Rampart

Los Angeles, 1999: A city that is in a cycle of gangs, drugs, and corruption perpetuated by one person, a member of the LAPD. Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) is a dirty cop; no if's, and's, or but's about it. When he is not using the 4th Amendment as toilet paper when he's getting information on a drug ring, he's using his baton like one of the cane-swinging Droogs from A Clockwork Orange. After being videotaped beating up a black driver who crashed into his cruiser, Brown faces racial discrimination accusations and abusing his power leading him into a downward spiral of endless booze and sex. His saving graces are his ex-wives (Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon) and his two daughters as he tries to redeem himself for those he has isolated from. Brown's attempts of being a loyal semi-father figure are tested by his rebellious daughter (Brie Larson) who keeps pushing him away into obscurity.

Oren Moverman is no stranger to looking at the rough exterior and soft center of men in positions of power; such as the case in his 2009 emotional powerhouse, The Messenger. In Rampart, he continues leading us to look at the rough edges obscuring a soft interior with a script co-crafted by James Ellroy. Ellroy's jazz-like prose from his novels (American Tablod, L.A. Confidential) is present on screen, as well as his look at the gritty and hedonistic underbelly of Los Angeles. However, the dialogue begins to get preachy when the issues of due process and excessive force are as repetitious as if one is reviewing the Rodney King footage. As predictable as the content is, whether or not you have seen Dirty Harry or Serpico, it is difficult not to be absorbed into a turbulent look at law and order.

What keeps the film from running on empty is Woody Harrelson, as he gives one of the best performances of his career by combining the seductive charm and violent streak he displayed in Natural Born Killers with the emotional depth exemplified in The Messenger. His performance as Dave Brown and his descent into hell is as powerful as Nicholas Cage's Ben Sanderson in Leaving Las Vegas and as equally as corrupt as Denzel Washington's Alonzo Harris in Training Day. Adding to the fiery mix of Brown's warped life is Robin Wright as a lawyer and Brown's bedfellow as she is swayed by his charm, while she adds emotional desire to her soulless lover.

When all is said and done, you are uncertain to pity Harrelson or damn him for his actions as he proclaims in a climatic pool scene, "I'm just a Cop! An expendable soldier!" In an environment where trust is null and void and justice is blind, how is one to protect and serve a city when they cannot protect and serve their life?

3 out 0f 4 Stars

Ken Russell (1927-2011)

Ken Russell, one of the most controversial and surreal filmmakers of Post-war Britain, died Sunday at the age of 84. Russell, dubbed the enfant terrible of filmmaking, made some of the most audacious films throughout a career that spanned over 50 years. In 1969, Russell received his only Oscar-nomination for his adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s erotic tale, Women in Love. His Freudian imagery and no-holds bar look at the male and female form was revolutionary at a time when sex in the cinema was commonplace after the strain and censorship of the Hayes’ Code.

In 1971, Russell made his most controversial and gothic masterpiece, The Devils. Based on Huxley’s tale of the tug of war between the Church and State in 17^th century France, the film shocked audiences, became the target for scrutiny by religious organizations, and was severely edited for international distribution. In particular, the ten-minute “Rape of Christ” sequence was edited due to its content that involved masturbation and ritualistic orgies within a church. It has since been restored and shown on bootleg copies, yet it hasn’t been restored for legitimate distribution.

Sex was not only on Russell’s roster as he combined the flamboyance and decadence of the rock stars of the seventies mixed with the lives of some of the most celebrated classical composers from Tchaikovsky (The Music Lovers), Mahler (Mahler), and Liszt (Lisztomania). In 1975, his filmed adaptation of The Who’s rock opera Tommy received two Oscar nominations and has since been praised as one of the great rock movies. Throughout the late-Seventies, Russell’s career waned with forgetful films, like Valentino, and successful thrillers like the sci-fi film, Altered States. In 1984, Russell reemerged with his campy and sexually charged Crimes of Passion, starring Kathleen Turner and the original Norman Bates, Anthony Perkins.

Russell’s last major motion pictures included The Lair of the White Worm and Whore. His prospects were not just directed at film, as he also directed staged productions on both sides of the Atlantic and directed the 2008 off Broadway production of Mindgame. In addition, he directed music videos for Bryan Adams and Elton John. His family collaborated with him on his films; his first wife, Shirley, designed costumes for Russell's earlier work before receiving Oscar-nominations for her clothing in films like Agatha and Reds. His daughter, Victoria, appeared in a few of her father's films, such as The Music Lovers, Tommy, and Crimes of Passion.

In my opinion, Russell was a sensational filmmaker, who pushed the envelope regardless of the size of his audience and managed to become a direct/indirect inspiration for filmmakers like Tim Burton and Darren Aronofsky. His work stands as profoundly shocking as it is beautiful. Before his death, he was in the early stages of working on an adaptation of Moll Flanders, and his demise leaves one wondering how he would have shocked or tantalized his audience once more. This year has been a sad one, in terms of the loss of great filmmakers, like Tim Hetherington and Sidney Lumet, and Ken Russell joins that list.

The Adventures of Tintin

I'm not usually fond of comic book movies, and I'm the first to admit that. However, films like Iron Man (Who doesn't want to see Robert Downey Jr. kick ass and not get arrested for it?) and The (overblown) Dark Knight were passable. Another film to add to that list is Steven Speilberg's animated adaptation of Hergé's classic comic series, The Adventures of Tintin. In case you haven't read the comic books or watched the short-lived animated series, Tintin is a Belgian reporter who risks life and death at unraveling mysteries and going on transcontinental adventures with his dog, Snowy, and his nautical, inebriated friend, Captain Haddock.

The film mixes together three of Herge's comic books within the series as Tintin (Jamie Bell) stumbles across a model ship that becomes the key to untold dreams and nightmares, as a malicious millionaire (voiced by a sinister Daniel Craig) stops at nothing to get it. Along the way, Tintin comes across Captain Haddock (voiced by a stellar Andy Serkis) as he, half-soberly, teams up with Tintin to seek vengeance as equally obsessive as Ahab's quest for Moby Dick by traveling land, air, and sea to get what is rightfully his.

Being Speilberg's first animated film, and being backed by Britain's exceptional screenwriters, like Edgar Wright, the voices were proved by some of England's top-notch actors. Jamie Bell is no stranger at playing young men satisfying their curiosities, either through dance (Billy Elliot) or through struggling with Oedipal issues (Hallam Foe), and his role as the adventure-loving Tintin was made for him. Andy Serkis has taken us to the dark side of fanatical greed as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and continues to stand out by playing the high-seas sailor, Captain Haddock, who drools for whiskey like Gollum drooled over the "precious" Ring. The comedic relief is provided, only shortly, by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as they play the Thompson Twins, the dimwitted duo who couldn't find a crime if they were standing next to a dead body and a bloody knife. A far cry from their previous work in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

Either in 2D or 3D, the film is a fun-packed adventure as the camera is always moving and not taking any breaks. The downside of that is that there is minimal emotions displayed by Tintin or any time for expansive dialogue making one wonder if the screenwriting team of Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, and Joe Cornish are selling themselves too thin. In any case, Tintin is sure to please both kids and adults during Christmas as the film is nothing short of another Spielberg blockbuster that is desperately needed after the disappointment of the fourth Indiana Jones film and the painful War of the Worlds.

3 out of 4 stars

Up and About in Ireland and London

A few weeks ago, I went over to the United Kingdom right in the middle of the London Film Festival and managed to savor the cinematic flavor of a few movies that I was interested in. Some passed me by since I didn’t book any screenings in advance, like Polanski’s Carnage, Steve McQueen’s Shame, and the Festival’s major winner We Need to Talk About Kevin. Hopefully, I will manage to see these films come stateside over the holidays, which is the time for award contenting flicks.