A Few Good Men

Rating:
Summary: Best Movie Ever
Review: I have seen this movie a million times, my tape is worn out. I had to purchase the DVD.
This is by far the best courtroom drama, well its the best drama period.
Jack Nicholson shines.
I don't even like Tom Cruise too much (I mean I love this and Top Gun) and I hate Demi Moore, but they are great in this movie.
Everyone knows the line:
"You can't handle the truth" but watch this movie and you'll be reciting the whole thing. Memorable lines + great cast + awesome directing[...]

Rating:
Summary: Nicholson, Cruise & Moore are Fantastic on Widescreen DVD!
Review: This movie has fantastic drama and brings out this ensemble casts best acting abilities. Directed & Commentary Extra by Rob Reiner (Meathead from "All in the Family" & Carl Reiner's son) does an outstanding job telling this classic military court martial drama.

Summary: A mysterious Marine death involving a "Code Red" scenario (unauthorized hazing practice)carried out by 2 junior Marines. The Navy JAG (Judge Advocate General - military lawyers - Tom Cruise & Demi Moore) Corps begins an extensive investigation. The Commanding Officer (Jack Nicholson) of the dead Marine is interviewed by the JAG Lawyers regarding the aledge "CODE RED" and an adversarial confrontation occurs. Now the journey begins to prove or disprove the use of an unauthorized Marine discipline practice occurred & who is gulity.

This is a great movie and proves what great casting & direction can do for outstanding entertainment!!

Widescreen (Letterbox) and excellent DVD transfer. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Courtroom Drama
Review: Aaron Sorkin adapted his own play in "A Few Good Men" and Rob Reiner deserves great credit for his superb pacing and getting the most out of his talented cast. The conflict presented is that which has been widely debated since the Nuremberg Trials, the question of responsibility on the part of military personnel following orders under a chain of command.

Initially it appears that Navy lawyer Tom Cruise is no more than an all-purpose goof off with a penchant for shirking responsibility and a passion for softball. This is what Demi Moore, another Navy lawyer summoned to work with Cruise on the case which is the major element of the story, believes when initially meeting him. She ultimately learns that Cruise, whose deceased father was a former U.S. attorney-general, is fearful of failing to successfully follow in is father's awesome footsteps.

The film's principal clash is between Cruise, who is defending a private and a lance corporal in the ferocious hazing death of a fellow Marine in the process of carrying out a "code red," military shorthand for forbidden disciplining, and the gung-ho Marine commander of the Guantanamo Bay base, Jack Nicholson. The pivotal scene is when Cruise deliberates whether to risk his own career by asking Nicholson in cross-examination whether he violated code by ordering a code red against the deceased Marine. He manages to successfully antagonize Nicholson to the point where he explodes, admitting ordering the code red, and denouncing Cruise and others like him who he believes meddle in the path of brave, career military personnel like himself who seek to save lives in the only way they know how. Nicholson after his emphatic declaration is read his rights and led away to ultimately face his own court martial trial. The scene represents cinema courtroom drama at its most heightened level of exciting tension. Both Nicholson and Cruise perform with forceful intensity.

Rating:
Summary: Copy of The Caine Mutiny
Review: There seems to be a lot of variation in the rating for this movie. This review is for all the people who enjoyed it. If you did, watch "The Caine Mutiny" with Humphry Bogart. It's not exactly the same thing but the story line is the same. There are some variations. Nicholson's character is a spinoff of Bogart's but Bogart's performance is much better.

Rating:
Summary: Superficiality is the name of the game .
Review: I happened to see this movie on Television yesterday, about 5-6 years after I'd originally seen it , and, my god, how I've changed ! I remember that after that first time it seemed to me not far away from the Gospel Truth ; I was so enthusiastic with the performance of the actors , the important issue at stake ( illegal orders ) and the moral lessons , that it actually blew my mind .However , it would be an understatement to say that no such thing happened yesterday .

For the record , I have to shortly summarize the plot , and say that we're dealing here with a Marine 'substandard' (in the words of Nickolson) soldier that was allegedly murdered by his platoon fellow comrades , due to his wish to leave the platoon . To make it happen , he was willing to rat and disclose details of an incident those fellows of him had taken part in . The entire movie is dedicated to prove that this 'Code Red' act (an abuse that wasn't meant to kill but to physically and mentally harm a deviant soldier ) was what he went through , had been ordered from above and is a part of a norm that is conducted illegally in that base .

From the start flaw after flaw of the movie became crystal clear to me ; it's like someone has unveiled a curtain off my eyes in order to let me see the true nature of this film . Suddenly , I realized that the word 'Superficiality' is written all over it , and it was truly amazing to discover how my point of view had changed through the years . I can confidently determine that almost all the characters were cardboard ones and I'm going to review the main cast to prove my point :

Tom Cruise - portrayed the typical young , arrogant , cocky that thinks- he-owns- the-world woody character . Obviously he would go through something ( a change?) in the course of the movie , and be transformed into a little bit older more arrogant and swollen figure . It's almost unbelievable to witness his high school immature act , having known the crowds embraced him so warmly . Of all the actors , his performance was the most superficial and inexcusable .

Demi Moore - let's say she played along with Cruise , demonstrating weak acting abilities . She played the a feeble female officer , that every main character stepped on and humiliated at least once in the film . Today , this presentation of a woman would have never gone through the editor's cut , and suffice to say this was a shameful disgrace to femininity. This point alone stand out as a beacon for the problems this film is full of .

Jack Nickolson - well , he is the only actor that gave something close to a decent performance . I think that his entire part , in a more than a 2 hours movie , sums up in no more than 15 minutes , and that says it all . Frankly , I believe he agreed to participate because he'd needed the money - otherwise I can't explain his approval of such a shallow product . As the Colonel that was responsible to it all (no spoilers here - you realize this from the very start) , he plays the strict , ruthless and harsh Marine Corps Commander , who is used to get everything his way .

Sad to say , but even he had fallen to superficiality portraying this character in a very one dimensional manner - with no emotions , surprising expressions or transformations , set aside some required wrath in the end . Of course you cannot expect much in 15 minutes , but seeing it critically , I couldn't stop the thought that he was just passing time with a content-bored appearance , waiting for his paycheck . One shouldn't forget he'd had some unforgettable taglines we all remember ("You have to ask me nicely" and "You can't handle the truth", to name a few) , and that overall , his role was too short , not allowing him to fully develop the character . Nevertheless , he was by far the best actor , and shadowed the rest of the crew .

Kevin Bacon - was the typical smooth army prosecutor . He looked very young here , as most of the crew appeared to be , and in general , this fact added to the light-weight impact of the movie - for a grown up , it's hard to take seriously such young actors , especially when they make a joke of the whole thing (I'm referring to the foolish comic relieves that are interweaved throughout the entire movie) . As for his performance - a very dull and unconvincing one ; for him , everything is like a childish game , as it is for Cruise - and this attitude is repeated over and over .

Understand , I still think that the issue dealt with in this motion picture is important and interesting , only today some things in it seem so infantile that it amazes me . Disregard the cast for a while , I've noticed there wasn't almost a single scene that lasted more than 5 minutes , and there were very few that actually reached this large number !

In the aftermath , this movie showed me that nothing really changed over the years , and for quite sometime Hollywood major Blockbusters are aimed for the teenagers slot , of course , I was once part of . My final word is avoid this movie if your age is over 20 , unless you have two hours you don't know what to do with .

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Edgy Courtroom Drama's of All Time!
Review: To say A Few Good Men is superb is an understatement. This film has it all: a great story, great acting, great suspense, and great drama. The film should really be part of the 5-Star Collection. The film has a great cast Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, and Kevin Pollak.

This film is about two members of the Navy, who are being tried for the murder of their partner for being a witness to one of them shooting illegally into Cuba. This sparks for a great drama in which a smart mouthed, cocky lawyer (Cruise), his brash female love interest (Demi Moore), his "helper" so to speak (Kevin Pollak), a angry Col. (Nicholson), and the prosecutor (Kevin Bacon).

This film is great, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves good acting and an even better story.

DVD Special Features Include:

• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
• Production notes
• Audio Commentary by Director Rob Reiner
• Exclusive Documentary: Code of Conduct
• Featurette: From Stage to Screen with Aaron Sorkin and Rob Reiner
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic (2:35:1) formats

Rating:
Summary: A courtroom drama with no causal evidence, (...)
Review: This is one of the most overrated movies of all time. I can't see any appeal about a movie where the villain admits he did it, because there really is no evidence or build up. He just says, "I did it," and the movie ends. This cast may have fireworks, but the material is pure fizzle.

Rob Reiner and Aaron Sorkin seem to be making a jab against those who hold truth to be on their side. But this movie doesn't really argue against anything substantive and the performances and delivery is pure stereotype.

This is one of the last courtroom dramas, a genre which flourished in the 80s. I would put this film below Suspect, a Cher movie (...). LAME LAME LAME.

Rating:
Summary: A few GOOD MEN
Review: This is one of best military movies that i have ever watched i have been at the naval base in cuba it is just like the movie the fence line whe i was there case shut off the waterto the base it is authenitic no hollwood in this film it brings back memories of what marines just being marines security and protecting the very freedom that we have as a vietnam veteran it means alot i recomend that people watch this movie

Rating:
Summary: Military Courtroom Thriller
Review: First-rate plot and riveting performances by Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise make this a must-see for movie lovers. Cruise and Demi Moore star as Navy lawyers assigned to defend two Marines accused of murder, while Nicholson is the base Commander who is none too enthused about their investigation. Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, Keifer Southerland, and J.T. Walsh head up a great supporting cast.

Rating:
Summary: Behold The Power Of Cheese
Review: Aaron Sorkin & Rob Reiner...now THERE'S a team you can count on to give the Marines a fair shake, huh? Actually, as bashing the military (especially white male officers) is as standard-issue these days as the tough-as-nails-but-soft-and-feminine-too Strong Woman Lawyer and the Christ-like noble suffering African-American character, it's not the plot of this film that irritates me. I mean, a courtroom drama involving a right-wing martinet officer really does have entertainment potential - at the very least, you usually get bravura performances and lots of square-jawed nastiness. On this count A FEW GOOD MEN delivers: Kevin Pollack is terrific, Cruise and Moore try hard and don't trip over their own feet, and as for Nicholson....well, he's riveting. He's now at the point where the audience can visibly see the pleasure he takes in a performance. Just watching him enjoy himself adds to their own pleasure watching the movie. All that said, this is typical Sorkin/Reiner. They're not skilled enough to give us great leftist films like a De Sica or a Costa-Gravas and they know it, so they give us mediocre liberal TV instead, the kind that seems script-doctored by opinion poll. From the creamy, butter-on-the-lens cinematography, to the manipulative music, to the date-movie approach to conflict and resolution, this movie rings as authentic as a McDonald's commercial at Christmastime. Dramatically, every big moment is telegraphed and milked, in Dorothy Parker's phrase, until it moos with pain. The characters all come with prefab Quirks-Which-Define-What-They're-All-About, not to mention showy monologues that remind less of actual lawyers and investigators and more like rock musicians taking self-indulgent looka-me solos. As for political correctness, AFGM ladles it out wholesale. We're not trusted to be clever enough to figure out The Military Is Evil on our own, so no chance is missed to pile on reminders. (Snidely Whiplash never gloated as much as the bad guys in this movie.) If you're not rolling your eyes in disbelief that a movie that insults your intelligence this constantly could be praised for its SCRIPT, your eyebrow-ring may be affecting your vision. My favorite lame moment, though, has nothing to do with ideology; in fact, it's right out of ROCKY. After hounding Tom Cruise to risk his career cross-examining Nicholson for most of the movie, Demi Moore turns to him just before they enter the courtroom, wet-eyed with concern, to try to talk him out of doing what she'd badgered him all movie to do. It's the standard 'Adrian scene' Stallone used to shoehorn into every Rocky movie. As Demi pleads with Tom, I yelled at the screen, "ROCKY, YOU CAN'T WIN!" That's the level of subtlety on view here. Maybe Sorkin and Reiner should team up with Sly on that Edgar Allan Poe biography he's always threatening to make. Now THAT I'd pay to see!