Review: Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury is yet another 90s adaptation of a Grisham courtroom novel. I can see why they were so popular with Hollywood, easy to adapt best-selling books and limited sets to worry about means you can concentrate on hiring charismatic stars old and new to get them packing the cinemas.  Hackman gets by far the most fun lines to play with.

The underlying trial around gun control remains as relevant now as then. Barely a week goes by without a mass shooting in the US and fingers being pointed regarding responsibility.  This time its the gun industry itself on trial.

With such high stakes, it's no wonder that the opposing lawyers worry about jury selection and decision making. So when someone promises to fix the jury, it must be very tempting...

Verdict: Implausible but fun ride. 

Review: The Rosie Project

Amusing romantic comedy featuring high functioning Aspergers academic, Don Tilman in his pursuit of a wife. What makes the project so charming is the insights into Tilman's daily routine, his unique approach to life and social ineptness. In many ways, he feels not dissimilar to my younger self.

Less well drawn is the object of his affections and that's just about forgivable given the Tilman's eye view of proceedings.

Verdict: Charming and unconventional romcom. 

Review: Shooter

Shooter is a bit of a oddity in that it has some care and attention to the details, but it all seems to go a bit James Bond towards the end.  The basic premise of this film ie "what would it take to beat all of the various measures that are currently in place to prevent the assassination of a US President?" is an intriguing one as is the solution.  The resulting JFK like conspiracy, something which the characters are somewhat self-aware of, is rather less so.

Enter Wahlberg to take of business in another loner underdog (anti)hero role.  Predictably increasing levels of action, mayhem and twists result as he goes in pursuit of justice while evading the long arm of the law.  He's never less than convincing in a way that Dwayne Johnson isn't.

Verdict:  Passable action thriller. 

Review: Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Alaskan Dog-Racing

Paulson's Winterdance is the story of one man's attempt to take part in a dog sled race across the snowy wastes of Alaska from Anchorage to Nome.

Winterdance is extremely funny at times - especially when Paulsen is learning how to sled and training the dogs.  But there are also moments of sadness and even horror. But always the cold. It's like an additional character. Biting, needling, cruel, stabbing.

This is a book to read snuggled up under a duvet and preferably in front of roaring fire with a hefty helping of comfort food. It's a perfect Autumnal or Winter read.

You don't get to know all of the dogs - but a few leave a clear impression. There's Cookie - a profoundly smart and loyal dog, and the kill/eat anything dog called Devil who leaves impressions of a rather different kind.

The book isn't without a few faults. I got deja-vu a few times with some of the phrasing. A sentence or a turn of phrase would appear in one chapter and then reappear perhaps twenty or thirty pages later.  I guess there are only so many ways you can describe some things.  It is also leans towards prep - rather than the Iditarod race itself. More than half of the book is on the lead up.  Perhaps that was the right choice as the race itself feels in some ways less impactful on the author.


Verdict: Beautiful and bleak. 

Review: The Night of the Hunter

Laughton's directorial debut is the tale of a preacher (or is he) and two children who may or may not know the location of the proceeds of their bank robbing father.

With it's focus on silhouettes, creepy angular compositions and sleep walking like nightmarish quality I was more than once reminded of German expressionist classics like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.  It also brings some iconic imagery of it's own.

Performance wise, Mitchum's preacher is of particular note - never less than compelling, charismatic and monstrous.

Verdict: Dark fairytale.

Review: The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society

The little known story of the German invasion of Guernsey forms the backdrop to this cozy romantic mystery drama.

The romance is fairly humdrum (almost as soon as you see two characters you'll guess their destiny) - but it's significantly elevated by appealing performances from all of the cast, glimpses of what British life under German occupation would have been like had they managed to invade mainland Britain and the slow unfolding of the mystery behind the titular society's reluctance to tell their story.

Verdict: Unusual setting for a wonderfully romantic drama.

Review: Whatever happened to Baby Jane?

"Made for TV 90s remake of the 60s classic" should tell you all you need to know about this. Well it should do, but I hadn't seen the original and so assumed this was it when I fired up this grainy copy on Amazon Prime - especially when it featured two Redgrave sisters.

It's a well acted (essentially two hander) psychological thriller but has some seriously melodramatic music to bludgeon you into anticipating every twist and turn.  I'd have liked to have seen more back story on the sisters rivalry and relationship deterioration as what you see here is pretty thin.

Verdict: Competent rather than classic coercive control shocker.