I disobeyed an executive order. I violated my duty as a commanding officer
The Last Castle
I watched The Last Castle last night.
It’s a 2001 movie – back when they were still making movies and not computerized crap – by a writer & director I never heard of – David Scarpa & Rod Lurie respectively.
As usual – IMDB understates the plot – & I quote:
“A court-martialed general rallies together twelve hundred inmates to rise against a corrupt and sadistic warden.”
A court-martialed general, you say – sounds like a war movie, you say – yes & no – the soldiers are all convicts serving time in a military prison – therefore, I call it a crime movie.
First off – I like the movie – a lot – BUT – you have to suspend all thoughts of reality – because I don’t see how this could’ve possibly taken place in real life – but I suspended reality and enjoyed a well-shot and well-acted big screen production.
The movie stars Robert Redford – Tony Soprano aka James Gandolfini – Mark Ruffalo – and Delroy Lindo.
Redford plays a 3-start general who’s sentenced to military prison – Gandolfini is an Army colonel who’s the prison warden – and they don’t get along from their first appearance on screen together – that’s called “conflict” – and conflict lasts between them until the final scenes.
Delroy Lindo plays a superior officer who’s called in to straighten everything out the resurrection behind the prison walls – of course he’s too late.
And Mark Ruffalo pretty much plays himself in real life – a scrawny little runt who vacillates between being a weasel and a rat.
By the way, just found this out. On December 1, 2008, Ruffalo’s younger brother Scott was found dead outside his home in Beverly Hills. He appeared to be the victim of an execution-style bullet through the head. The case remains unsolved – wish I was still writing for True Detective.
A female makes a brief – but uncredited appearance – when Redford’s daughter visits him in prison – kept looking & looking – knew her but couldn’t quite place the face.
Looked it up and it’s Robin Wright. Loved her as Carrie Underwood in House of Cards. Which, by the way, was the first crime series I ever watched on Netflix. But she WAS married to Sean Penn – enough said – then again – he was also hooked up with Madonna – more than enough said.
Like I said – loved the movie – if you like action – check it out – here’s the trailer.
That’s it for The Last Castle. But I’m going to stick my nose into the unsolved murder of Scott Ruffalo and see what I can pick up for tomorrow.
I’m America’s Best Crime Writer
and I approve this message.
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