Broken City

First Hit:  Disjointed in telling the story, OK acting, and in the end, not enough to make it worthwhile.

Try as I might, I didn’t see enough in the opening credits nor in the video tape review to make me believe that Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) did something wrong or so wrong that the commissioner Carl Fairbanks (Jeffrey Wright) and Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) tell him he must retire.

I guess I missed something and this part is important to the believability of the story. However, the film supports this premise, of the wrongdoing, by indicating that Taggart was a hop-head and drank too much during his time as a undercover cop.

The killing in question is of a young man who supposedly killed Natalie Barrow's (Natalie Martinez) sister. For his support, Natalie and her family embrace Taggart which includes Natalie living with him as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Mayor Hostetler runs the city of New York with an iron fist and with corruption based decisions. It’s done because this is the way cities work, or so they say. Anyway Taggart wants to make things right.

Wahlberg was good enough; it was the film’s story telling that let him down. Crowe was OK but it didn’t work for me. Wright was dark and puzzling in his role because you never really got that he cared about anything but holding on to his job. Martinez was OK as a minor character. Alona Tal (as Katy Bradshaw) as Taggart’s secretary was delightful and the best thing about the film. Catherine Zeta-Jones was OK as the disenchanted wife of Mayor Hostetler. Brian Tucker wrote a tired and uninteresting script. Allen Hughes directed this very forgetful film.

Overall: Wouldn’t recommend paying to see this film.

End of Watch

First Hit:  Very well acted film about the bond between two police officers in South Central LA.

One of the very best things about this film was that it wasn’t about a huge crime event, or the solving of a particular crime.

This film is about the relationship of two very different people, Officer Brian Taylor (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and Officer Mike Zavala (played by Michael Pena) and the trust they have with each other.

The film walks us through the antics of the officer’s headquarters meetings, the different personalities on the force, and their dialog in the car as they cruse South Central. Officer Taylor is a bachelor, has identified his dating process from beginning to end and that it seems endless.

Officer Zavala has married his high school sweetheart and he is completely happy in his home life. Zavala has a child on the way, while Taylor only wishes about having a meaningful conversation with a woman after the third date.

Together they complement each other in how they do their job, their special skills, and how they can accept and embrace each other. When Officer Taylor meets the woman of his dreams Janet (played by Anna Kendrick), it is great to see and watch his subtle shifts as he realizes much of what Officer Zavala has told him about what love and marriage is really about.

As Police Officers, they are heroic (house on fire scene), ballsy (walking into the large party scene), and brave (as they work themselves out of a fire fight scene).

The best thing about this movie is that they show these things as to demonstrate their characters as people and police officers, not as crime solvers and preventers.

Gyllenhaal was very very good as the officer who learns what is really important in his life. Pena was excellent as the officer who knew his place and what was important in his life. Natalie Martinez (as Gabby) was wonderful as Pena’s wife and support system. Kendrick was really very good as Taylor’s girlfriend and wife. Her scene in the bedroom with the video camera was excellent. Dominique (as Wicked) was strongly wicked and took over her scenes. David Ayer wrote a very strong script which highlighted the characters differences in a very natural way. His direction was spot on and using Officer Taylors hand-held camera for some of his shots was a good choice.

Overall:  What I liked about this film is that it put the crime in perspective to their lives and not the other way around.