I've been on a John Grisham kick recently and decided to watch some of the films that have been adapted from his novels.
The Firm: We'll start with the best of the bunch. This is a tense thriller with a wonderful cast. It does suffer from the same problem that all Tom Cruise films suffer from; Cruise playing a jerk, even though he's the protagonist. Directed by the late Sydney Pollack, the movie provides plenty of twists and turns and really makes you wonder how everything is going to get resolved. The solution is a bit contrived, but it still worked for the most part. This is the epitome of popcorn fare. Rating: ****
The Pelican Brief: My excitement over the pairing of Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts was quickly dimished as this was a dull and convaluted film. There were just too many charaters to follow here. Not to mention that the information that could potentially take down the president isn't all that interesting. All of the chasing that goes on in this movie gets old real fast. The only reason to watch this is for Denzel and Julia, who manage to still shine despite the poor story. Rating: ***
The Chamber: A major disappointment here, especially considering the fact that Gene Hackman is starring in it. This film is not only poorly made, it's exploitative too. There seems to be no real purpose to the film other than to have characters spout off racist remarks. Chris O'Donnell doesn't have the gravitas to lead this film and Faye Dunaway looks completely lost on screen. If you want to see a good death row film watch The Green Mile or Dead Man Walking. Rating: **
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