The Pelican Brief
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Movie Reviews of The Pelican Brief
Movie Review: Entertaining, suspenseful, yet not "amazing."
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Pelican Brief" is a good story about an ambitious young law student (played by Julia Roberts) who, after the assassinations of two Supreme Court Justices, accidentally stumbles upon a high-reaching conspiracy. Curiosity spurs her to investigate, and she writes a brief upon her findings, unaware that doing so will endanger her life, as well as anyone else's life who reads it. Darby Shaw (Roberts) is a smart, savvy young woman who manages to evade attempts on her life by quick wits, a bit of luck, and a little help from a government agency now and then (whose motives are unknown for quite some time.) During her search for safety, she contacts a well-respected reporter (Denzel Washington,) who is known for his integrity. Together, they begin to unravel the mystery of the "Pelican" Brief, which puts both of their lives on the line as they try to stay one step ahead of assassins determined to stop the truth from getting out. Refreshingly, there is no love story between the two leads, although there is excellent chemistry and a strong bond between them; they do what they have to do, and mercifully escape the film without The Mandatory Love Scene.
The story unfolds in a manner that holds the audience's attention, with only small bits coming out at a time; we don't find out what was in the "Pelican" Brief until well into the film, and even after we realize what's going on, the suspense continues unabated until the very end. The cast includes some heavy hitters, including Sam Shepard, Stanley Tucci, Tony Goldwyn, John Heard, John Lithgow, and Hume Cronyn (briefly,) all of whom do a good job.
While the movie itself is entertaining and worth watching, the DVD is a pain in the patoot; midway through the film, it simply stops. No messages about flipping the DVD over, no nothing - it simply *stops*. Argh! You have to get up and flip the darning thing over (a true hassle for us lazy Americans, you know!) before being able to continue to movie - it really interrupts the experience in a jarring manner. There aren't any special features to speak of, either, unfortunately. Still, an entertaining experience, and I'll probably watch it again to see what I missed the first time.
Movie Review: Great movie but why do I have to flip it?
Summary: 4 Stars
Great story by John Grisham and acting with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. It will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat at least until you have to flip the DVD over to finish it. That's right they couldn't fit this on one side for some odd reason. At first I thought something was wrong with my DVD player or the DVD. Only when I took out the DVD and saw Side A and Side B did I realize. They could have at least put a message at the end of Side A for you to turn it over. Otherwise a great DVD. The chase to track down a story about a gangster that conributed to the Presidents campaign fund and how a legal brief ties it together is very well done. I would wait to buy it on DVD when they put Widescreen on one side and Standard on the other rather than have a Side A and B.Movie Review: Don't Buy This One!
Summary: 4 Stars
Don't get me wrong it is a good movie worth watching. The problem is not with the movie it is the cheap studio that released it on DVD. It is a flipper! If you do not know what i flipper is, it is when the studio rather than using dual layers to fit the entire movie on one side of the disc choose to break the movie into two parts so that to finish watching the movie you have to get up from you comfortable spot on the couch to flip the disc over to finsh watching it. So unless you enjoy the little exercise you get from having to do this wait until the re-release it proper.Movie Review: THE PELICAN BRIEF
Summary: 5 Stars
Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington headline and Alan J. Pakula directs this first - rate thriller based on the bestselling book by John Grisham. Two Supreme Court justices have been murdered and a lone law student turns her suspicions about the deaths into a speculative brief that sends shock waves into the highest levels of government. She and a determined investigative reporter want to tell the world what they have uncovered, if they live to tell about it. The race is on and these two are more than runners. They're moving targets.
Movie Review: Watch It Once
Summary: 4 Stars
To give a movie a five-star rating, for me it has to be one that I would want to watch several times. This one does not fit that bill (hence the four-star rating). However, I do recommend seeing it because it is a very good one-viewing movie. Julia Roberts does a good job (although I do not like when she becomes like Meryl Streep). Denzel Washington does a superb job as a top-notch reporter (think "Deep Throat" from Watergate). The unseen villain is the kind of fear that many scary movies fail to deliver -- this one provides the suspense without giving in to flashy gimmicks.