Chopper Poster (2000)People have been telling me to watch the 2000 film Chopper for years. I find it impossible not to love prison films. I don't know if that is just a "guy-thing" or a Brandon thing. Usually a prison flick takes a normal man, forces him into a situation he doesn't belong, and the Mr. Normal adapts and eventually escapes, or at least teaches the other inmates valuable lessons. Mark Brandon "Chopper" Reed (Eric Bana) ain't gonna waste his time with that lot mate. Having been titled Australia's most famous prisoner, the sociopath has written multiple best-sellers, several television specials, and thousands of adoring fans. However, unlike Andy Dufresne in Shawshank or Frank Morris in Alcatraz, Chopper needs to be in prison. He needs to be locked up both for the good of society, and to better cater to Chopper's own twisted sensibilities. He is a maniac, a man that earned the nickname Chopper by either chopping off the toes of his victims, or by slashing his own earlobes off. Either version may be true, and really, does it matter? 

Eric Bana as ChopperBana is pretty radical in this film, I can see why he became the star he is today. He plays Reed with an intense maniacal humanity, so sincere and yet so unhinged, you desperately want to trust the monster in the cage, even when you know it is a very bad idea. This film is worth watching, if for nothing else the awesome scene where Chopper gets stabbed by his best-mate. I won't give any spoilers, but Bana's performance is so hypnotic, I can easily say it is one of the most unnerving moments in a film I have ever seen. Mark Brandon "Chopper" Reed