Could Be This Be The End Of Harsh Times At MGM?

Ok, so harsh times is putting it bluntly. More like the 'end is nigh' times for MGM.
The studio has been absolutely atrocious ever since it went bankrupt and sold itself and its entire library of great films to Sony, and I think it's all super-obvious why they went bankrupt in the first place.
Post-apocalypse MGM didn't produce spectacular bombs... on the contrary; they made much worse. Bombs that even to this day noone has even heard of. Beauty Shop. Fuck off. Flyboys. Bomb. A string of cheap comedies (like Material Girls. GHHuh!) that managed to bomb. Off the top of my head, that's all I can remember. And that is really bad, for me. Usually, I can remember a good bomb. MGM fails to even supply me with ammunition against itself. That's the least it could have done.

Of course, the most it could do is pick it's fat, Marlon Brando-fied ass off Sony's couch and get cracking onto something GOOD. For once this century. They couldn't even get Bond right. I mean, a freaking ice palace? Windsurfing on a tidal wave? Invisible cars and Rosemund Pike in an effin' knife-fight. MGM: Must stand for....... Makes Gigli Meaningful. Though, that may be a little harsh. And stupid.
Well, thankfully, it looks like someone finally did a lot of firing in the MGM head office, and now there is something to look forward to from the studio. Like Casino Royale, my most anticipated movie at the moment. And the new Rocky movie. And, obviously, Harsh Times. Which actually looks great. Who'd of guessed that?

Christian Bale is badass when he needs to be. It's basic knowledge. And he is surely badass here. Beating up hoodlums that try and ambush him, he counts on his old buddy and loyal sidekick, little Freddy Rodriguez, to back him up and throw him an emergancy switch-blade every now and then. Other activities they enjoy doing for no real reason are: Visiting Eva Longoria at random intervals, creating havoc, shooting cops when they pull them over for speeding, creating chaos, smashing bottles on people's windscreens, creating turmoil and finally, fleeing from old men with shotguns.
I don't even think I have to tell you how awesome it's going to be to follow Christian and Freddy through seedy Los Angeles. Harsh, but fun times lay ahead.

The film is very Training Day-esque, what with being made by the same creative team and all, but this isn't a bad thing. As long as it doesn't become a trend. The simplicity of the format is one that could get stale so easily, so I think it's a good idea to keep about a 4-5 year gap between making such similar styled movies. I can't tell you how much I hate it when some clutz just takes an original idea from another movie and just stamps it on their own. I refuse to enjoy any movie that does that. Straight out refuse. Fuck... those guys!


I enjoy the male leads greatly, so I think I'm going to like Harsh Times a lot. I really love the trailer, as it keeps things simple, hinting at a storyline but never fully embelishing it. It's a dance between the good and evil representations of Bale's character that is definately the core of this movie, and the trailer really connects with that aspect. I just really hope that I'm not seeing something that's not really there, because I want this to be awesome so bad. It's a leap of faith with MGM on this one. Reach my expectations of Casino Royale, Rocky 6 and Harsh Times, and I'll forget that Into the Blue ever happened.

Harsh Times - MGM Studios
Anticipation Level: Medium-High.
Look out for: "I am a soldier of the apolalypse". Badass Bale.
US Release date: November 10th, 2006.
Trailer Source