End of Watch - Mint DVD Jake Gyllenhaal

lot # 1- guaranteed to play

End of Watch was an amazing cop movie. It featured Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as two police patrolmen in Los Angeles. Gyllenhaal is doing a film project for college so he sets up a series of cameras on himself and Pena to record their day to day activities. That means much of the film is shot in point of view style with a lot of shaky and moving shots. Some might not like that because the picture bounces around so much during certain sequences, but in this case it tends to add a level of realism.

The events the two run into are breathtaking. One time they go to a house where a drugged out mother claims her two babies are missing only to find them duct taped in the closet because they were crying too much. Eventually they bust a man who is working for a Mexican drug cartel, which leads to the main plot. The story goes from one crazy situation to the next.

It’s not just that which makes End of Watch a good film however. The chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Pena is fantastic. They make wise cracks about each other non-stop. Pena for example wants Gyllenhaal to date his cousin, to which he replies he would hate to have to go to his aunt’s quinceanera (a party for when a girl hits puberty), his sister’s quinceanera, his cousin’s quinceanera, etc. Pena replies that shows that Mexicans always have something going on and it’s better than white people who want to talk about what kind of gourmet coffee they like and how good their barista is. You really feel like you get to know the two characters as a result.

In the end, you have the crazy events the two cops run into, their comradery, plus plenty of action. I can’t recommend this movie enough. End of Watch is right at the top of the list of police films.