Rating: 
Summary: Enthralling Mystery
Review: Last night I started watching this DVD and my wife soon put down her Harry Potter book because this movie drew her into the suspense. It pulls peoples attention into it because of the fine acting by Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore and a great storyline. The rest of the supporting cast are good as well.
The story is a fresh one, a juror is first courted then tormented by a hit man for the mob. Alec Baldwin is quite adept at being scary when he wants to be and charming as well. Demi is by no means a helpless beauty. She shows herself to be artistic, intelligent, and resourceful as well.
When first threatened she succumbs to the demands of "The Teacher", but when he murders her closest friend, she sets a course for revenge. If the mob can't help her she will enlist the assistance of her friends in South America. One gets a pretty good idea of how a womans inner strength can prevail over the worst evil.
The DVD includes extras and has excellent picture and sound quality. Anyone that enjoys suspense movies like "Witness", "The Client", and "Narrow Margin", or TV series like "The Sopranos" should like this movie. If you like this you might also enjoy Alec Baldwin in "The Shadow".
Rating: 
Summary: Faugh! The distaste is still in my mouth...
Review: Others have summarized the plot; now I shall summarize the motifs... After a thoroughly schlocky opening sequence - murders portrayed with the usual tastelessness of so-called thriller cinema - we have the usual set up of "the ordinary 90s family" (which hardly has enough detail to cover the fact that it's thoroughly formulaic). Once we have the picture in place of a well-intentioned mother and her cheerful and 90s-hip son, the film quickly decides that the audience is sufficiently prepared to be hounded, oppressed, and tortured along with the protagonists. Really! How much fun does this sound? The audience is forced to endure impossibly powerful and menacing Supervillain Alec Baldwin for the next hour and a half of misery. I suppose there are lots of viewers who will enjoy commiserating with poor Demi Moore and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but isn't it very clear that they both deserve much better fates (and roles) than this schlock? This is a real waste of Hollywood resources. And just how credible is the whole suit-wearing Mafia theme these days, anyway? Hollywood just keeps building on its own myths and doesn't care one whit about credibility or reality. In the process, I wonder just how many people are induced into paranoid fears as a result of this kind of drivel being dished out, film after film after film. It seems that the target audience is anyone who, like Demi Moore at the start of the film, just wants some excitement in their dull lives. But I suspect that this sort of film also presents women, teens, possibly others who feel insecure & frightened, with an extremely skewed image of life which magnifies their anxieties about a patriarchal world. Why couldn't it be done with some realism, a bit of taste, and more dignity? Instead, just as in slasher films, the supervillain is nearly omnipotent, and the only pathetic solution in such melodrama is (big surprise!!) that the heroine has to kill him off herself, since as everyone in Hollywood keeps telling us, there is no law in America except for the vigilante violence of those who have been pushed too far. Some may see such violence as a helpful step for women's vicarious empowerment; but such gestures seem to me pretty feeble when relegated to this kind of ridiculous scenario. There's no longer anything progressive in showing a woman turn violent in a ridiculously staged and antificial thriller scenario. It's time Hollywood and its patrons grew up a bit and stopped this sort of distracting drivel in favor of things that tell it as it really is. Whatever kernel of truth lies in this scenario should be presented realistically rather than manipulatively exaggerated; since to do so with such themes is to render them ludicrous, in which case this sort of film acts as a red herring for whatever cause people may try to attribute to it. Clearly, these filmmakers were not bold enough to do anything except make a lurid and artificial thriller - one which purportedly sympathizes with the oppressed but, given the amount of screentime devoted to it, may actually at the same time be capitalizing on the macho-villain's grandstanding antics by appealing to sadistic and power-hungry fantasies in some male viewers!!!
Rating: 
Summary: One & only reason to see this movie--Alec Baldwin
Review: Plot is kind of ridiculous, but acting is good--especially Alec Baldwin's performance.
Rating: 
Summary: Demi Moore is the ultimate woman in this film.
Review: Take a ride with the mob as they go down the wrong road in THE JUROR. Alec Baldwin becomes fascinated with Demi Moore, a juror he is trying to suborn for the mobster he "consults" for. His admiration for her leads him, and all of his co-conspirators to make a terrible series of mistakes. He is at his unhinged best in another of his pretty-boy psycho roles, angry perhaps that Tony LoBianco as the mob boss on trial, and James Gandolfini,another hood that calls himself Captain Crunch, look better, and are sexier than he is. Because Alec is the perfect stalker, almost pathetically so. He has such issues with women and people in general that he is utterly alone. Until he meets Demi Moore, a beautiful artist and single mother -then, too stupid to use a straight con on her, which would probably have worked, he immediately threatens her son, adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt. His many meetings with her repeat this torture, including one which makes her scream and vomit in fear, and thrill him just because he has an excuse to see her again. (None of his other women, we feel, survived their first date with him.) Alec falls more and more in love with her, to the disgust of his mafia bosses, because they know what a wierdo he really is.In the end, they all get just what they were asking for.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT "THAT" BAD, "Eye for an Eye" WAS WORSE!
Review: THE JUROR is the story of a woman who almost too eagerly volunteers to be on the jury in the murder trial of a Mafia godfather. Many people would happily rather not serve on such a jury, but not Annie Laird. The judge asks her if she's read about the case. She says no - but she's heard about it from her son (!) from whom she's heard about the defendant. Her son said he's "the big Spaghetti-O" in the mob (the courtroom giggles). She says THAT in an open courtroom, with the accused murderer and his henchmen sitting right there. Wouldn't a mother's instincts at least prompt her not to mention her child? Geez! Is she a complete dummy?Now, she's asked for it. In fact, she gets it throughout a movie that maybe could have been whittled down into a nice little thriller, but winds up long-winded and rambling. Demi Moore maintains an uncanny self-possession, especially if you compare her work with the "scorched-earth" performance of Sally Field in the oddly similar "Eye for an Eye," which had come out just three weeks before THE JUROR. Both movies have the same buried plot: Mom fears her child will be killed by a violent nut, so she takes the law into her own hands. But "Eye for an Eye" is offensive in its manipulative arguments for vigilante justice. "The Juror" wasn't as bad because the heroine doesn't deliberately choose her course: Itis forced upon her. Maybe it's splitting hairs, but JUROR burfies its moral philosophy in the genre of a thriller. "Eye for an Eye" plays like an ad for handguns! James Gandolfini, as Eddie, "The Teacher's" sidekick, gave a terrific (pre-Sopranos) performance. His is a very tricky role, as a Mafia soldier who is about as sympathetic as a man can be who would, after all, kill you. His line readings during a couple of complicated scenes are right on the money (notice the careful way he learns from "The "Teacher" about the death of Annie's friend). If THE JUROR had been presented at the level of sophistication and complexity that Eddie's character suggests then it would have been a lot better movie. Of course, it would have been a different movie, too. I could have lived with that ... and so could have the rest of the disgruntled Amazon.com Reviewers!
Rating:
Summary: WATCHABLE SUSPENSE, WITH A LOOONG TAIL-END
Review: This high-profile star vehicle has decent suspense, unlike what reviews here will have believe, but little to recommend besides the lead performances -- Demi Moore is great (perhaps one of her best roles) and Alec Baldwin is very creepy as a three-dimensional villain. After the usual Grishamesque legal session though, the movie gets somewhat needlessly protracted with Baldwin's character brutally murdering Moore's doctor friend, which begins a spree of semi-credible acts (including a supposed mafia boss being killed along with his three bodyguards, in broad daylight, in a public park. Yeah!) Until the mildly doozy finale in Guatemala, of all places. Overall, definitely a one-time watchable film, but you may want to think twice before buying and owning it.
Rating:
Summary: Silly and Predictable
Review: This is one of the worst movies I've seen in awhile. All it is about is Alec Baldwin being on trial, Demi Moore is one of the jurors, and Alec just keeps intimidating her to first get a hung jury, then to convince the rest of the jury that he's innocent (which he isn't, of course). There are absolutely NO twists and turns in this one. You can watch the first 45 minutes of it and pretty much guess how it's going to turn out. To it's credit, the acting is pretty good in this movie. It's almost funny how well Alec Balwdin plays a really mean person. But the actors could not save the movie from its ridiculous story. You'll want to skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Lacks credibility, totally unreal
Review: This movie about a mafia trial and an attempt to intimidate a juror (Demi Moore) into delivering a not guilty verdict totally lacks credibility and is unreal. In a trial of this nature in real life, surely the jury would be sequestrated (remember the O J Simpson trial?) therefore the situation experienced by Demi Moore would never arise. This sums up my case.
Rating:
Summary: Justice is a fairy tale, in this movie its kill or be killed
Review: This movie is well directed, has a great script, but what really makes it a exceptional movie is the acting. Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin both turn in the best performances of their respective careers. Moore is very beliviable as a single mom who is a strugling artist with a good heart. Baldwin gives an amazing performance as a sociopath who "works" for a mafia family. In reality Baldwin's influence is so powerful that it almost seems like the mafia family really works for him. At the very least Baldwin only takes orders from the Boss himself, he does not listen to anyone else. Everyone fears him, and rightly so, his nickname is "the teacher" because "when you see him school's out". Baldwin gives this nickname depth and meaning, he really is a teacher in a sick, sadistic way, he teaches Annie, (Demi Moore's character) the way the world really works and how vunerable she is. He teachers her that safety is an illusion of modern society. Baldwin's character's real name in this film is Vincent, but Annie never knows that, to her he is only the Teacher. The Teacher is much worse than the other mafiosa, he is cultured, very good looking, well mannered, charming, he seems like some kind of hot shot buisness man or some sort of elite member of high society. The way he speaks makes him sound like a ivy leauge educated rich guy. The last thing he seems like is a hit man for the mob and that is precisly why he is so dangerous. He is like a chamleion, he can disguise his true nature so expertly it is spooky. This is because he almost convinces himself he is someone else, to a certain extent he tricks himself into forgetting who he really is temporarily and emerses himself in the character. He is not really just a hitman for the mob, he is that but he is other things as well, he is the No.1 assassin but he is also the Counslieria (remember Robert Duvuall as Tom Hagan in the Godfather) he advises the Don on policy. The Teacher is slowly but surely taking over control of the Mafia family, he is setting up deals with Italian Mafia from Calabra, he is negotiating with Columbians, Jamacians, etc. He is turning this mafia family from a localized crime operation into an international crimal enterprise. He has vision, direction, and is pretty much a evil genuis. He has a keen understanding of human psychology and although he feels fear he uses it to make him stronger "I embrace fear Annie, it is terror that teaches us our shape." This might sound like abstarct silly philosphy but he applies it to the criminal world with lucrative results. Even within the mafia family he consults for/kills for/directs he is feared. He has no friends, he is useful to the mafia as a weapon which everyone fears but having him around is a double edged sword. The Don's son,(played by the guy who played Jackie, the first boss who died of cancer before Tony took over on the Sopranos) hates the Teacher and realizes that he is no good, bad things have a way of happening around him, people are always dying, even more so than usual. The Teacher is nothing but BAD NEWS and the Don's son realizes this instinctvly. He is manipulating the mob family for his own interests, invovling this local crime family with orgazinations that are international in nature and much more powerful than they are. He is getting the mafia in over its head, I know how weird this might sound but it is accurate. The Italian mafia from Italy and the Colombians are much worse than the American Iatalin mob, the people who run them are more like the Teacher than like the other mobsters in the family "works for". They are nothing but cold blooded killers with no morals. The Teacher is sort of like a tiger among wolves, the most dangerous predator in the jungle. The viewer never really understands what makes the Teacher tick, he seems to be building this criminal empire out of bordom. He is not really that interested in material things, he lives in a garage, dresses in jeans and t-shirts, etc. The Teacher defies catoragazation, he be anything he chooses, he can be a gangster, an art curator, a philsopher, anything. He carries a silenced pistol with him wherever he goes, he makes the other mob guys look like clowns, amatures. He has no equals, he has yet to met his match, until he meets Annie. In a strange way Moore's character understands the Teacher better than anyone else and is more able to predict his actions. She has femine insights and guile that the other mobsters lack, she realizes she can manipulate the Teacher eventually, although it is an exteemly dangerous game to play. Annie is very smart, in her own way just as smart as the Teacher and she has the distinct advantage of not being insane which is the only weakness the Teacher has, altough it is also in a way his greatest strength because it allowes him to think outside the box. Supporting cast in this movie include good performances by Ann Hesh as Annie's well intentioned but naive and nosy friend. James Gadofini of Soprano's fame plays a mob underling who was intially responsible for recruiting Vincent A.K.A. the Teacher into the mob. The Teacher is from a poor backround and grew up in the same neighborhood that all the other mobseters grew up in, although you would not know it by the way he acts, talks, etc. The facade of the Teacher is all an illusion, even when he acts as a gangster it is still an illusion, he is sort of like a serial killer but at the same time not really, he does not fit into any sort of catogary. The only time he is really himself is when he is killing someone or intimidating them, the mafia and all his criminal manuverings are merely a hobby to him, a vehicle by which to impose his will and kill people. The Teacher is one of the greatest villians ever to be put on film, almost like a Satanic pshycotherapist, if you can imagine that. Baldwin and Moore have terrific chemistry on screen together, the relationship between their characters is what really makes the film, this movie is a psycological thriller that requires that the viewer have intellect, perhaps this is why it did not make money and many people do not like it, it went over their heads. Also this movie is very realistic in its portrayl of violence and everything else, not once did I say to myself, that would never happen, etc. Some reviwers think that this movie is unrealistic because the mob could not get to a jury like it did, please, wake up and smell the coffee. The mob has gotten to plenty of juries and continues to do so. Informers in the legal, justice, and law enforcement systems enable the mafia to know what the cops are planning ahead of time. This movie is distrubing in that the forces of law are either corrupt of inept, but that is the truth and anyone who thinks diffent is a fool. The kid who plays Annie's son in this movie does a very good job as well. The plot of this movie is basically that while The Teacher is elimanting all restance to his rule, he kills another mobster and also kills his 12 year old kid. The mob don is brought to trial on charges that he ordered that killing as well as other RICO charges. As soon as Annie decides to serve on the jury The Teacher selects her as the one to turn into their tool to get the don off. He comes up with a brillant plan no normal mobster ever would have thought of, instead of just trying to get Annie to vote Not Guilty he uses her to get an acquital, he makes her convicne all the other jurors to also vote not guilty. He selected her because he saw how intelligent she was and because he could sense her inner strength, he is a good judge of character. He decides to transform her into his tool, he teachers her to be agressive, dominant, manipulative, etc. He teachers her to become almost a feminine version of himself, but in the end he teaches her to well, because she turns the lessons the Teacher taught her on the Teacher himself. That is what makes this movie interesting, the transformation of Annie's character by the Teacher to the point where she becomes confident enought to take on the teacher himself and teach the the teacher a lesson he will never forget. Their is a horrible, filthy death scene in this movie where someone is forced fed pills that will kill them, this scene is really, really, really sick. The way the Teacher approaches the whole situation is insane yet ingenious, he acts like Annie's coach or something, breaking her down and then building her up. When he threatens he does so in very sublte ways that are much more intimaditing than outright threats, he always phrases his indimaditing statements as if invisible forces are going to hurt Annie and her son and he the Teacher is the only one who can protect her and her son from these forces. For instance, "this is a very dangerous time for Oliver right now (Annie's son) we could lose him just like that!" and he slaps his hands together. Every scene between the Teacher and Annie is framed as a lesson, and in a sick way it is a lesson, a lesson in how evil works, a lesson in fear. Another great scene is one where he says "I'm here to teach you what you love Annie, the suits want you to love the law, but can the law protect Oliver from Drunk Drivers?" He says while driving a car right toward Oliver. That scene is the best scene in the movie by far, it is very intense. "Who will protect you?" The Teacher screams, "The Teacher will protect me." Annie screams back over and over. Whoa!!! That scene is nuts! Maybe the reason this movie was not popular with most people is because their is no clear cut moral message, if this movie has a message it is do not volunteer for Jury Duty, or maybe the message is dont depend on the FBI or the courts for protection. The only justice in this movie is street justice, vengeance and retribution. The Teacher is like a beautiful, charming, but venemous and deadly viper. Annie has a keen understanding of physchology as well and uses it to her advantage. Differences between The Teacher and the Don lead to explosive consquences. This movie is dark and disturbing, suspensful and shocking. One of the most underated movies of all time
Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: Without Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin, this script never would have made it to film. It is a run-of-the-mill story about a single mother (Demi Moore) who is being pressured by an organized crime figure (Alec Baldwin) to vote "not guilty" on a high profile trial. The mob's leverage is her love for her son. Yawn. But Moore and Baldwin turn in fine performances: Moore as the defiant, intelligent, and terrified Annie, and Baldwin as her sociopath handler. Baldwin is so convincingly creepy and so demented in his take on everything that the audience fears intensely for Annie's survival. This film contains some honestly terrifying sequences. Unfortunately, the ending is weak, and you're left with few memorable scenes. While this film was definitely a good escape for a couple of hours, you might want to question whether it is worth purchasing to see more than once.
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