A Time to Kill

Rating:
Summary: Intense and Powerful
Review: With an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Kevin Spacey, Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Samuel Jackson, Ashley Judd, Kiefer and Donald Sutherland, Charles S. Dutton and Oliver Platt to name a few, you can safely bet that you won't be disappointed.

I never get tired of watching this movie, which stars McConaughey as Jake Brigance, a relatively small-time lawyer until he is tapped to defend Carl Lee Hailey (Jackson) for the murder of two men who raped his young daughter, in the single-biggest and most controversial trial Clanton, MS has ever seen. McConaughey's performance is beyond inspiring as he turns his own life and the lives of those around him completely upside down by agreeing to represent a black murderer in a white-dominated Southern community. Playing his wife is Ashley Judd who is gut-wrenching in her own right. Sandra Bullock shines in every single role. Her work here as legal assistant Ellen Roark is top-notch, even for Bullock. Even Spacey, who I normally despise, is sterling as D.A. Buckley, the condescending adversary of Brigance. My most recent viewing of the film even compelled me to finally pick up the book, which so far, has been just as intense an experience as seeing the film. You can't miss this.

Rating:
Summary: Closing Arguments
Review: A Time To Kill, is one of only two of John Grisham's legal thrillers that I have read, cover to cover. The other is The Chamber. I have to say, that while the book of ATTK is a bit better, then the film version, there's no denying the movie has a lot going for it...making for a very good film.

In a small southern town, black man Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) awaits trial for murdering the two rednecks who viciously raped his 10-year-old daughter. Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) is a young, idealistic white lawyer, who decides to take on the father's defense. The incendiary case becomes a firestorm of racism and controversy, ripping the town apart. This, as Jake goes up against the community's most successful D.A. (Kevin Spacey), while reluctanly accepting help with the case from a law student (Sandra Bullock).

It's amazing how good this film is, especially when one considers what director Joel Schumacher and its adapter
Akiva Goldsman, would team up to do on Batman And Robin. At it's center, McConaughey gives his best perfomance to date. He captures the the escence of his novel counterpart to a tee. Jackson is also quite convincing as a man on trial. The rest of the all star cast is very good here--although Bullock shares nice moments with McConaughey--she seems out of step and is suprisingly the film's weakest link. Some have said the movie is over crowded with too many subplots, while that is true to a certain extent I guess, Goldsman's script and Schumacher somehow balance it all. The film takes a few liberties, but, basically stays true to the source material.

Like most John Grisham books turned movies, the DVD lacks anything substantial, in the way of bonus material. Production notes and the film's theatrical trailer is all you get...Special Edition anyone?

A Time To Kill offers fine performances and rock solid drama. The film is a winner and one of the best Grisham adaptations out there

Rating:
Summary: Grisham At His Best
Review: A Time to Kill is my favorite Grisham book, and the movie follows suit. The book, which was the first one published but did not become popular until The Firm becase a success, seems to be the most "grounded" with a "real" feel to it unlike some of the other ones which tend to stretch credibility a bit more (but are fun to read anyway.)

Rating:
Summary: Superb Movie, Perfect Casting
Review: Modern-day Mississippi, where segregation has ended, the Klan is dead, and blacks and whites are looked upon as equals . . . or are they? Under the brilliant direction of Joel Schumacher and based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham, A TIME TO KILL digs hard and deep into some of the most sensitive and controversial issues of our time.

After his 10-year-old daughter is raped and beaten by two local rednecks, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) guns down the guilty men on their way to court. Matthew McConaughey comes to the rescue as the white, Southern attorney who defends him. With the help of a young, ambitious, brilliant law student (played by Sandra Bullock, who surprisingly received top billing for her small, but memorable role), a close friend and colleague (the always comical and entertaining Oliver Platt), and his disbarred mentor and teacher (the classic Donald Sutherland), McConaughey stirs up a lot of hatred and puts everything on the line to defend a black man. The film addresses racism, the Klan, vigilante justice and all the issues we commonly associate with "the south."

Another perfect role for McConaughey. He charms and captivates the audience as well as the jury. He's not too tough to look at for 3+ hours, too! Samuel L. Jackson . . . what can I say . . . one of the greatest actors in our time, he seems to effortlessly convert himself to any role he takes on. Sandra Bullock shines on screen, as always, with her lovable and down-to-earth personality. I don't see Oliver Platt enough, but when I do, I'm always pleased with his "fun" performance.

In this 1996 film, other supporting actors are also perfectly cast. In an earlier role, Ashley Judd plays McConaughey's wife. Keifer Sutherland plays a local redneck, brother to one of the rapists and Kevin Spacey is the local DA who prosecutes Carl Lee. You may also recognize two stars of TV's BOSTON PUBLIC, Nicky Katt and Anthony Heald. Excellent southern accents by all (Platt, Spacey, both Sutherlands). However, McConaughey's own Texan accent needed no alteration here.

Not having read the book, I'm not making a movie/book comparison here. Just a truly great movie with superb actors by the fist-full. A must-see film that easily earns 5-stars.

Rating:
Summary: Big-time drama
Review: John Grisham novels are difficult to rate as movies. On one hand Grisham's work translates to well to pop culture that his books are almost cinematic. On the other, the "book-is-never-as-good-as-the-movie"-ism applies. Some of Grisham's books have been quite good- "The Firm" was a terrifically exciting movie (Tom Cruise was letter-perfect for the role of Mitch McDeere), and "The Rainmaker" (which gave Matt Damon his start) certainly surprised me with a touching story of an underdog who upsets the system. Some have been mediocre to bad- "The Pelican Brief" and "The Chamber" fit the latter category, "The Client" the former. "A Time to Kill", in my opinion, is the best of them all because the author gives his audience a tough choice to make about what justice is. Pack in some sterling acting performances and this is one pretty darn good movie.

The plot? After his young daughter is viciously raped and assaulted by rednecks (no, John Rocker doesn't have a cameo), Samuel L. Jackson guns down the two assailents on their way to court. He is subsequently put on trial by the local DA, and defended by an idealistic white attorney. Jackson's trial becomes a swirling tempest for local hatreds to be aired.

Director Joel Schumacher certainly surprised me with good work, despite being the man who made "Batman & Robin". It helps to assemble some serious acting talent- Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey (the DA) are both recognized actors (Spacey having won an Oscar for "The Usual Suspects", and Jackson is *long* overdue for getting one himself), so the big surprise was Matthew McConaughey's sterling performance as the idealistic, passionate attorney who defends Jackson. McConaughey is a terrific actor- laid back, easy-going but with just enough passion and intensity. This movie put him on the map and it is easy to see why he is a talent in demand. Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd have roles here but don't make much of an impression. Donald Sutherland and Keifer both have parts too- the former as Matthew McConaughey's mentor (a role he's quite good in, incidentally) and the latter as a local redneck.

Finally, a word about the plot: the best movies give us a sticky problem that can't be resolved easily. The tricky choice in "Crimson Tide" is a beautiful example of a decision that could go either way and gives the audience something to debate about afterwards. Here we're given a tricky choice- vengeance or justice? Do we acquit Samuel L. Jackson because in our hearts he did what we all would do in his place? Or do we punish him for taking the law into his own hands? It's a rough choice to make, and the movie refuses to give us an easy answer.

Well done.

Rating:
Summary: Effectively thought-provoking and charged with suspense!
Review: Employing an all-star cast and a well-nuanced story, John Grisham's "A Time To Kill" throws so much at the audience that I found myself wanting more and more from it. Besides being a carefully plotted law drama, it contains powerful situations relating to racism, situations that incite us to consider our own opinions on the subject matter it deals with.

The story takes place in Canton, Mississippi, as two area men are arrested for the rape and attempted murder of a ten-year-old black girl. While not shown in explicit detail, the scene of the actual crime is brutal and haunting, as the victim cries out for her father amidst the degradation brought upon her by these two loathsome animals. This scene sets up the audience's understanding for the following action committed by her father, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson), who breaks into the court house the night before the hearing and guns them down in cold blood.

Or was it cold blood? The movie will spend its entire playing this out. As the discussion of Carl Hailey's guilt or innocence is on the lips of every citizen in Canton, attorney Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) begins his struggle to prove that Carl's actions were justifiable due to his rage. Pitfall after pitfall awaits him at every corner: his wife becomes fearful and takes their daughter to her grandparents' home, the now-outraged Ku Klux Klan leaves burning crosses on his front lawn, and everyone keeps urging him to drop the case.

This is where the movie's strong characterization really takes flight. Jake shows great strength of character, and a willpower that gives the movie its own sense of stability, while Carl is not shown as a small-minded black man whose crimes become too much to bear for him, but as someone who cares more for his family's welfare than for his own. This is proven in a scene in which the NAACP wishes to supply Carl with a more experienced lawyer using church-raised funds, to which Carl replies, "Why have you not given my family this money?"

These characters come to life under well-acted performances. McConaughey's embodiment of determination and his character's striving to succeed is convincing and moving. Jackson carries with him a dignity and knowledge that gives us a better understanding of his family life, and by extension his reasons for his actions. Sandra Bullock makes an appearance during much of the second half as a law student out to aide Jake in his search for viable clues, while Kevin Spacey delivers a perfectly snide performance as the district attorney who may or may not be racist.

The racial issues at hand are handled effectively enough to instill a sense of unease during much of the trial. As the Ku Klux Klan continues to vandalize the lives of anti-racist citizens, the defense struggles with the task of convincing the jury to look at Carl's crime, not his skin color. The tension mounts strongly and without resistance, as we await a final resolution that is kept mum do to the intelligent plot twists that come before it.

"A Time To Kill" is a bold look at the effects of racism on the rights of a man who did the only thing he knew in his mind. It unrelentingly throws the question of his guilt in our face: Did he have a right, even in the face of his daughter's abuse, to take the lives of her aggressors? If you find yourself questioning your own opinions, then the movie has achieved its purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Big-time drama
Review: John Grisham novels are difficult to rate as movies. On one hand Grisham's work translates to well to pop culture that his books are almost cinematic. On the other, the "book-is-never-as-good-as-the-movie"-ism applies. Some of Grisham's books have been quite good- "The Firm" was a terrifically exciting movie (Tom Cruise was letter-perfect for the role of Mitch McDeere), and "The Rainmaker" (which gave Matt Damon his start) certainly surprised me with a touching story of an underdog who upsets the system. Some have been mediocre to bad- "The Pelican Brief" and "The Chamber" fit the latter category, "The Client" the former. "A Time to Kill", in my opinion, is the best of them all because the author gives his audience a tough choice to make about what justice is. Pack in some sterling acting performances and this is one pretty darn good movie.

The plot? After his young daughter is viciously raped and assaulted by rednecks (no, John Rocker doesn't have a cameo), Samuel L. Jackson guns down the two assailents on their way to court. He is subsequently put on trial by the local DA, and defended by an idealistic white attorney. Jackson's trial becomes a swirling tempest for local hatreds to be aired.

Director Joel Schumacher certainly surprised me with good work, despite being the man who made "Batman & Robin". It helps to assemble some serious acting talent- Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey (the DA) are both recognized actors (Spacey having won an Oscar for "The Usual Suspects", and Jackson is *long* overdue for getting one himself), so the big surprise was Matthew McConaughey's sterling performance as the idealistic, passionate attorney who defends Jackson. McConaughey is a terrific actor- laid back, easy-going but with just enough passion and intensity. This movie put him on the map and it is easy to see why he is a talent in demand. Sandra Bullock and Ashley Judd have roles here but don't make much of an impression. Donald Sutherland and Keifer both have parts too- the former as Matthew McConaughey's mentor (a role he's quite good in, incidentally) and the latter as a local redneck.

Finally, a word about the plot: the best movies give us a sticky problem that can't be resolved easily. The tricky choice in "Crimson Tide" is a beautiful example of a decision that could go either way and gives the audience something to debate about afterwards. Here we're given a tricky choice- vengeance or justice? Do we acquit Samuel L. Jackson because in our hearts he did what we all would do in his place? Or do we punish him for taking the law into his own hands? It's a rough choice to make, and the movie refuses to give us an easy answer.

Well done.

Rating:
Summary: Grisham At His Best
Review: A Time to Kill is my favorite Grisham book, and the movie follows suit. The book, which was the first one published but did not become popular until The Firm becase a success, seems to be the most "grounded" with a "real" feel to it unlike some of the other ones which tend to stretch credibility a bit more (but are fun to read anyway.)

Rating:
Summary: Intense Grisham Drama
Review: Set in the deep south, where prejudice dies hard and bigotry still runs rampant, this intense crime drama finds the bright (although penniless) young lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) fighting to keep a black man from the gas chamber, and struggling to protect the lives of his friends and family. When Carl Lee Haley's (Samuel L. Jackson) nine-year-old daughter is brutally raped and beaten by some local good-old-boys, he fears the court will not serve justice and takes matters in his own hands, gunning down and killing the two boys on the courthouse steps. Carl Lee calls for Jake to take up his defense, although he has never handled a murder case.
The tension rises and intensity level of the plot increases as the local KKK is united, big wigs come in from the NAACP, Klu Klux Klan, and high dollar prosecutors. When the KKK sets a burning cross in their yard, Jake's wife and daughter flee town, only to have their beautifully restored Victorian home burned to the ground days later by the protestors. In the courtroom, Jake finds himself pitted against his worse legal-world enemy (Kevin Spacey) and the courtroom antics are nothing short of breathtaking. Donald Sutherland, Sandra Bullock and Oliver Platt make up Jake's patchwork defense team and provide fantastic character studies.
This film earns the top rating for the reasons: 1)by staying true to Grisham's first legal novel of the same name; and 2) because of the deep understanding these characters give us to the world of the prejudice south, the love of a father, and the desperate yearning for justice. Ultimately, Jake must put himself in the place of each of the jurors to fight for Carl Lee's freedom. He must learn that he is not black, will never be black, but the issues are not always colored.

Rating:
Summary: Frustrated.
Review: Okay, here's the deal: I love this movie. "A Time to Kill" is one of those flicks that I can watch over and over, so when I found it marked down on DVD at a local store, I bought it. I've long since spent more than the purchase price on renting it in VHS.

Matthew McConaughey is incredibly hot, and almost a decent actor. Samuel L. Jackson is fabulous, as usual (ohmigod). Sandra Bullock, I love Sandra Bullock (got a girl-crush on her a mile wide), and I love, love, love Oliver Platt in this movie. There's a moment when Sandra Bullock's character is frustrated at not being able to find the information she needs, and she says to Platt's character (a cheerfully shameless divorce lawyer named Harry Rex), "I've asked myself, 'What would Lucien do?' and 'What would Jake do?' and "What would my *father* do?' but I just can't figure it out."

And Platt's character says, "Well, there's your problem right there. You need to ask yourself, 'What would Harry Rex do?'"

"Okay, what would Harry Rex do?"

"Cheat. Cheat like crazy."

God, I love him.

And it's great having the movie on DVD. It makes it easy to fast-forward through the horrific scenes of the little girl being attacked at the beginnng of the film. There's no reason for anybody to have to sit through that more than once. ::shudder::

But there's a problem with this DVD. A big problem, that I think people should know about before they buy it. I wish I had known. I probably would have bought it anyway, but I'm still frustrated.

The movie is continued on the back of the disk. It's a two-sided DVD, and the first half of the movie is on the first side, and the second half is on the reverse.

Yes, you have to get up halfway through the movie, go over to the DVD player, and turn the disk over, just like this was 1975 and you were still playing records on vinyl LPs.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what in the everloving HELL they were thinking about, doing this. The movie isn't that long. There's not that much in the way of extra features on the disk. I feel like sending them an email, letting them know what I think about it, but there have probably been plenty of people who have already done that. I'll spend the time warning other potential buyers, instead.

Caveat emptor.