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Harsh Times |  | Actors: Christian Bale, Freddy Rodríguez, Eva Longoria, Chaka Forman, Tammy Trull
Studio: Weinstein Company
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.95
Buy Used: $0.91
as of 9/4/2010 01:02 EDT details
You Save: $9.04 (91%)
New (33) Used (75) from $0.91
Seller: superpawn
Rating:  74 reviews
Sales Rank: 23487
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 796019799553
UPC: 796019799553
EAN: 0796019799553
ASIN: B000KX0IM2
Theatrical Release Date: November 10, 2006
Release Date: March 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
An ex-soldier (Bale) returns to South Central Los Angeles and struggles to reenter civilian society.
Amazon.com
Bleak as its South Central Los Angeles setting, Harsh Times is like a suicidal vortex swallowing men who ought to know better but can't stop their self-destruction. Christian Bale stars as Jim Davis, a stressed-out, former Army Ranger who becomes a very bad influence on his weak-willed buddy, Mike Alvarez (Freddy Rodriguez of Six Feet Under). Together the two meander through streets at night, getting drunk and stoned, finding trouble for its own sake and inviting danger as a ritual of machismo bonding. Mike's wife, Sylvia (Eva Longoria), a lawyer whom Mike, working as a telemarketer, put through school, is repelled by Jim and watches in pain as her spouse chooses a downward spiral over renewal and redemption with her. When Jim's application to join the L.A. police is turned down, he leads Mike into pure anarchy. An impractical change of fortune doesn't help any, and first-time director David Ayer, who wrote the screenplay for Harsh Times years before his script for Training Day, goes to some lengths, dramatically and visually, to convey Jim's unhinged condition. The dreariness of it all, and a sense that Bale has constructed--but not exactly lived in--another in his gallery of lost, misfit souls, makes it hard to connect with this film. Still, it is hard to turn away from these desperate and dangerous characters. --Tom Keogh
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 74
 completely underrated April 2, 2008
Blue Laine-Beveridge
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This movie was very, very well done in my opinion. Ultra realistic, very gritty, very tense, extremely entertaining. Maybe it made some people squirm, and that's why they didn't like it? The acting was top-notch, and it was intense and realistic in a way that could earn the badge of "uncomfortable". But I love that type of movie. This movie should have garnered more attention and more praise. Christian Bale is ferocious. Grade A.
Harsh Times Is A Great Flick June 19, 2008
Michael W. Smith (Lafayette, LA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you don't think this movie is any good, I would hate to know the movies you would like. This is the most underrated movie I've seen in a while. Christian Bale has become one of my favorite actors. I love him in absolutely everything I see him in. And this movie is no different. He seems to embody his characters in such an intense way, it can be scary, and he doesn't disappoint here. For being an Englishman, he does American better than most American actors. I thought the script was well written, and the supporting actors did a good job. That Desperate Housewives chick didn't even get on my nerves.
Bale and Freddy are great in this one. August 1, 2008
Anthony Rodriguez (Houston, Tx USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This flick touches my soft part, I can really relate to Jims (Bales) Character. Im a former soilder myself and have been witness to similiar situations in combat that have really left a post tramatic impression on me. Thank god I have had alot of support from my family and friends, unfortunatly that is not the case with Jim. He has no family whatsoever other then his surrogate brother portrayed exceptionally by Freddy Rodriguez. He is alone, frustrated with his life, and is a deeply troubled individual. He is in search of happiness but rejects it when it is knocking on his door. He has a chance to marry his beautiful girlfriend but choses a life of violence in joining a special op task force for the homeland security dealing with drug cartels in south america. This flick can be disturbing at times, not for the faint of heart, but it is really realistic in the portrayal of friendship, loyalty, and true brotherhood. I give David Ayer props for this gutsy story he has written and directed. I have to say that this movie is almost good as Training Day which he wrote as well. He is a talented up and coming director. Deserving of 4.5 stars but I gave it 5 because of the connection that I had with Christian Bales character. Its a great movie that is underated and probably misunderstood. I highly reccomend.
WANTED: Law Enforcement Recruits Willing To Kill August 7, 2008
Unlucky Frank (Lalaland, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As in real life, there is a fine line that separates the good guys (cops) from the bad guys (the crooks). Good guys are never just good guys in real life, or in a David Ayer script (TRAINING DAY). Sometimes they are conflicted and sometimes they're just plain old criminal punks. And sometimes they're walking on the edge of a criminally insane abyss. Ayer writes mostly crime drama with rogue cop elements and cop-gone-bad conflict. Ayer directs here for the first time. Christian Bale plays Jim, a whacked-out psychopathic ex-Ranger, recently discharged from Active Duty in The Middle East. Jim drags his best friend Mike, played by Freddy Rodriguez, thru the crime ridden streets of Hispanic East L.A. and down into the dark abyss of his personal psychosis. The two wander aimlessly thru their days drinking, smoking reefer, looking for trouble, and trying to sell a stolen gun. Mike is pretending to look for work, while Jim searches for a law enforcement job that will provide him with a license to kill. The L.A.P.D. doesn't want him, but Homeland Security does. But, something insane is about to spoil Jim's "dream job" ...
That something is Jim.
While the plot appears mundane, the inner life of these two men is anything but prosaic.
The script is an actor's dream. It is a showcase character piece for the fine acting talent of Christian Bale. He produced the film. In my opinion, this is his best performance. (I thought he was "F" ing Great in AMERICAN PSYCHO and THE MACHINIST, but he really excels in this performance. Not once did I think I was watching Christian Bale. Or Patrick Bateman.) Everytime he squints his eyes or turns his head in this film, you're bracing yourself for what might follow. A brilliant actor in an amazing role. Freddy Rodriguez is equally impressive in his role. At first, the two seem oddly incompatible. By the end of the film, they are wallowing in on-screen chemistry. They also have great comic timing together. Excellent job!
Eva Longoria plays Mike's girlfriend. She is poignant and beautiful.
The dialogue is a humorously realistic mix of brazen street lingo and (subtitled) Spanish. Some of it is downright hilarious!
"That's a serious breech of the homey code, man."
Like other reviewers, I was instantly struck with this film's resemblance to TAXI DRIVER. Although, the dynamics of "loner pychosis" is absent from this film. And, this Masterpiece of psychotic Suspense stands entirely on it's own. A brilliant film with brilliant performances. Went to bed last night after viewing this film, and I can't get it out of my head. One of The Best Films of 2006. And David Ayer's Best Screenplay.
This film is an INSTANT CULT CLASSIC!
ENJOY.
Spellbinding performances, a chilling concept September 11, 2008
DanD
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Jim is a veteran from Afghanistan, whose application to the LAPD is turned down. Mike, his friend, is also searching for a job, but choosing instead to party it up with Jim. But the attrocities Jim saw (and committed) in the war begin to wear on him, encouraging the violent side that lay dormant until then, and he slowly drags Mike down with him, spiraling to a breakdown that could shatter their friendship...if they survive it.
I wasn't sure what to expect from "Harsh Times." I've become quite a fan of Christian Bale lately; and I loved Freddy Rodriguez in "Planet Terror," and thought he would be a great dramatic actor (little did I know, he has a lot of experience in the field; my bad homey, as Mike would say). But I wasn't sure about the concept, if it could hold my attention the entire two hours of the film.
Well, it did, largely thanks to two great performances from the leads. True, Bale doesn't flesh out this role as well as he has others, but he's still one of the best out there. Rodriguez matches him step-for-step, creating one of the best dramatic pairings I've seen in quite some time. Eva Longoria and Tammy Trull, as the love interests on the two men, shine in their brief--yet important--performances. J.K. Simmons offers some nice levity as a Homeland Security agent; it's one of the few light-hearted moments in the film, and even then there's something simmering underneath--when Simmons mutters to Bale "We're all a little wacko here," a momentary chill runs down your spine.
The script--by director David Ayer--is fairly good, especially in the film's second half; it's first half feels like Street Lingo 101, full of "dudes" and "homeys" and the like. It's also a bit strange, seeing the Welsh Bale acting like an American soldier who wants to be an Hispanic gangbanger; Bale's Spanish is spoken low and rapidly, probably so we don't pick up on the accent. Still, those are just minor flaws; once the movie pulls you in--as it will--you'll be on the edge of your seat, moved by tragedy (there's little redemption here, sorry) these two men face as their friendship slowly unravels. "Harsh Times" is a gripping, churning drama of the highest caliber. No pun intended.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 74
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