A Time to Kill

Tags

1990's, A Time to Kill, Ashley Judd, Brenda Fricker, Charles S. Dutton, Chris Cooper, Courtroom Drama, Crime, Donald Sutherland, Drama, Joel Schumacher, John Grisham, Kevin Spacey, Kiefer Sutherland, Legal Drama, Matthew McConaughey, Oliver Platt, Patrick McGoohan, Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock

Film Title

A Time to Kill

Director

Joel Schumacher

Starring

• Matthew McConaughey as Jake Brigance
• Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey
• Sandra Bullock as Ellen Roark
• Kevin Spacey as Rufus Buckley
• Oliver Platt as Harry Rex Vonner
• Kiefer Sutherland as Freddie Lee Cobb
• Donald Sutherland as Lucien Wilbanks
• Ashley Judd as Carla Brigance
• Brenda Fricker as Ethel Twitty
• Charles S. Dutton as Sheriff Ozzie Walls
• Chris Cooper as Dwayne Looney
• Patrick McGoohan as Judge Omar Noose

An incendiary and well mounted adaptation of the John Grisham legal/courtroom drama, A Time to Kill ensures that the moral and ethical debates come through strong, thanks to the story, script and cast.

In the town of Canton, Mississippi, a 10-year-old black girl by the name of Tonya Hailey is walking home after getting groceries from the local store. Suddenly, she is targeted by two sneering and utterly vile rednecks who violently rape and attempt to kill her by hanging. Tonya survives, but the damage to her has been done, which sends shock waves through the community. Tonya’s father Carl Lee is devastated when he discovers what has happened to his little girl and knowing that due to the racism that pervades the town and that the two men may get a light sentence, decides to take matters into his own hands. He responds by gunning down both men on their way to trial, in front of over a dozen witnesses. Arrested, Carl Lee contacts young and idealistic lawyer Jake Brigance to represent him. Jake had previously helped Carl Lee’s brother in the past and feels he must represent him; mainly because he was aware that Carl Lee might have gone through with his retribution after talking with him earlier. Jake is warned that this case will be dangerous and because he doesn’t have that much experience, he is bright and wants to help. Hurdles and stumbling blocks come up as the manipulative district attorney and prosecutor Rufus Buckley, who has his eye on office, decides to seek the death penalty and manages to stir the situation up. The climate of racism and clashing opposition makes the whole thing a powder keg as Jake finds his life in danger, as well as those closest to him being threatened by a resurgent faction of the Ku Klux Klan, brought out by one of the brothers of the men slain by Carl Lee. Yet with all the hostility and violence being thrown his way, Jake refuses to back down and his resolve is strengthened as he is soon in the courtroom representing his client in a case that could spark even more eruptions of unrest and horror for everyone. He is aided by the young law student Ellen Roark, who is a know it all but very passionate and good friend plus occasional divorce lawyer cynical Harry Rex Vonner. Yet getting a fair trial is going to be anything but easy as tensions threaten to explode.

Joel Schumacher impeccably displays a flair for the material; making it both extremely gripping and equally as powerful in what it brings to the table. A Time to Kill raises many moral questions in a series of ways that delve into the quagmire of what is deemed right and wrong, and how there is a difficult grey area in between. There are those that will say that the movie is more in favour of one view than the other, but even if that is true, A Time to Kill deserves credit for presenting issues like justice, fairness and racism with many degrees of thought-provoking effectiveness. I believe that the film tries to show both sides of things. While Carl Lee did kill the men who raped his daughter, you can understand many of the reasons why he did it. A Time to Kill asks us to consider what we would do in that situation, which allows the film to get under the skin deeply. The difficulty in the topic of morality and justice is best summed up by a speech given by Donald Sutherland’s character. He says, “If you win this case, justice will prevail, and if you lose, justice will also prevail”, which perfectly and simply reflects the complex issue at hand. The legal nature of A Time to Kill is pretty compelling to watch as the ethics of lawyers and the inevitable courtroom examinations of whether someone is guilty are put under the spotlight. The build up to the courtroom is equally as excellent, showing just how dangerous a case of this magnitude can be in a climate of uncertainty and intolerance. Yet when the courtroom drama hits, the fireworks really start to occur. The testimonies and confrontations have rippling consequences that influence the society around them, that is already at boiling point on account of racism and violence. The dignified and quick-moving script makes the legal terminology easy to digest, yet doesn’t forget the battle going on between many things within the fabric of the story. And speaking of quick-moving, A Time to Kill runs for two and a half hours, yet interest is kept in check and held throughout most of it. Sure some moments could have been expanded on, but the atmosphere and climate of the piece brings immediate attention and confronting intent to the viewer, that will get them to look at the ethics of the trial intensely. The music provided by Elliot Goldenthal is dynamic and matches the escalating emotions and tensions within the story.

A Time to Kill was the movie that really launched Matthew McConaughey to stardom and it isn’t difficult to see why. With his charming yet astute persona, he naturally plays Jake as a man put through the difficulties of the case, yet spurned on by what he sees as just cause. The gravity of the situation dawns on him after realising how complex events will turn out, but he won’t give up on this case and soldiers through it with unwavering determination. McConaughey is the right fit for the part and his closing speech in the film is powerful stuff that shows just what an excellent actor he is. Samuel L. Jackson is particularly memorable as the man on trial, evoking the self-possessed man whose temper was pushed to the edge by the brutality his daughter endured. Jackson’s work is very subtle and while he has two scenes of outburst( the first when he kills the men and the second in court) he is largely a modulated presence, though behind his eyes the fury and hurt is there as clear as day. This performance impressed me as I usually think of Jackson as manic and loud, yet he delivered a finely tuned performance as the avenging Carl Lee that reveals another side to him. We have Sandra Bullock portraying the over-eager and brainy Ellen with a good mix of sass and smarts, while Kevin Spacey can be discovered slithering his way across the screen, inhabiting the egotistical and ambitious prosecutor. Oliver Platt provides some levity from the intense drama in the sidekick role of being a cynical wise ass with questionable morals, yet also with surprising depth to match. Kiefer Sutherland is appropriately nasty and shocking, starring as the angered brother of one of the slain who riles up the Klan once more and delights in causing horror to all in order to get what he perceives as his own justice. His father Donald also makes a hell of a mark, exuding the wily silver fox persona ideal for his part of Jake’s former mentor, who despite being disbarred from court, manages to aid his young charge. It is interesting to note that Donald and Kiefer never share a scene in the film. Ashley Judd and Brenda Fricker have less to do in the film, but each is good in their respective roles of concerned wife and long-serving secretary. In smaller roles, Charles S. Dutton, Chris Cooper and Patrick McGoohan add their expertise to various people involved in the case and make the most of the time they get to be shown.

A Time to Kill emerges as an engaging crime drama that explores culpability, legality and racism in a powerful way, benefiting from confident direction and a star-studded cast.

Hope Floats

Tags

1990's, Drama, Forest Whitaker, Gena Rowlands, Harry Connick Jr, Hope Floats, Mae Whitman, Michael Paré, Romance, Sandra Bullock

Film Title

Hope Floats

Director

Forest Whitaker

Starring

• Sandra Bullock as Birdie Pruitt
• Harry Connick Jr as Justin Matisse
• Gena Rowlands as Ramona Calvert
• Mae Whitman as Bernice Pruitt
• Michael Paré as Bill Pruitt

Its predictable and not much in the way of a surprise happens in it, but within its framework of a romantic drama, Hope Floats gains points for sturdy direction from Forest Whitaker and a moving performance from Sandra Bullock.

Birdie Pruitt thought she had a great life with her husband Bill. That was until she discovered that he had been having an affair with her best friend. To make matters even worse, this surreptitious relationship is revealed on a television show where Birdie thought she was going for a free makeover. Reeling from her husband’s betrayal and humiliated beyond belief, Birdie packs up her car and moves back to her Texas hometown with her young daughter Bernice. She doesn’t particularly want to go back home, but it appears to be the only place she can get as her eccentric mother Ramona is still there. Her mother is a get up and go lady who tries to help her daughter, though this is a big hurdle at first. Young Bernice is also miserable because she loves both of her parents, but being a child doesn’t quite understand the complexity of the situation and to top that off, she doesn’t fit in at her school. Birdie was once the popular girl in town who was elected Prom Queen and made the cheerleading squad, which made her the envy of a lot of girls. Now that she’s back in town and going through a rough time, her enemies and old acquaintances seem more than happy to see her on her knees. Potential support and a lift out of the doldrums takes the shape of old friend Justin Matisse, a good-hearted and handsome man who always had his eye on her in younger days. Slowly and with help, Birdie begins to take stock of her life and emerge from her hurting shell to experience life again through new eyes.

Forest Whitaker is in the directing chair and his vision is quite promising and colourful, even if the script is basically ticking off all the things you expect from this kind of movie. Whitaker’s direction is quite simple and allows the emotions to flow freely, giving the actors chance to do their thing. To summarise, Whitaker has a gentle and amiable touch to the film that while not anything revolutionary, provides you with something to smile about in the long run. What Hope Floats does that sets it apart from others if only by a small margin, is the way that it gets you to connect with the characters. There are moments of genuine poignant feeling in it that I will admit stirred my heart and soul. Yes I know it is schmaltzy and not a film that is going to get my brain working, but the sentiment of confronting life and rebuilding yourself worked its magic on me. Hope Floats isn’t afraid to show the difficult things in life that we go through, which makes the uplifting pervading tone as it goes on all the more arresting, albeit in an unoriginal though nonetheless pleasing way. The romance between Birdie and Justin in Hope Floats is a tentative yet nicely played one; it yields funny and affable results after much deliberation from Birdie after she begins to rebuild her life after licking her wounds. The easy visuals of sun dappled rivers and hued fields backs this up exceedingly well and you really can slow feeling Birdie warming up to Justin, apprehensively yet slowly letting that barrier come down. The biggest stumbling block in Hope Floats is that it sometimes stays too long on one situation, when it needs do get to the next point and could do it quite easily. That being said, the building charm and healing story more than compensate for that. A gentle selection of songs has a soothing edge that is just right for that stirring feeling Hope Floats is going for.

Sandra Bullock heads the film with a sensitive performance, gradually revealing a woman pulling her life back together after suffering immense embarrassment. Slowly, the effervescence we all love about Bullock comes out, but seeing her unaffected delivery and touching appeal in a lot of Hope Floats compliments the film very well and shows her twin talent of beings charming and convincing. It’s a quality performance that sells the sentimental nature of the film and rings pathos from it through an understated delivery that builds to a lovable unearthing from the luminous Bullock. Harry Connick, Jr is pretty impressive as the confident cowboy style guy who little by little breaks down Birdie’s blocks. The part is mainly there to be the dreamboat hunk, but Connick Jr is darn good at being amusing too. Gena Rowlands is an utter delight when playing the wildly dressed, pull yourself up by your bootstraps mother who attempts to help her daughter, in something of a roundabout and unusual way. Rowlands is thoroughly divine in the film and almost steals the show with her no cares what anyone thinks persona and amusing timing. As the young daughter of Birdie, Mae Whitman is marvellously mature and engaging, not coming off as just another child actor. Instead, she holds her own against her more experienced co-stars and positively shines as the little girl trying to understand what is going on. Michael Paré is there to play the jerk who cheated on Birdie, yet has scant little else to contribute.

Not exactly the most deep or challenging movie, but nor is it trying to be. Hope Floats goes straight for the heart and scores highly on that rating, bolstered also by a touching emotion to it. Clichéd as it is, I couldn’t help but be emotionally engaged with Hope Floats.

The Net

Tags

1990's, Dennis Miller, Irwin Winkler, Jeremy Northam, Sandra Bullock, The Net, Thriller

Film Title

The Net

Director

Irwin Winkler

Starring

• Sandra Bullock as Angela Bennett
• Jeremy Northam as Jack Devlin
• Dennis Miller as Dr. Alan Champion

It isn’t the most compelling or exceptional thriller out there, yet The Net is competent entertainment filtered through a techno edge and having the luminous Sandra Bullock at the heart of it.

Angela Bennett is a shy and awkward computer analyst, whose life is largely confined to being indoors and debugging viruses in games and usually software of some sort. Her whole existence is through the Internet, where she is a talented worker and voracious scourer. One day, Angela is sent a piece of software that strangely allows her to access covert files. Thinking it is just another glitch as she has seen countless of them before, she doesn’t pay a lot of thought to it. Meanwhile, the man who sent her the disc is killed after something causes his plane to crash. Angela, has taken a small vacation to Mexico, as it is her first holiday in over two years and something of a break from her sheltered and self-imposed isolation. While there, she meets the rakish Jack Devlin, who takes an interest in her that she finds flattering due to her mousiness. He is in fact a contract killer dispatched to retrieve the disc that she shouldn’t have seen and kill her before she can alert anyone. Devlin works for a very mysterious organisation who want the disc so they can use it for their shifty and alarming means. After seducing her as well as swiping her photo identification, he attempts to go ahead with his plan to kill her. Thankfully, Angela becomes wise that there is something not right and flees before can kill her. Upon returning to America, Angela is shocked to discover that all records of her existence have been erased. To top this revelation off, the sinister powers that are tracking her have replaced her files with evidence that points to her being a known criminal. She soon has both the police and shady Devlin in pursuit of her as she attempts to outrun them. Desperate to reclaim her life and bring down the people responsible for this, Angela must use all her ability and decisiveness to uncover just what these cyber criminals want and why the disc is of such importance to them.

The Net attempts to emulate the Hitchcock staple of the innocent person caught up in something unexpected and I must say, Irwin Winkler does a credible enough job in getting that vibe across. Not saying that this film is anywhere near the iconic nature and mastery of Hitchcock, but it’s a decent enough stab. While some of the computer technology depicted in The Net is obviously dated, the message of being careful and how easy it can be to stumble onto something much darker than you thought comes through clearly. And if anything, it sort of rings with a timely essence as now the digital age is in full flow, strangely predicted to a certain degree in this film. From the constant quick cuts of computer jargon and membranes, stylistically The Net is very good at pulling you in to its world of all things cyber and dangerous. If anything sort of lets the movie down it is the pace; at the start it is a little slow to get going, before eventually kicking into a thriller. But even then, some plot points are skated over a bit and fall to the background because the film then goes a bit crazy on the speed. And it must be said that a lot of the film is pretty predictable( you can tell straight off the bat that Northam is a wrong un from the get go), and yet I was still very entertained for reasons I will speak of next. The breathless action at least in part offers a distraction from the seen it all elements there, constituting some tense scenes of Angela being pursued and doing everything she can to survive along with a cool scene of her showing her mettle and playing them at their own game. A nifty score of unraveling beats and ominous intentions keeps the film largely entertaining as a slice of techno thriller.

Sandra Bullock is the glue that holds The Net together. Her infinite charisma and relatability stand her in good stead when playing the coltish heroine on the run. The vibrant Bullock has enough range and appeal to be convincing in the part and the movie’s best asset. She projects an intelligence and ordinariness that I think many people will find endearing, and I certainly found it just that. I mean how can you not like Sandra Bullock? She’s a bundle of talent and she is a strong part of this movie that keeps you glued, even when it gets over the top. Jeremy Northam represents the main villain contingent as a James Bond style assassin, only if 007 was bad to the bone. Northam does good work with the material he is given, though the shortage of meat on his character noticeably affects his work, even with him on charming form. Dennis Miller fares very well as Angela’s only ally who is at first bewildered by everything and then comes around to her ideas of corruption and conspiracy.

So it isn’t going to win any awards, but to pass the time The Net is pretty slick and tense, even if it has an air of predictability hovering over it.

Gravity

Tags

2010's, Alfonso Cuarón, George Clooney, Gravity, Sandra Bullock, Science Fiction, Thriller

Film Title

Gravity

Director

Alfonso Cuarón

Starring

• Sandra Bullock as Dr Ryan Stone
• George Clooney as Matt Kowalski

Visually arresting, thrilling and often quite moving, Gravity is one hell of a film to sit through. Under the creative direction of Alfonso Cuarón and a powerful turn by Sandra Bullock, Gravity is an exhilarating thrill ride with an emotional heart about a dramatic race for survival against all odds.

Dr Ryan Stone is a rookie medical engineer on her first spacewalk, partnered with the more experienced astronaut Matt Kowalski, on what is to be his final space mission. They are attempting to fix a problem with the Hubble Telescope. Kowalski is a humorous old veteran of space travel with a multitude of funny stories to tell as they set about fixing Hubble, whereas Ryan is a nervous relative newcomer with a painful incident in her past( the death of her young daughter) that leaves her with emotional scars and uncertainty.Just as they manage to fix the Telescope, they are warned of a planned strike on a defunct Russian satellite, which has caused a cloud of debris to head their way in a chain reaction. Soon enough, the debris arrives with devastating impact and Stone and Kowalski are left tumbling through space and fighting for their lives in a void of darkness. With communications down and oxygen supplies running dangerously low, it is up to Stone and Kowalski to find a way to survive and make it back to Earth. Prepare for a spectacular but intimate movie that throws you into the terrifying reality of being cut off from all communications but also shows the determination we must use if we wish to live on.

The first thing to compliment Gravity on is its visuals which are nothing short of beautiful. The film opens with an uninterrupted shot that circles Stone and Kowalski as they fix the Telescope and reveal the shining Earth below. From this opening shot, you are just in awe of the beauty of it all. When disaster strikes, the use of point of view shots and tracking shots as Stone spins precariously into danger make for tension-filled viewing as we are put in her terrified shoes and made to endure her pain. The claustrophobia of these scenes is palpable and Cuarón perfectly plays them as terrifying by taking us on this dizzying ride of uncertainty as to whether these characters will survive this disaster. Throughout Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón gives masterfully sublime direction, perfectly complimenting the visual scope but also the intimate and emotionally stirring moments that abound underneath the spectacle. He deservedly won the Oscar for Best Director for his stunning work here that gives us a spectacular view of space but a terrifying yet beautiful evocation of the human spirit out of its comfort zone and trying everything to enable it to live on. While Gravity is very much a sci-fi thriller of the highest order, there is at the centre of it a very human drama about the need for survival and letting go of painful memories. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the scene of Stone finding solace in the air lock of another ship and curling up in a balletic fashion into the fetal position in a symbolic rebirth. The evocative score backs up the themes of terror and determination with subtle instinct and ever-growing power, before building to a crescendo of beautiful and heartfelt exhilaration as Stone begins to discover her inner strength.

Sandra Bullock turns in what is to me her best performance to date as Ryan Stone. She carefully imbues her with a fragile vulnerability as she has to contend with fighting for her life whilst also grieving for the daughter she lost back home. It is a physical and emotional performance that gives a human heart to Stone as we watch her use these painful experiences to her advantage and give her the determination to survive whatever is being thrown at her. On screen for the entire duration and for many stretches alone in a desperate fight for survival, Bullock has rarely been better than here and I hope she chooses more roles in the future that show of her excellent range of emotions. George Clooney is in a sense playing himself and adds a light touch to the beginning of the film when he tells his many stories before all hell breaks loose. Clooney though is overshadowed by the excellence of Sandra Bullock’s one-woman show.

Exhilarating, moving and spectacular, Gravity is a film that once seen is never forgotten for its powerful and stirring impact, stunning direction by Alfonso Cuarón and moving performance from Sandra Bullock.

 

The Prince of Egypt

Tags

1990's, Animated, Biblical, Danny Glover, Helen Mirren, Jeff Goldblum, Martin Short, Michelle Pfeiffer, Patrick Stewart, Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock, Steve Martin, The Prince of Egypt, Val Kilmer

Film Title

The Prince of Egypt

Directors

Simon Wells, Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner

Voice Cast

• Val Kilmer as Moses
• Ralph Fiennes as Rameses
• Michelle Pfeiffer as Tzipporah
• Sandra Bullock as Miriam
• Jeff Goldblum as Aaron
• Danny Glover as Jethro
• Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti
• Helen Mirren as Queen Tuya
• Steve Martin as Hotep
• Martin Short as Huy

DreamWorks take on the biblical story of Moses is a stunningly animated and powerfully constructed film. From the stirring music to the talented voice cast, The Prince of Egypt is a powerful achievement in animation as Moses discovers his destiny to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

In Ancient Egypt, a female slave, in order to save her baby son from a cull of Hebrew children, sends him down the river in a basket in the hopes that he will be able to live free. The baby is discovered by the Queen, who adopts him and gives him the name Moses. Years later, Moses is grown up and has a friendly rivalry with his older brother Rameses, who will one day become Pharaoh. Moses is unaware of his mother’s sacrifice all those years ago or the fact that he is a Hebrew by birth. That is until he meets Miriam, his biological sister and a slave who informs him of the truth. Confused and shocked by this, he begins to see that everything he’s ever known has been a lie. Now aware of his past, he can’t just stand and watch as the Hebrews are enslaved by the Egyptians. Fleeing into the desert after accidentally killing a slave driver beating an elderly slave, Moses is visited by God in the form of a burning bush. Moses now begins to understand his destiny but his views are at odds with the newly crowned Rameses. Their differing beliefs will forever change the close relationship of the two. Evocative, well executed and filled with images of great wonder and beauty, The Prince of Egypt is a staggeringly staged marvel of animation that will engage you regardless of whether you’re religious or not.

The first thing to praise is the grand and beautiful animation that captures the interest from the first frame. Scenes live long in the memory from the slaves praying through their arduous work to Moses being sent down the river, visual splendour abounds. Special attention must go to the sequences of the Plagues of Egypt; as frogs emerge from the river, livestock perishes and the last plague of the death of the first-born occur. These scenes are carefully constructed and detailed to the highest degree as well as dealing with some deep themes such as faith and religion. The music of the film is stirring and very memorable. The two songs that stand out the most are ‘Deliver Us’, sung by the slaves as they ask God for mercy and the Oscar-winning ‘When You Believe’, a stunning song about the eventual reward of patience and the joy that comes from undying faith.

The voice cast assembled are an exceptionally talented bunch that invest their characters with both heart and emotion. Val Kilmer strongly voices Moses and shows us the gradual bravery after initial uncertainty that Moses gets as he realises his destiny. The commanding voice of Ralph Fiennes portrays Rameses who struggles with his brother’s calling and won’t back down as he sees it as a sign of weakness. Michelle Pfeiffer combines feisty determination with loving warmth as Tzipporah, the eventual wife of Moses who he helped escape from Egypt after being kidnapped. Sandra Bullock is earnest and passionate as Miriam, the sister of Moses who is the first person to show him the truth about his destiny. Fleshing out the other skilled voices are Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren, who all contribute emotional depth to this tale. Steve Martin and Martin Short voice the court magicians who add the comic relief.

Stunningly animated and sonically beautiful, The Prince of Egypt is a marvellous film. Some may say it is religious propaganda, but one can’t deny the amount of talented work at play here in bringing this story to the screen.