Rating: 
Summary: good for rainy days.....
Review: This is a good movie for mundane rainy days, times when you want to let your brain idle, and if you like lawyers. well, i guess amazon won't be selling any more copies of this one. Seriously, for someone like myself who doesn't like movies, this one really held my attention. I have recommended it to several people and finally decided to buy my own copy.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, not bad
Review: It was pretty good, and actually very good in the aspect that they did go broke, and it was very good from the legal perspective. I enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, but inaccurate
Review: This is a fine movie, just inaccurate. When I saw the movie I knew precious little about the events surrounding the Woburn case. Since the movie I've grown quite familiar with the case- for a class at the law school I attend I was required to read the book and read a companion to the book containing copies of the actual documents the two sides entered into evidence. The movie, I came to realize, was a fine piece of cinema but grossly inaccurate as to what actually happened in the book.Travolta is fine as Jan Schlictman, the lawyer pursuing the case against the W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods Corporations for dumping TCE into the river around the city of Woburn. Critics of the book who disliked the slight slant author Jonathan Harr gave to Schlictman and the plaintiffs will really dislike the larger slant the film gives in their favor. The real Jan Schlictman is hardly the callous jerk the movie makes him out to be in the beginning. Likewise the movie also makes caricatures out of Schlictman's foes- Grace lawyer William Cheeseman (who is unfairly portrayed as a doofus) and Beatrice lawyer Jerome Facher (who comes across as a scheming, Machiavellian presence). Critics also quarrel with the film's portrayal of Judge Walter J. Skinner, who is made out to be a tyrannical presence in the courtroom. In terms of acting I rather liked Robert Duvall's turn as Facher. He gives a lot of depth to Facher, where a lesser actor would have made Facher a cartoonish villain. It is important to understand that Facher, Schlictman, and Cheeseman were not evil people- they were just advocates for their clients doing their best. The movie also leaves out a lot of important details and misportrays a lot of events. (The portrayal of the Rule 11 hearing, for example, is utterly wrong.) Those not familiar with the book will find Harr's analysis of the pretrial maneuvering to be facinating, but totally gone from the movie. Don't misunderstand me- the movie is very good, on the balance. It gets some things right about the law (one of my biggest pet peeves is hearing people take legal facts they hear from movies and believe they are actually real), and the performances are (mostly) quite good. The book is just better.
Rating: 
Summary: My vote for best picture of 1998
Review: Outstanding legal drama, brilliantly acted. When I left the theater and again when I viewed this on DVD it had me thinking for hours about all of the powerful messages contained in this story. This true story beautifully portrays the impact our personal decisions make on our own lives and the lives of others. Compelling and powerful. The transfer to DVD was fine.
Rating: 
Summary: Spare Me...
Review: I can't believe people gave this movie a good review. I saw it, sure its a good movie but not a five star movie! John Travolta and Robert Duvall are at the turning point in their careers. The only person I thought who did an "exceptional" job was William H. Macy (Mystery Men, Psycho: a remake, Boogie Nights). I'll admit John Travolta did a good job same with Robert Duvall but the movie is too low grade for them. The plot is about a town where people are dying of a possible contamination in the water. Thats where clever lawyer John Travolta comes in. At first it seems like the case is too good to be true so e immediatly signs on... Well it turns out it isn't that easy and the company Jonny-o is filing against isn't backing down... On a rating of A+ to a f I'd give it a C+. The movies characters are written exceptionally and well acted. But the plot ceases to entertain you.
Rating:
Summary: A Civil Action
Review: I am a sucker for a good story and I have watched this movie over and over and gotten more and more out of it each time. It goes to prove-you stand up for what you believe in, a cause, and you can go down fighting for it! My kind of story exactly! Rates 5 stars!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: I read the Book "A Civil Action" by Jonathan Harr And I have to say it was superb! It's definitely not your regular Story.
Rating:
Summary: If your a reader, buy the book!
Review: As a lawyer and someone who read the book before seeing the movie, I highly recommend that you buy the book rather than this movie. While the movie does somewhat accurately depict what happened, it really minimizes the serious and close relationships that Jan Schl..(travolta's character)developed with his clients, and also barely gets into how much time Jan spent researching and developing this case.
Rating:
Summary: not a particularly good movie
Review: According to the reviews on Amazon I stood a good chance of buying a great movie from my favorite on-line movie store. But alas, this time I was disappointed by the yarn that was spun by Steve Zaillan et al. The movie was simply too long for what it had to tell. Don't get me wrong: I like a good long movie when there is a good build-up of suspense or maybe an in-depth character study that really gets you into the movie. "A civil action" had neither I'm afraid. Although I really like Robert Duvall a lot, I have to say that the character he plays in this movie is just too strange to be more than fleetingly interesting. The story winds down from a good start to a very disappointing anti-climax. The people who are at the heart of this story (the parents of the children that have died of various polution-related diseases) are markedly absent and this alone renders the movie inadequate and frankly, a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: acting team was wonderful
Review: As usual John Travolta and Robert Duvall were tremendous. Since I knew nothing about the plot or premise of the movie, I assumed that the rich personal injury lawyer (John Travolta) would come out on top with his Porsche and Itallian made suits entact. While this production was not advertised as a thriller, or overly suspenseful, I found it to be just that, attributable to the acting of the entire cast.
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