Movie Review: ****Philadelphia (1993)

 This is reportedly a fictional movie, but mirrors a couple different real life stories.  Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) sues his former boss after he is fired.  The firm contends his work was mediocre at best (even though they had just given him an important case.  Beckett's contention is that he was fired because they discovered he had AIDS.  He is represented in court by Joe Miller (Denzel Washington).  Miller does not like being around gay people.  But maybe that makes him better at representing Beckett.  The firm is headed by Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards) and is represented by Belinda Conine (Mary Steenburgen).  Antonio Banderas portrays Beckett's lover.  

This movie is one that makes you think about what may be your own prejudices.  We see the relationship that Beckett has with his partner.  Of course this is in the era before gay marriage.  

This movie won two Oscars, Hanks for best actor and Bruce Springsteen for best song, Streets of Philadelphia.  In today's environment Tom Hanks probably wouldn't be allowed to play this roll as a strait man playing a gay man.

Movie Review: ***^Fences

As I watched this movie, I was thoroughly convinced that Denzel Washington and Viola Davis would compete for oscars as the husband an wife Troy and Rose Maxson, who are the focus of this character study.  However another worthy performance is that of Mykelti Williamson who portrays Troy's brother who has brain damage form the war.  This movie gives you the feel that you are sitting in on this family, as they relieve tension after work, with their good friend Bono (Stephen Henderson)  The relationship between Troy and his son (Jovan Adepo) is played up in the advertising, but this seems only a back story compared to that of the couple.  The other son is Lyons (Russel Hornsby) a struggling musician.  I was enjoying this movie, but eventually the character of troy began to seem too shallow.  When he explains his reason for having an affair was because he needs to laugh, and lost my sympathy for the character.  At that point the show went from being a best picture nominee to just being a cliche.  that person who deserves honor is Viola Davis.  Her reaction to the above revelation from Troy is beautifully done.

Movie Review: ****^Antwone Fisher

Some movies are such that everyone needs to see them.  This is one such movie.  This is a movie about finding where you belong.  About finding family.  And about coming to terms with your past.
Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke) is a struggling Navy Seaman.  He struggles because he is angry, and everything seems to sound racist.  Dr. Jerome Davenport (Denzel Washington) is the psychologist assigned to fix the situation.  This movie is one of those where the fixer becomes the fixed.  Atwone's girlfriend, Cheryl Smolley (Joy Bryant) shares some of Fisher's struggles, and travels with him to find his family.
He does find them.  He discovers his mother is not in a position to be a mother, due to drug addiction.  However he finds his father's family (his father was murdered by his mother) and they did not know of Antwone.  However they accept him into the family, and give him a place of honor.

Movie Review: ***^The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

 

This movie is proof that if you write something, bad things could happen. Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) writes a brief about why she thinks two Supreme Court Judges may have been murdered.  This is just a fly-by-night theory that perhaps a big oil person ordered the executions so the current president could appoint judges who are not so environmental friendly because they have a big environmental case which is going to reach the courts in four or five years.  Turns out for our story, the brief is very close to the truth.  It gets taken up by the head of the FBI who is going to investigate the allegations, until the president asks him not to.  

Everything is bad for the oil tycoon and his lawyers, as well as for the president.  What makes things worse is all of Darby's friends and contacts begin to get murdered.  She is next.

This is a very tense movie.  John Grisham has a way with telling a story, and the movie is very good at keeping that tension.  However, the book is better.  My major complaint about the movie is it doesn’t explain well how Darby realizes she is next, and she needs protection.  Her protection, or the person she trusts in the end is reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington).  

Shaw is so troubled and traumatized during this movie, I love the way it ends, with a Julia Roberts smile.

Movie Review: *****Unstoppable (2010)

*****Unstoppable   You would think that a train movie would be boring.  However this is a train with no driver, and runaway speed, headed for an urban area with toxic cargo and with a sharp curve with gas tanks, sure to explode in a crash.  It also has two heroes (Denzel Washington and Chris Pine) who defy orders, and chase the train down, putting their own lives in danger, but saving the day in the end.  Great ride.  Nothing to worry about for children in this movie.