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EllenClairLamb
Reviews
Wild Iris (2001)
Shockingly bad
Good performances can't save this terrible script, larded with every cliche in the chick-flick book. Both main characters are deeply unsympathetic, and the scene where Laura Linney's character reminisces about sex with her dead husband in front of her teenage son -- which I think is supposed to be poignant -- is just horrifying.
Runaway Jury (2003)
it's good -- get over it
Okay, we've established that the McGuffin in this movie is not the tobacco industry. That movie was made a few years ago; it was called "The Insider." The central plot dynamic of "Runaway Jury," the book, was the story of how two people -- one inside, one out -- managed to wrest control of a jury from forces apparently far more powerful. That dynamic drives "Runaway Jury" the movie as well, and this movie is spellbinding. The suspense has little to do with whether the cause is just, although that helps; it could be anything, from animal rights to child abuse. The story is good vs. evil, idealism vs. cynicism, and it works beautifully. Details aside, this is the best Grisham adaptation yet.