James Verniere

18 June 2013

Another heavily weighted, often histrionic effort from writer/director Oren Moverman and actor Woody Harrelson, 'Rampart' gives Harrelson plenty of opportunity to chew the bark off the palm trees in Los Angeles.

Andrew Simpson

17 June 2013

Rampart's eccentricities will offend those committed to a straighter, chillier style, but its stylistic looseness only serves to underline Brown's utter disconnect from reality.

Susan Granger

01 June 2013

This sleazy L.A. noir crime thriller is distinguished primarily by Woody Harrelson's 'rotten from the inside out' rogue character study.

hesslop39

01 June 2013

Terrible film

"Rampart" is so awful that it actually makes me question why I evenenjoy going to the movies in the first place. There are so many reallygood actors in this film whom I truly respect that I can only assumethat they did not get to see the script before agreeing to be in thishorrible film, or the finished product is so radically different fromthe original project. What is the meaning behind this current trend ofindependent films to not tell a story? Setting and character are notenough. A good film needs a beginning, a middle and an end, not just amurky version of the middle of a story. This film is uninteresting,unpleasant and unmemorable. Worst of all, it is horribly boring.

Corey Hall

10 May 2013

Harrelson is utterly captivating, as the sort of bitter, corrupt L.A. cop you would imagine holding down Rodney King with a smile.

David Sexton

10 May 2013

No Ellroy fan should miss this movie.

freemantle_uk

09 May 2013

An unfocused mess of a film

In 2009 Woody Harrelson and Oren Moverman worked together on the filmThe Messenger which earned Harrelson an Oscar nomination, so it wasunderstandable that the two wanted to worked with each other again.They decided their follow up film was Rampart, another LA set cop filmby James Ellroy, the writer of LA Confidential and Street Kings.Dave "Date Rape" Brown (Harrelson) is a corrupt officer in the LAPD: heis a racist, a sexist and a womaniser and is willing to beat offenders.But he gets results. He also lives with his two ex-wives who aresisters and has a daughter each with them. But one day Dave is filmedbrutally beating a man and his world comes clashing down as he isinvestigated, sued, becomes paranoid and ends up losing his family.It is clear that Ellroy and Moverman wanted to make character piece andnot a typical corrupt cop film: but what we ended up with is anunfocused mess. Moverman did not know what area of the film he wantedto have his cake and eat it but ended up with moving. The first 30minutes is decent enough showing how Dave operates, his personalsituation and his character before the action that leads to hisdownfall but after that is when the film goes downhill very quickly. Itwas a pretty dull affair which is a popular consensus and it was onlyHarrelson's excellent performance that made the film watchable.Moverman was clearly influenced by Paul Greengrass' style of direction,using a lot of hand held cameras and loads of zooms and panning. Itlooked amateurish at times and others just really bad. The biggestexample is during a legal meeting, featuring a Steve Buscemi cameowhere the camera keeps panning from left to right for no good reason:just keep the camera still.There was the potential to make a better film, a film looking at howDave operates, what actions does, whether he gets result, why he takesthese actions, why is he racist, etc…, a look at this rogue unit of thepolice, the investigation and legal action against Dave and thisRampart scandal which many people would not know much about (especiallyoutside the USA). Even the personal story could have been betterhandled, especially considering the unusual family situation Dave has.There is a hateful tone throughout. Dave is a hateful character butthere is a nasty undercurrent, from making Linda the lawyer (RobinWright) being only issued in performing fellatio, his older daughter(Brie Larson) making a collage which prominently has the "C" and justthe general environment and view of point the film presents. Dave is asexist, but the view of women the film presents is no better.Rampart is a film that is wasted potential. It could and should havebeen better. How it got a strong critical reaction is a mystery. Ellroyhas written better films about corrupt cops in LA Confidential andStreet Kings and the TV show The Shield has made a much better attemptat exploring similar issues.

David Edelstein

09 May 2013

Bad Lieutenant made by a tediously finger-wagging Jew instead of a tediously desecrating Catholic.

chinchew5

05 May 2013

omg 5.9

As I've said before the tits that rate this film under 6 are somethingelse they must be Arnold schrawzenegger fans or art house i know betterthen everyone else freaks.I don't like spoiling films but woody harelson is amazing in this filmthe cast is well put together period sigourney weaver is great asharelsons defending DA who becomes More disillusioned the more shehears from harelson and harelsons speech to ice cubes characters aboutAfricans going back to Africa is ironic and funny and the whole pointof instiulistoned racism and corruption amongst the force in the late90s in los Angeles is well constructed I promise anyone who watchesthis film will love the demise of harelsons character and will love theway the 2 weak ex girlfriends get revenge and his two daughters who areamazing actresses help towards this

axlrhodes

05 May 2013

A cop-out.

If i were evaluating Rampart on performances alone, then we might bediscussing a potential film of the year. Unfortunately in this case,it's one of those frustrating experiences that offers so much, yetdelivers scant little. Woody Harrelson turns in a career best portrayalas a dirty, stubborn cop in late 1990′s post Rodney King Los Angeles.The film follows his character 'Date Rape Dave', a bigoted,egotistical, misogynistic, womanising bully and how amidst everythinghe loves going down the proverbial toilet, stays true and faithful inhis dedication to being a grade A, morally bankrupt ass. It's here thatthe film fails Harrelson. As his family, as well as his colleaguesgradually turn against him, there are attempts at moments of pathoshowever it's hard to feel much sympathy leaving the intended emotionalscenes, although well acted, as cold and numbing to the viewer as 'DateRape Dave's' estranged loved ones feel towards him. Some of thedirection is good, then at times a little more wayward. The supportingcast are superb, Ned Beatty, Sigourney Weaver and Robin Wright allpitch up solid turns deserving of a better film constructed aroundthem. This is a film that tries to get inside the head of a man whoknows what he is and refuses to change but in the end, there is nothinglearned and little to draw on other than fine acting. Not a terriblefilm, but not a terribly good one neither. In short, something of acop-out. 2/5

Christopher Tookey

28 April 2013

Harrelson does everything but beg for an Oscar in a film that does little else but delve deeper and deeper into a character that has no depth.

Noel Murray

28 April 2013

The movie zooms from incident to incident, piling up examples of the anti-hero's misdeeds, primarily so it can ponder how one man could be so stubbornly wicked.

Jeffrey M. Anderson

25 April 2013

Moverman's movie is the opposite of its lead character, sober and serious, and with an eye on some kind of social commentary... But Harrelson is given a great challenge, and he more than rises to the occasion.

D.K. Holm

24 April 2013

... difficult to take and complex about its central character.

jayloveserin

20 April 2013

Mesmerising

This is not an A to B to C movie. It is not a formula cop movie. Thereis no ongoing investigation chasing cliché bad guys around. If that iswhat you enjoy then this most likely will not appease you.If you enjoy solid acting, realism, emotion, complex humanrelationships, moral questioning, thoughtful character direction,enthralling dialog and fantastic camera work... this may be for you. Full credit to Harrelson and the cast for the mesmerizing performances.There are moments in this film that will stay with me with a long time.The consequences of one mans actions, across the board affectingeveryone around him are brought into hard focus and provocative light.Harrelsons character is at times brutal and vile, selfish, arrogant,inhuman, self indulgent, delicate, sensitive, caring... possibly one ofhis strongest character portrayals. He does indeed range out and acrossthe human canvas in this gem of a movie. The end result is bothjustifiably karmic but still heart-wrenching to watch at times.I rarely write a review for a film but I feel this deserved mythoughts. A brave piece of film that stands out on it's own and willhold up for many years as a triumph of acting, casting and filmography.

Cole Smithey

19 April 2013

[VIDEO] A riff on the "Bad Lieutenant" corrupt cop theme that Abel Abel Ferrara so eloquently nailed down for all eternity in 1992, "Rampart" is the flawed work of writer/director Oren Moverman ("The Messenger") and famed crime author James Ellroy.

Marshall Fine

14 April 2013

A savage, white-hot performance by Harrelson..intense story-telling..a character you can't take your eyes off.

Sindre Kaspersen

13 April 2013

"Somewhat intriguing thriller..."

Israeli screenwriter, former journalist and director Oren Moverman'ssecond feature film which he co-wrote with American crime writer andessayist James Ellroy, was shot on locations in Los Angeles, Californiain USA, premiered in the Special Presentations section at the 36thToronto International Film Festival in 2011 and is an Americanproduction which was produced by Ken Kao, American producer ClarkPeterson, American producer Lawrence Inglee and American actor BenFoster. It tells the story about Dave Brown, a violent offender anddecorated police officer who has gotten away with dirty police work inLos Angeles for many years. His only objective that may be of some kindof goodness is his attempt to establish a relationship with his twoyoung daughters Margaret and Helen who are living with his two formerpartners, but when he is video taped while using illegal means againsta suspect the reckless cop is faced with charges that reduces hischances of ever gaining his children's trust and respect and thatendangers his career.Distinctly and engagingly directed by Israeli filmmaker Oren Moverman,this well-paced crime drama draws a dark and unsentimental portrayal ofuniformly corrupt LAPD veteran's cynical and inhumane conduct duringthe Rampart scandal in the late 1990s. While notable for it'snaturalistic urban milieu depictions, unrestrained dialog, finecinematography by American cinematographer Bobby Bukowski, editing byfilm editor Jay Rabinowitz and use of sound, this character-driven anddialog-driven story where the core of the city of Los Angeles is asignificant character and which is mostly narrated from theprotagonist's point of view, depicts an in-depth and forebodinglyatmospheric study of character.This sarcastic, raw and, as intended, unappealing tale about adescending man which despite it's bleak undertones has some fine humanemoments, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure,the prominent acting performance by American actor Woody Harrelson andthe fine supporting acting performances by American actress RobinWright, American actress Brie Larson and American actress SigourneyWeaver. A somewhat intriguing thriller with a disdainful main characterwho may not have been endurable to watch if a less likable actor thanWoody Harrelson was portraying him.

zzyzx000-124-271558

10 April 2013

Good acting, bad movie

I'm in the camp that wonders why they didn't get around to an ending,and also would rather go to the movies to be entertained.Yes, Woody does a fine job of playing the crooked cop, but it's still awaste of time.I don't know how one reports the 'goofs' that I read about many moviesso here's one: This movie is set in 1999. In the scene late in themovie where Woody's 2 daughters visit him in the hotel, he asks if theywant a soda. "I'm good," they respond, which is a rather recent slangway of saying "no." Or am I so out of sync I didn't notice this phrasebeing used until just a couple years ago? I don't recall anybody sayingthat in 1999, although by then, the Valley Girls, like had spread,like, their way of talking like all over the country.

David Fear

09 April 2013

Harrelson's portrayal ... is perilously close to perfect; it's the finest, most harrowing thing he's ever done.