Movie Marathon

As is my tradition, I purchased a large quantity of rifle ammunition and some magazines, and got some movies for my fall movie marathon. Every year, when the local high school has their homecoming dance (and in the spring, Prom), I stay up late with movies and GI 30cal ammo cans and stockpile ammunition. Yeah it's weird, I know. It's what I do. Never was much for group participation in school, and now that I'm out it's like a...celebration of the difference.

I had 2600 rounds of rifle ammunition to pack round by round into boxes, so obviously I had to spread it out over two nights. Usually the theme is "War movies" but as I've kind of exhausted that field of decent entries, this time around I switched to cop movies. Movie reviews below:

Night 1:
Dark Blue: Like a made-for-TV-movie with more swearing and brief nudity. Kurt Russell is like Steven Seagal, but with a little more self-respect. Decent plot of corrupt police officers coming clean during the Rodney King riots, but it was made ho-hum by weak acting, a couple of lame storylines, and a lack of action. 5 stars out of 10.

Narc: Jason Patric is a disgraced police officer teamed with Ray Liotta to solve the murder of Ray Liotta's partner. Patric's looking for the murderers, Liotta's looking for...something else. This is the most depressing movie I've ever seen, bar none. White, black, and pale blue are really the only colors used. The settings are authentically run down, and the movie paints Detroit as a horrible looking ghetto. The characters are tragic or corrupt, no exceptions. The profanity is blinding in intensity, eclipsed only by The Boondock Saints. Very gritty and authentic. Ray Liotta is terrifying. Again, not an action movie, though billed as such. Worth watching. Despite the seriousness of the scene, I laughed at the two rounds fired from a 1911 with the hammer forward. I'd be willing to be a technical consultant for free in Hollywood, just to make sure they didn't make mistakes like that. 7 stars out of 10.

Night 2:
Harsh Times:Again, Christian Bale gives a fantastic performance, though this time he succeeds in making the audience hate him. He's a wacked out ex-soldier out to make sure everyone around him has a terrible day. By the time he dies in the end of the movie, you say "FINALLY!" He combines the worst traits of all the soldiers I've ever known, and reminds me in his physique and mannerisms of at least one. Decently filmed, but lacking in any real depth of plot. Not worth watching, and it seems to drag on forever, making you hate Bale that much more. 3 stars out of 10.

Assault On Precinct 13: Decent opening scene, promises a lot for the rest of the movie. Can't really say much about this one, it was solid but unremarkable. Fishburne once more plays the elegant criminal. Ethan Hawke seems like a low-rent Tom Cruise, even down to his voice, which is not a bad thing. He does a good job, but his character's psychological issues could've been dealt with much better than the glossing over they got. The movie gets points for unexpectedly killing major characters, lending an air of realism and danger. The movie loses points for a lack of magazine changes during battle scenes, though I can forgive the +8 rounds fired through a 1911, because in one of the final scenes we see it's a Para double-stack. Worth watching. 7 stars out of 10.

I stayed up until 3am both nights, watching movies and packing away ammo, round by round. As always, I wondered as I placed the boxes on the stack next to their brethren, who will I be when I open those boxes again, and why will I be opening them. It's sobering to think such things.