Runaway Jury

Advantages: entertaining film, well acted
Disadvantages: it's been done before

...The Runaway Jury: If you have ever been called up for Jury Service in the UK you know that the first few days at least are pretty boring, sitting in a room potentially for a great portion of the day without your name being called. And even if you do get called there is no guarantee that you will sit on a jury. I've done Jury service twice and I was lucky enough to be called twice, I have to say that it was interesting. As regular Joe public I've no idea about the ins and outs of selection except that if you know the person on trial then you let someone know and they let you go. However in the US it would seem that trying to influence who sits on a Jury seems to be big business, they try to influence verdicts by getting someone who is biased to their cause. The idea of Jury selection of course is too eradicate bias but in reality it...

sjp1966 13.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

Run, jury-man, run!

Advantages: Some good acting
Disadvantages: Disappointing film adaptation - might be better if you watch before you read the book.

...I think I actually saw the film before I read the book, but I remembered so little about it that it could not have affected my view of the book much at all. Anyway, the film, The Runaway Jury, based on the equally titled book by John Grisham, came on television recently. I must be getting too keen as I actually decided to watch it just so that I could write this review! I have to admit reading the book has influenced my opinion on this film and therefore somewhat had an impact on my review. Perhaps I liked the film better before I knew how good the novel was. Story There are some differences between the book and the film. The book is about cigarette manufacturers being sued for their part in the death of a smoker, whereas the film is about gun manufacturers, being sued for their part the death of a victim of a shooting. I can...

Ayesha- 16.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

A Runaway Success

Advantages: Good acting and direction
Disadvantages: Hoffman and Hackman don't spend enough time onscreen together

...I’m sure after my succession of books reviews everyone is well aware that I’m a fan of John Grisham novels. When it was announced that the Runaway Jury was due to be released as a film I decided to make the effort and see it. It’s one of the few books by him that I haven’t read, although it is buried deep within my to-read pile. So with very little to do on a Sunday night I chose to finally watch it. Like so many of Grisham’s books it starts with a major event to set the story. It’s early Monday morning in the offices of a high profile broker’s office and the staff are arriving for work. When an ex employee, sacked just one week before turns up and starts to kill his old co-workers. He starts to fire shots off around the office and after killing 12 people and injuring countless others he turns...

Andy.mack 15.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

The jury is out on this one

Advantages: Gene Hackman
Disadvantages: Worst adaptation of a Grisham story

...as the trial comes towards an end, his motives along with his partners come into question. On the front cover of my DVD it said "The best John Grisham adaptation since The Firm!". With this in mind I couldn't wait to watch the Runaway Jury as I loved the book. DISAPPOINTED, is an understatement, the film does not follow the Grisham novel, and in the way they have adapted it, have made a film which has a plot which is so weak that at times I felt myself laughing at its implausibility. Saying that, I watched this with someone who had not read the novel, and they thought that it was a very engrossing and clever thriller. The film centers round a court case against one of America's biggest gun manufacturers where a juror has the power to control the jury, with his motivation being a huge payoff. In the Grisham novel, the court case is...

christianfilmcritic 19.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

The Jury's out on this one...

Advantages: Good acting, tense thriller
Disadvantages: Formulaic perhaps

...Really, Ciao-ers... the lengths I go to to make sure you get to hear all about the forthcoming movie releases. So it was that I rose early on Sunday morning to catch a preview of "Runaway Jury". The story is the film adaption of a John Grisham novel - one I have not read, but I am familiar with his court-room dramas which, although I have previously enjoyed, I thought quite formulaic, kind of "court-room drama by numbers". A few points first - the novel was called "The Runaway Jury" - the definite article has been dropped from the film title. Furthermore, the subject of the novel was actually a legal claim made against the cigarette industry, this is not the case in the film. John Cusack plays Nick Easter who, as the film begins, has been called up for jury duty. He asks his friends to suggest ways he can get out it but he...

fizzytom 12.01.2004 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

Runaway Movie

Advantages: Gripping, great cast.
Disadvantages: Some technical courtroom speak is a bit lengthy

...Any person who has see any of the recent courtroom dramas on TV would know that having a good jury consultant is a must. Having the right personalities on the jury, is almost as important if not more important than having enough evidence to win the proper verdict. In Runaway Jury, Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman)is the highest priced jury consultant around. He leaves no stone unturned, gathering life histories of potential juries, personality studies, and even goes so far as to placing surveillance on them with hidden cameras and undercover spies. Fitch believes that a verdict can be won, lost, or even bought with the right jury makeup. He is then hired by a gun manufacturer to aid in his defense when his company is sued by a woman whose husband was slaughtered in a killing spree. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum we have...

KathrynPowell 16.04.2004 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

An en-jury-ance test? Not quite.

Advantages: Hackman, Hoffman, interesting subject and scenario
Disadvantages: It is a waste of the advantages

...This is what a lump of film looks like. It's a great shame as there is an intriguing scenario involving jury consultancy, a thorny issue regarding US gun control and two of the finest actors of their generation in Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. Overall, there's more of interest than not but it's a clinical exercise rather than intelligent entertainment. >>> Plot teaser (from imdb.com) When an attorney is shot in cold blood at his workplace, his widow sues a major gun manufacturer. Holding them responsible for his death, she dispatches idealistic lawyer Wendell Rohr to oversee the case. A good man of principle, Wendell takes charge while on the defense team, another man will take charge. Rankin Fitch is the individual: a powerful and ruthless jury consultant riding high on his frequent successes. But in the middle of it all is...

MisterSlimm 17.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

Runaways

Advantages: Addictive, Good conclusion
Disadvantages: Sometimes Predictable and unbelievable

...V.C.Andrews is known for making a series of books. Usually four separate stories that eventually wind down a road and come together to make a fifth. The orphans' series was no exception. Four books titled Butterfly, Crystal, Brooke and Raven. Runaway brings it to a rocky, tooth rotting and predictable yet required conclusion. I would strongly recommend reading the four separate books before getting into this one as there are several references to the girls past and having a better understanding in the first place also enables you to enjoy the story more. Without getting into too much detail about what happened to the girls in the previous books I will try and tell you a little bit about them all. Butterfly - Actual name is Janet but was soon dubbed Butterfly due to her delicate nature. She is a petite girl. Who despite being 17...

ovetta2001 15.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Runaways - Virginia Andrews

A Thrilling Ride!

Advantages: Thrilling edge of the seat drama!
Disadvantages: Hollywood!

...I’ve always been a bit of a fan of Courtroom Dramas, especially those that have been inspired by John Grisham books; The Pelican Brief, The Firm and A Time To Kill, to name a few. So when I saw Runaway Jury as one of the choices on my return flight from New York, I knew I had to watch it, if the others were anything to go by, I would love it. Set amidst some stunning scenery within the deep south of America, the gun capital of the world, the opening scenes are happy ones shared on a child’s birthday and then at the father’s office where he is asking for his secretary’s help with his child’s present, they share a laugh and they realise there seems to be something going on outside his office, gun shots can be heard, screaming, people running away frantically from the gun shots, panicking for their own...

herby30 05.02.2004 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)

Pick A Juror, Any Juror.

Advantages: John Cusack, great story
Disadvantages: If you've read the book, it might be pants.

...---Blether--- When trying to find a film to watch, there are a few important things I like to take into consideration. Firstly, I would prefer a cast of actors I like. Obviously. Secondly, I would prefer said actors to be naked. If I can't get that then I suppose I will watch it anyway. Once upon a time when I was going through my "must have everything with John Cusack in it" phase, I stumbled in a drunken manner across a film I'd never heard of. Apparently it's a John Grisham adaptation which means a grand total of nothing to me, but it does make me think lovingly of the ugly old guy from CSI: Vegas (the only decent CSI). Being one of the films I watched Con Bloke (mangling Spanish is fun), I got about half way through before turning off. Don't worry though, I didn't turn off because it was crap. Runaway Jury (the film in...

ryanando 14.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Runaway Jury (DVD)