Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-22 12:51:38

Brand new but only played first half of movie

Not all scenes on the DVD! It just ended/stopped three quarters through the movie.

2012-05-21 22:09:16

WOW!!

This looks great in HD. I didn't think it would look this good since it is so old.

2012-05-21 04:48:56

Wonderful Film

This classic film is necessarily violent, but makes up for this in its wonderful storyline. This is one of those movies that make you want to get up and shout with joy at the end. Very moving, very timely, very well-written and acted. America's racism needs to be exposed, and discussed, and this movie allows us to never forget where this country has come from. It also leaves us with hope of how this country can redeem itself and provide a better future for all people, regardless of race.

2012-05-20 17:18:32

Great Cast, Great Performances = Great Movie!

Sandra Bullock, Samuel L Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey... this film is packed with awesome actors and a reknown director couldnt really go wrong... and on top of that an amazing story told in a most shocking way is really a must have for any film.The story is about racism and the southern states, a rape and a murder put the balance of justice to the test, the movie opens for debate whether the sorrowed father should be freed or the law must be followed.With great pleasure I recommend this movie for any adult or teenager. Children should be advised better although the plot might not interest them there are a couple of strong scenes that might mislead them

2012-05-19 00:02:47

it's payback time

This review is from: A Time to Kill (DVD) i like this movie. it's not so much a whodunnit as more of a why it was done. the courtroom drama is great.

2012-05-18 13:50:01

Gets better each time

I saw this movie shortly after it came to video and thought it was a pretty good movie. Then a couple years later, I saw it again. And it just kind of stuck in my brain. I'll be reading or listening to something, and it will remind me of the movie. In conversations I bring up this film all the time because it is so relevant to important issues of our time. Racism, vigilante action, legal issues, etc. The more you watch this movie, the more it makes you think.And if you're not interested in thinking about some of the larger philosophical issues at hand, there's still plenty of stuff for you. You've got Matthew McConaughey who does a phenomenal job, and looks great while at it. Oliver Platt imbues his character with just the right amount of sleaze and charm that you can't help but love him. Donald Sutherland is absolutely lovable as the old-school gentleman (and you and your friends can argue over whether he's a lush or or a drunk/alcoholic). Sandra Bullock does a believable job, and the men tend to find Ashley Judd rather attractive in this role. And let's not forget Samuel L. Jackson, who makes his character so real that you understand the situation he's in and why he does what he does. So basically, there's something for everyone here. Thinking stuff with good looking people (male and female) who act well. Can't go wrong with this one.

2012-05-16 05:04:25

A Time to Kill

This is an excellent film..When a young black girl is brutally raped by a white man in the south, her father feels that he needs to take justice into his own hands and kills the rapist in the courthouse...This starts a whole chain of events in the town Blacks against Whites..It seemed like people couldn't get passed that the little girl was black so they just didn't care..but when the lawyer says pretend she was white thats when everyone starts thinkin...

SPA2TACU5 2012-05-15 09:50:07

Overrated, thirteen in a dozen movie

Nah come on people, this is really not a good movie. There's nothingoriginal about this script except for the fact that the suspect did reallycommit the murder. But the whole trial isnt anything near exciting. SandraBullock is supposed to be some genius, but the things she does couldve beendone by any bozo. Once Kevin Spacey enters the movie you think there's gonnabe some action, but his role is really dull. The worst thing about the movieis definitely the ending: it's oh so sweet it almost makes you barf. This isone of the many courtroom movies out there and about the worst one I'veseen.I rate it: 4,5 out of 10

mjw2305 2012-05-11 00:27:04

A Powerful tale of Morality and Racism

Being a white male from the UK, it is difficult for me to relate toRacism in the Deep South, or even the KKK, other than i know of them.But racism is sadly something i do see in different forms regularly,and on this note i felt the powerful morality of the story.Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) murders two men after they rape his10 year old little girl and leave her for dead. After he chooses ayoung white lawyer, Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McCaughey) therelatives of the Murdered rapists join the KKK and begin their patheticreign of cowardess and torture against Brigances family and his lawpractice. I have to say, i simply loved it when Stump Sisson (KurtwoodSmith) the leader of the KKK, was burned to death during a riot. Thehatred i felt for him, the rest of the KKK and the spokesman for theJury, surprised me, but that's the power of this movie.Unrelented, Brigance with the help of Ellen (Sandra Bullock), Harry(Oliver Platt) and his teacher Lucien (Donald Sutherland) continue thefight for Carl's release, and the story grows more dramatic with everyscene, with no scene more powerful than the closing address in thecourtroom from Brigance, simply brilliant.With fine performances from all of the cast, the credit must go toMatthew McConaughey, for his finest performance ever.This movie is one of the most powerful that i've seen, forget anyweakness of story or plot holes this may have, it's morale values arevery real, and we could all learn from them.

joemantazari 2012-05-10 15:05:55

Cheap, exploitative, tasteless.

This is the worst kind of film.The plot is ludicrous, the characters are unrealistic stereotypes whonever look like they believe it themselves. Are white people suchmonsters that they will continue to call two white child rapists intheir 20s "good boys" and need to be persuaded that this might begrounds for provocation? Are black people universally inspiring? Do theKu Klux Klan really stand outside court rooms shooting at lawyers withnobody intervening? Do judges really think that a fair trial can beconducted when the jury can hear a mob outside shouting "Kill him"? Doblack people really stand shoulder to shoulder with the Klan waiting tohear the verdict? Do wives really take several months to realise thattheir husband might be defending a man from unfair hanging because heknew might have done the same thing? Do juries really acquit people ofmurder because they feel sorry for them? Do lawyers really use adefense of sanity in order to persuade people that their client wastemporarily insane? Worst of all, any high-minded principles of this film were lost to thecompletely exploitative and gratuitous use of sexual crime to titillatethe audience. Was the subject of rape, let alone child gang rape,really in competent hands here? Is it really a subject that belongs inHollywood hands? And if so, why the completely gratuitous kidnap andstripping of Sandra Bullock? And the completely pointless statutoryrape charge against one of the witnesses? Seems like the directordidn't feel THAT strongly about sex crime after all.This was taking the excellent plot of To Kill a Mockingbird and makinga crass, shallow, tasteless money-spinner from it. Shame on them.

2012-05-09 04:37:23

Great Movie!

This review is from: A Time to Kill (DVD) This is a really thought provoking movie. I have not read the novel this is based on, but enjoyed the movie. You may also enjoy the latest adaptation of this John Grisham novel, a play!

2012-05-08 16:07:42

A good thought provoking movie

Being from Mississippi and my mother having been raised in Canton, where this was filmed, I was specially interested in seeing how my state was portayed. I also wanted to see my uncle who was an extra in the last funeral scene (but you can only see him in slow motion as they walk out of the house). The film mostly offers a view of a few prejudiced idiots. Sadly, there are people like this in our state. Actually, these days more folks are like Jake than are like the klansmen shown. The movie was great!! Just don't think we are all against persons who are different from ourselves.

richard-dowds 2012-05-02 08:57:28

An excellent film

I am shocked by some of the comments on this exceptional filmespecially those that say that the acting was poor. The acting wasinstead extremely well done and the direction was also brilliant. Itwas also well paced and has a powerful storyline It tells a story ofthe South of America and the film is by no means anti white but insteadpaints a picture of the possible discrimination which blacks may wellfind in these very right wing Southern towns.An extremely powerful, thought provoking and moving film which may notbe a good film if you are looking for a easy watch. I feel the at it isa farce that it is not more acclaimed and did not receive anysignificant awards

Preussener-1 2012-05-01 18:39:27

Lousy job

Schumacher failed to capture the interplay between all the charactersas portrayed in the book. He went for the preachy, simplistic andsometimes over the top maudlin emotion. The movie also suffered fromhis heavy handed approach. Schumacher also wrecked the film by tryingto make a chick movie. He put in dialogue and scenes that aren't in thebook. And he also lost the temperament of both blacks and whites bybeing too PC with the dialogue. Too simplistic. All whites are bad, allblacks are good. Grisham has the good and bad of both sides clearly ondisplay in the book. This movie was bullshit. Don L., Redford, MI

jasper-37 2012-04-29 06:26:01

To those who bash this film...

To all those who here in these reviews have bashed the one-sided,over-dramatic, senseless story in the movie, I would like to point outthatthis film is based on a book. In fact, this is perhaps one of the bestmovierecreations of a book I have ever seen, and I have seen quite a few. Themovie sticks to the facts in the book (other than that part where Jakethrows the bomb and it explodes, added for special effect). Aside from afewminor differences that do not affect the storyline, the movie is right online with the author's intent. So if you have a problem with the plot,talkwith John Grisham, not Joel Schumacher.And I rather enjoyed the movie.

Fred-146 2012-04-29 00:53:59

A socially irresponsible film--2 out of 4 stars.

I have not read "A Time to Kill" by John Grisham, and perhaps that wouldhave helped understand the film better. But perhaps not. I hear this is themost faithful Grisham adaption yet, and if that is true, I can see why so manypublishers turned down the novel when Grisham introduced it as his firstwork."A Time to Kill" is one of those films that is seriously confused and wantsto do too many things at once. It wants to be a suspenseful crowd-pleasingthriller and, at the same time, a film dedicated to exploring certain socialand moral questions. Let's face it, those two types of films do not gotogether in Hollywood, which is why "Dead Man Walking" had to be madeindependently.The story involves a young lawyer named Jake (Matthew McConaughy) out todefend a black man named Carl (Samuel L. Jackson) from murdering twohillbillies that brutally raped his young daughter. The day before therapists' trial, Carl hid in a closet in the courthouse and when the rapistswere brought through the building, he charged out and shot both of themdead. To help out with the defense, Jack accepts the help of a former lawstudent (Sandra Bullock), who proves that her role in this film was totallyunnecessary, and put in the film only for marketing purposes.Meanwhile, one of the rapist's kid brother (Kiefer Sutherland) was angeredthat a black man killed his brother and decided to act out a revenge. All ofthis leads to a shooting in front of the courthouse, a kidnapping, a brutalbeating, and race riot. I'll admit that all of this held my attentiongreatly throughout the film, in addition to the courtroom scenes. What Ilater objected to was the film's handling of ethical questions and its useof formulas in the plot.The main question that the film constantly asks, over and over again, iswhether a black man gets a fair trial from a white jury. Sure they can, butthat doesn't mean that the man has to be acquitted in order for the trial tobe fair. This film, however, doesn't seem to think so. Besides that, thereseveral gaping holes in the plot used for conveniences. For example, there isan unknown character called Mickey Mouse, who is a member of the Klan, and,for reasons unknown, is helping the members of the defense team escape fromserious dangers of the other members of the Klan. After Bullock is kidnappedby Sutherland and company, and left for dead in the wilderness, this unknownperson comes and saves her---and we NEVER find out who he is and why he ishelping out the people he should be terrorizing.And speaking of the Sutherland character's reign of terror, it's amazing howwitless the police and the Bullock character are in stopping him throughoutthe film. There's a scene when Sutherland becomes a sniper from a buildingacross the street from the courthouse and tries to shoot Jake as he comesout, shooting one of the guards instead. Now you'd think since there aredozens of police around, it would be easy to surround and capture thesniper. No such luck. From what we could see, no one seemed to even carethat a sniper was still on the loose. Even after Bullock, was rescued byMickey Mouse, she never, ever mentioned who her kidnapper was, nor was iteven questioned. Why was this? Simple. The Sutherland character was neededthroughout the film to add continual suspense, although logically, he shouldhave been out of the picture.Besides Bullock's character, there another thankless character. He is Jake'sassistant played by Oliver Platt. There seems to be one reason for hischaracter to be in the movie--to supply a number of one-liners for theaudience. In my opinion, one-liners show a major weakness in "serious" filmswhen used. It demonstrates that the filmmakers are not confident that thestory and dialogue alone are enough to keep the audience's attention, and souse them to make the audience laugh to reassure everyone that they arewatching an entertaining film.But enough of the film's many minor problems. What about the film's messagehere? It is clear that Carl is indeed guilty of murder. We saw how heplanned for hours to murder the men who raped his daughter. The lawyersargue that it was temporary insanity, etc that caused him to kill. Indesperation, Jake asks the jury to close their eyes as he recounts the rapein detail as part of his closing arguement. After describing everything thattook place, he adds on one final line..."The girl is white". We then seemembers of the jury with tears in their eyes.In the very next scene, a girl comes out yelling "He's free! He's free!".Wait a minute! Do juries base their verdicts on their emotions or on thefacts? Most of all, why weren't there any scenes that showed the jurydeliberating and what they were really thinking after their emotions wornoff. I'll tell you why. They couldn't show the delibertion because NO JURYcould acquit a man of such a crime, no matter how much the defense'sclosing arguements touched their hearts. What is the message? That someoneis justified in killing if it is a form of revenge for a previous crime doneto them?This film should have had the courage to say that murder is NOT OK in thissituation, because in reality, there would not be an acquittal. But sincedollars were at stake, the filmmakers were more concerned about sparing theaudiences' feelings than they were about presenting a responsible message.If people start killing as a form of revenge, the makers of this film shouldbe held responsible. What a socially irresponsible film this is!

2012-04-25 19:25:50

Grisham At His Best

A Time to Kill is my favorite Grisham book, and the movie follows suit. The book, which was the first one published but did not become popular until The Firm becase a success, seems to be the most "grounded" with a "real" feel to it unlike some of the other ones which tend to stretch credibility a bit more (but are fun to read anyway.)

towelie2002 2012-04-25 08:57:03

Very Good Court Thriller

A Time To Kill is a very good court thriller and is the best John Grisholmadaption I've seen. Probably one of the best court films ever made, in thelikes of A Few Good Men (1992), which is also a very good court thriller.Those 2 films also have 2 other things in common: they both have heaps offamous actors in it and both have Kiefer Sutherland in it. This is one ofthe 4 films Joel Schumaccher (director) and Kiefer have made together,including The Lost Boys (1987), Phone Booth (2003) and Flatliners(1990).The film is about 2 white racist thugs who rape a young black girl and theyare killed by her father Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson). Then there's amajor courtcase about it, about weather Carl should be given the deathpenalty. Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McConauggey) and Ellen Roark (SandraBullock) are lawyers try to defend him, and Rufus Buckley(Kevin Spacey) is alawyer who wants to put him on the death penalty for his own publicity. Allthe locals (mainly the black ones) want Carl to live, but Freddie Lee Cobb(Kiefer Sutherland), who was a friend of the 2 thugs, wants Carl dead, so hecalls on nearby Ku Klux Klan members to kill Carl and his lawyers. Not onlythis, but Jake is worried about the safety of his family from the KKK and hestarts getting attracted to Ellen.Thrillers are definately Joel Schumaccher's high point as a director, as heproved in 8MM (1999) and Phone Booth (2003). The all star cast make this atreat for the audience, as well as the darkness to the story. This film notonly has a good story, but deals with issues like the death penalty, racism,adultery, trust and family. This is a very good film not to be missed.Rating: 4/5

mordred69 2012-04-24 17:40:44

Definitely not to be taken serious...

... because the "message" of this movie (and it seems to be madeas amessage movie) STINKS!!! If you kill somebody (no matter if it is humanscumbag or not), you should be punished.But that's John Grisham. Pretends to be liberal while being rotten to thecore. Too sad that truly great actors wasted their talent for that pieceofgarbage.

yddsp@aol.com 2012-04-24 04:13:43

Could have been much better.....

The storyline is compelling, the acting; very good, the direction;impressive, the only problem I have with this film is in the characterof Sandra Bullock's, Ellen Roark. Her part was patheticallyoverwritten. If this was intentional to secure the interests of Ms.Bullock, then this is the movie's failing. I have nothing against Ms.Bullock as an actor, I have enjoyed her performances in numerous roles,however this happens to not be one of them. She is almost a comic bookcaricature of herself and it detracts from the impact of the storyimmensely. She professes to be a student of law, yet at many twists andturns she appears to be more knowledgeable of the law than hercounterpart, the lead counselor for the defense (Matthew McConaughey),a bona fide licensed, practicing attorney. She also appears to possessa degree in medicine based on a scene where a simple "band aid" wouldseem counter-indicative considering the nature, source and force of theinjury she simply 'dresses'.The closing argument (summation scene) is very emotional and should winthis movie critical acclaim based on that merit alone, although this issomewhat jaded by some of the unrealistic, outlandish events whichprecede it and therefore merely lend toward relegating this film tocinematic mediocrity. It appears to be a bit melodramatic in someplaces and Donald Sutherland's role is weak, underdeveloped andunimpressive (pity because I really like Mr. Sutherland as an actor).All in all, it's definitely worth the watch for the compellingstoryline, if nothing else, about racial injustice, but if you happento miss it, you won't regret too much. Matthew McConaughey is excellentin his role as the inexperienced, though passionate, lead defenseattorney and deserves all due praise.