criterionforum.org

Caught this at the Sunset 5 last night and was blown away. This is a huge step up for Moverman from his directoral debut of The Messenger. I haven't seen a film with this much directoral ambition in years; it's fresh and fearless, quite frankly. Moreover, though I had already viewed Moverman as one of the best writers in the world right now, Rampart's dialogue is in a league of it's own... it's exceptional even in comparison to Moverman's previous screenplays. I know some will write off Dave Brown as merely a Bad Lt. clone, but I found him to be a worthy surrogate of the Rampart Scandal allegory that offers a viewpoint from the other side of the field. His character presents insight into the system and society that breeds these types of individuals and warns of their capabilities if presented the power of the law. As well as the character's written, it's really Harrelson that gives us the empathy needed to make the character believably human, no matter how atrocious his downward spiral is. Woody gives what I believe to be his best performance of his career, one that I expect to receive rapturous praise and a surefire Oscar nod.

The second act gets a bit muddled, and I don't believe all of Moverman's trickery hit their marks, but I thought this was a very unique, very indelible entry to what's shaping up to be an awesome holiday season of films. This is one of my favorite films of the year, for sure.

I've been hearing good things about it. The trailer didn't have me convinced, but interesting someone here gives it a thumbs up. Woody is certainly due this kind of role and the praise that's coming along with it, after bringing his fair share of chewing scenery (in a good way) to things like A Scanner Darkly and No Country For Old Men.

Not to mention Defendor

I was unaware that James Ellroy actively collaborated in the finished script for a change. Consider me interested.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:I've been hearing good things about it. The trailer didn't have me convinced, but interesting someone here gives it a thumbs up. Woody is certainly due this kind of role and the praise that's coming along with it, after bringing his fair share of chewing scenery (in a good way) to things like A Scanner Darkly and No Country For Old Men.

I had wanted to see it since I first heard about the project during its preproduction, but I also was pretty disgusted with how cheesy the trailer for it was when it finally came out. I'm happy I didn't let it dissuade me from catching it though, as the film is not at all the way the marketing would suggest it is (it looks like it's appealing more to a teenage audience as a "gang film" in the trailer, but it really isn't).