but there is little sense of place or time in the finished movie. We don't see much of LA, and the period detail is limited to a few cars*, some CRT monitors and VHS cassettes. The story is thin and could have been told in half the time - corrupt cop does bad things, which catch up to him (which is not a spoiler).

For the rest, we get many long, claustrophobic, shallow-focus close-ups of Woody Harrelson, a technique that I think only works in smaller doses, otherwise it's distracting. His character (Brown) is in every single scene, but is not that interesting, to be honest - little more than a chain-smoking, womanising thug with no redeeming qualities. He has a female police partner, who appears in a few early scenes then vanishes, leaving him driving around by himself - smoking, drinking, and popping pills while in uniform. I could have used more background on his domestic situation - the dynamics of living with his two ex-wives and their respective daughters (by him) could have been interesting. The shaky-cam is notbgood, but I have seen worse. :cool:

* I'm not usually good at spotting goofs, but there was a Cadillac CTS on the road in the very first scene at the hamburger place - a model that wasn't introduced until 2002. Anachronism Alert!

Cantona's Collars

Just a piece of useless trivia: Billy Bob Thornton's character in the movie Faster was originally part of Rampart division,he has a tattoo of it on his arm in the movie.

Tar.Aldarion

adox wrote: »

I found it disappointing. Meanders along disjointedly IMO. The shakey cam, which I usually don't mind, is extremely annoying. There are no likeable characters and it just seems directionless.

this and more

was TERRIBLE.

adox

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

this and more

was TERRIBLE.

I'm glad I'm not alone. It's getting huge critical acclaim and for the life of me can't see why.

Galvasean

adox wrote: »

I'm glad I'm not alone. It's getting huge critical acclaim and for the life of me can't see why.

Because the world loves to see a funny man make the transition to serious actor. In credit to Woody Harrelson I thought he was superb. However like some have said the film is a bit directionless, although I think it is supposed to be somewhat.
I found it an interesting enough character piece, not worthy of the huge critical claim it got or the scorn it is getting elsewhere. It's a decent enough movie in my book.
One thing that someone else touched on here that I felt more could have been made of was his female partner/protogé. Once things really kick off she is gone from the movie entirely. I felt the scenes involving her gave an interesting 'outsiders view' into Harrelson's character.

Skinfull

I saw it tonight and thought it has many flaws I quite enjoyed it. I think all actors were brilliant in it, very naturally delivered dialogue, in particular Woody and the kid who played his eldest daughter. It wasn't a story so much as it was a snapshot of a story. A greater story, being LAPD running riot through out the 90's was mentioned in passing but Browns "indiscretion" and paranoia about it were the focus for this shot.

I thought it would have been more definitive, it kinda felt like stepping in after it started and being kicked out before it ended. But what I saw, I enjoyed.

Wintergreen

Im a big fan of Woody Harrelson and really enjoyed The Messenger so I was really looking forward to this and so was disappointed to read the negative feed back above

I also think its a bit harsh to say Woody makes a transition to serious actor in this role. He's done some great comedies and ill always think of Cheers when his name is brought up but he has also starred in plenty of serious drama's that were top notch in my opinion.

Ill still check it out when its released here, hopefully its a Marmite style love it or hate it film!

Warper

Its a pretty cliched flick that has its moments. The characters are blah blah but it is worth a watch considering the crap in cinema atm. The Date-Rape-Dave scene is worth the admission alone - brilliant scene. Don't expect much and its fine but Bad Lieutenant it aint.

That_Guy

Watched this last night. I quite like Woody Harrelson and he's not bad in this but I did not like this film. Meanders along and doesn't seem to have any sense of direction as to where it wants to go.

I really didn't feel any connection with any of the characters either. Felt massively disappointed by it. I never usually take notice of movie posters with a heap of 5 star accolades on it but I'd love to meet the critics who gave it five stars and ask them "why?".

Finally got around to watching Rampart and it is easily the best film I've seen this year. An electrifying piece of cinema with perhaps the finest central performance in a long time. Harrelson should have won every acting award going and I must say that it has been a long time since I've seen a performance that had my eyes so glued to the screen. It's a role that most actors would play with a level of bravado and over the top mannerisms (Denzel in Training Day) but Harrelson played it with a level understatement and subtlety that just made it all the more believable.

The script is perfect, it is not a film about police corruption but rather how one mans action can taint everyone he loves. The script is more concerned with Brown's estrangement from his family than with the police corruption or investigation into his actions which one would expect to be front and center.

The ending is one of those great understated moments that is as close to perfect as you could get. Moments before it ended I thought to myself "I hope they end it here." It's refreshing to see a film recognise that often less is more and not attempt to tie up every plot point. The final moment with his daughter is the perfect representation of what the film is all about and the symbolism of the cigarette is well used.

ImpossibleDuck

Guys, let's keep this about the movie RAMPART. I consider my time valuable.

Mickeroo

ImpossibleDuck wrote: »

Guys, let's keep this about the movie RAMPART. I consider my time valuable.

Boo Radley

Mickeroo wrote: »

I think it's a reference to Harrelson's PR disaster that was an AMA on reddit.com. He apparently didn't understand that the AskMeAnything forum is just that and he refused to answer anything unrelated to the film Rampart. It was a train wreck of a thread.

Tar.Aldarion

Best thread EVER. Was laughing so much.