Jury room

A mixed bag this week, yep, we went to the video store.



12 Angry Men


Sidney Lumet died recently and NPR played an old interview with him, which sparked my interest in this movie. Did you know that the Republicans want to stop funding National Public Radio? Is that the worst kind of censorship or what? I suppose they want us all to watch Fox news, or as I prefer to call it, Faux news, carefully tailored to the Republican cause, not unlike that scary propagandist, Tokyo Rose, I mean Rush Limbaugh. At least nobody would believe his rants. Would they?

Back to Lumet's movie. 12 Angry Men (look for it under 12, not twelve) was made in 1957, a particularly good year, the year BH and I were born. It's about a jury of white men who have to decide the guilt, and therefore the fate, of a Hispanic boy. Apart from brief opening and closing scenes, it is completely set in the jury room. It shows the process by which the jury is swayed from 11 - 1 one way, until it is 11 - 1 the other way. Henry Fonda is the main character, but they are all convincing. For example Jack Klugman (remember Quincy?) plays a mild man who becomes stronger through his convictions as the story develops. The entire jury is white, and there is open demonstration of racist views and language. Fonda appears to be not acting at all, his character is so low key and realistic. His arguments gradually sway the others, as he allows them to discover their own reasons to change their minds.

The movie is shot in black and white, but I can't say I noticed that, it certainly didn't detract. The lighting and camera angles were magnificent and added greatly to the atmosphere and dramatic development. The music, not so much. It was heavy and overly portentous, but not totally inappropriate. I think it was standard for the era. This movie did not have the dramatic build-up of a Tennessee Williams play but the one room setting and hot humid atmosphere (yes I know it was a film, but the weather was a part of it) did remind me of William's claustrophobic southern moments.

You should watch this movie for, if nothing else, an understanding of the phrase "beyond reasonable doubt". I recommend this movie. It's a classic.



Kate and Leopold


A lighthearted, time travelling, humorous romp starring Meg Ryan and Wolverine, I mean Hugh Jackman. It's all good.



Transporter 3


Starring the lovely Jason Statham in another tough guy role. He drives a nice car across Europe, has some adventures, takes off his shirt several times (that man works out), has a McGuyver moment in the lake and that's about it. Some unusual and unnecessary camera trickery. Best bit (apart from the shirt removal) is the chase through the market and the eventual ejection of the baddie from the car. The heroine/love interest/gratuitous tottie is played by not only a redhead, but a redhead with a very generous crop of freckles. How unusual. She acts as if she is on some kind of semi-prescription medication, and has a lovely fake-Russian, sorry, fake-Ukrainian accent. An entertaining action movie for when there is nothing else to watch.



The Big Bang Theory


A television series featuring a reunion of the "Roseanne" cast apparently. It's about four extremely intelligent young men who are social misfits. It is very funny and I got a lot of pleasure out of watching it. I love Sheldon.



Ricky Gervais - Out of England


The master in New York. This was tailored for an American audience but was still good. I wonder if that self-deprecating humour translates? BH likes Gervais so maybe it does. A devastating split-second Hitler impersonation. BH asked if Gervais writes for "The Office". I told him Gervais CREATED "The Office". The real one that is, the one set in Slough. "Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVr6rFXJg88



I had to put the big cat out so I could write this. He wanted some attention and was using his claws to get it.

Gratuitous photo

Just a gratuitous photo of an attractive young lady. Completely unrelated to movie reviewing.

Local hero

A classic this week. Always good when right prevails, and I don't mean that in a political sense.



Erin Brockovich


As you know, I don't think people's names make good titles for movies, but in this case I will make an exception. Hinkley, California - residents are getting sick even though officials from the nearby PG & E plant have explained that alleged contamination of ground water by chromium-3 is a good thing with lots of health benefits. Shame it is chromium-6 then. Solo mum Erin hires a lawyer on an unrelated matter, they lose the case, she demands a job at his law firm and stumbles across the chromium contamination thing. Thanks to her tireless efforts, justice is served. That's the story in a nutshell.

Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, and this movie is an excellent vehicle for showing off her great legs and, well, she has a nice figure. That's a bit of a theme through the movie. Another thing about Julia Roberts - does she have a portrait in the attic because she is just not looking any older. Remember I sort of watched "Eat, Pray, Love". The real Erin Brockovich (did I mention this is a true story?) has a brief cameo as a waitress and she is a good looking woman too. Lots of down-home commonsense feistiness in this movie, not compromised too much by the ... trashy but enhancing outfits. There is a man, and some children, the baby is adorable, the lawyer has a heart of gold, and there are some other familiar faces. The housekeeper from "Two and a half men" (speaking of trashy - Charlie Sheen in that show, and maybe in real life too) is the secretary, and I have an idea that the first emissary from PG & E, the meek one, may be in "Bones" now.

This is a good story, moves along at a smart pace and Roberts is believable. Money talks, but not loud enough, and justice prevails. I'm sure this sort of thing goes on all over the place, with big business literally getting away with murder (or at least stupidity, incompetence and an inflated sense of their own importance and invulnerability if we are talking about GM, the big banks, Lehman brothers, Freddie Mac etc - which the public paid for). Anyways ... in the last few weeks I have seen in the news that the hexavalent chromium plume is spreading again, Hinkley is back in the spotlight and Erin Brockovich is on the case again. Thank goodness for concerned citizens and real people. Keep up the fantastic work Erin.

One thing people remember about this movie - Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her performance and famously omitted to mention the real Erin Brockovich in her acceptance speech.




One week ago we had snow and storms and roads were closed. This week it is t-shirt and shorts weather. Bizarre.