Runaway jury, 2003

Runaway jury, 2003
Director: Gary Fleder
Cast: Dustin Hoffmann, John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Rachel Weisz



Stage: Home selection on TV (indeed surprising, sometimes they can pick)

Preps: Just being home at the right time. Somewhere deep I remembered I loved the movie. The cast is amazing, all the icons I admire, and the woman that grew to my heart in these years that I have watched her. And the case with the jury. Something I wanted to be when being very young. So promising I wanted to watch it again and make some comments.

Reality: Even better than I expected. This time the theme sucks me in, the involvement of a crime in a place where no crime is expected or tolerated, in a sense that noone picks it up until the end of the movie. Cusack is simply brilliant, in the way he puts the minds and develops everyone in the jury with the flow of the movie (or shall I put, the development of the case). The case isn't important, politics is, this is the truth until the last five minutes, when a sudden turnaround happens to the surprise of the viewer.

In my opinion, a piece worth seeing, if not for a superb critic of the american justice system, then for a thorough insight on how you can guide someone's mind or opinion, how you can persuade a bunch of people to take you for what you want them to take, to think how you want them to think and in the end, decide on what you have decided when you first set eyes on them. The justice-representative, attorney, fights a glorious battle, that couldn't be won, except if there wasn't some philosophy and deep revenge down below in the base of the case. For which you don't know, only assume that something is happening and is revealed in the last minute of the movie.

Highly recommended.

My personal rating: 7,5 (a remarkable piece on usually boring attorney/prosecutor cases or movies describing something going on in the court. Can compare it to Erin Brokovich, except this one is mainly happening in the court).



Runaway on IMDB

Lovely bones, 2009

Lovely bones, 2009
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saroirse Ronan, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci (Oscar nominee for best supporting actor 2010)



Lovely bones in short: Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.


Stage: home theatre/hotel room on a business trip after a long day on exhibition

Preps: I adore and admire work of Peter Jackson. As he did a beautiful movie scenery for the LOTR, I expected the scenery and the photography to simply be beautiful and breath taking. As for the story, I was familiar with the trailer I saw at the movies and it reminded me of a CSI story mixed with a fairy tale. Good enough to watch. And also the cast got my attention.


Reality: As I predicted, the scenery and photography was amazing. Astounding, what photo shop brought us, unimaginative world before turns into reality. Jackson has put a lot of dream world and fantasies we all had as children into this movie.

The main story revolves around the murder. The spectator is carefully lead through the crime and follows the murderer and the murdered child each step. The focus is set on the things or better put action that happens after the murder; break in the family, drama and sadness of both, murdered Susie and her family. Carefully planned, the neighbour takes advantage of her naive and curious nature and brutally murders her.


The movie is a thoughtful reminder of the afterlife and one way we could picture it. It can comfort the ones that believe that all good souls go to a good place after the earth life. And a skeptical place for the philosophers that don't buy this. Both will however enjoy the picturesque image of the life inbetween.


My personal rate: 8,0 (I enjoyed it and it relaxed me - maybe more a chick movie afterall).



Lovely bones on IMDB
Lovely bones official site