365 Movies Day #121 "Harsh Times"

I bought a copy of this film from the bazaar while in Afghanistan. It was a bootleg and the quality was crappy so I never got to watch it. Then, while working on "Humans Vs. Zombies" and talking with our stunt coordinator and all-around cool cat Nick Plantico, he talked about his experience working with Bale on the film. Nick had been a stunt man on "Harsh Times". I finally broke down and watched it recently. Wow. Another example of Bale at his finest and in a VERY dark role.

Bale plays street tough turned Army Ranger, Luther Davis. Reminiscent of a more recent film, "Hurt Locker", Luther is hooked on the high of living on the edge, but unlike Renner's character in "Hurt Locker", Davis has been sent home and he's having trouble coping. Back in his old neighborhood in L.A., Luther turns to his old friend for support, Mike, played by Freddy Rodriguez ("Planet Terror", "Ugly Betty"). What happens is a decent into Davis's dark side that could pull Mike down with him.

One of my favorite film quotes comes from this one where Davis calls himself a "Soldier of the Apocalypse". Check out the brief clip here:



A great supporting cast features Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives"), J.K. Simmons ("FIRST SNOW" and tons of other great films), Terry Crews ("The Expendables") and Emilio Rivera ("Sons of Anarchy"). Oh, and on a funny note, yesterday (actually just an hour or so ago) I told you about how the director of "Equilibrium" wrote "Street Kings". Well, David Ayer, director of "Harsh Times" went on to direct "Street Kings". Small world.

If you want to see Bale in his darkest role, check out "Harsh Times" ASAP!

HARSH TIMES ON IMDB