FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: High Crimes [DVD] [2002]

High Crimes [DVD] [2002]
enlarge	Director: Carl Franklin Actors: James Caviezel, Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy Used: £1.00 as of 21/11/2009 21:11 GMT details You Save: £11.99 (92%) New (15) Used (18) from £1.00 Seller: ben63492 Rating: 7 reviews Sales Rank: 5929 Format: PAL, Widescreen Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Region: 2 Discs: 1 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 110 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5039036011723 ASIN: B00006LA7G Theatrical Release Date: April 5, 2002 Release Date: June 21, 2004 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Just about acceptable as an in-flight movie, IHigh Crimes/I is a tad weak for the big-screen, though its amiable stars and typical plotting offer the comforts of familiarity for home viewing. Ashley Judd plays a high-end lawyer who specialises in brilliant defence of the guilty, while Morgan Freeman is a broken-down ex-drunk who specialises in court martials ("military justice is to justice what military music is to music"). When Judd's handyman husband (Jim Caviezel) is arrested by the FBI and indicted for a massacre carried out in El Salvador while he was serving as a marine, Judd gets over the fact that he has concealed his entire past and even his real name and rallies to fight the case, even if it means going up against the shadowy masters of a conspiracy to cover up what actually happened. p The movie rattles through all the clichés: bugs in phones; cars that cruise ominously by; staged road accidents; night-time intrusions; mystery men who hand out clues in the supermarket; dubious polygraph results; appearing and disappearing witnesses; smugly brutal generals, brilliantly made points of law; fights in the interview room; multiple revelations; a media circus and a final tussle in a darkened, deserted house. Judd, one of the best screen actresses of her generation, needs to pick better scripts since her commitment to rubbish only makes her look silly, but Freeman has done enough of these walk-through parts to get by on charisma and the odd smart line. p BOn the DVD/B: IHigh Crimes/I on disc comes with a gaggle of featurettes: a chat with the author of the original novel, Joseph Finder, some making-of puffery about staging stunts and the working relationship of the stars, and interesting little bits with the technical advisors about the court martial system and how to beat a polygraph. Franklin contributes a commentary track with a lot of enthusiasm, which is a little more pleased with the end product than most viewers will be. --IKim Newman/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 1 2 Next » Brilliant! May 20, 2003 11 out of 11 found this review helpful This film was excellent. The plot was perfectly timed and new twists and turns were added at the right time. The timing in the film keeps the watcher genuinely interested from start to finish. Throughout the film, you are supplied with just the right information to keep you guessing but not so little that you have no clues as to what is happening! The perfomances put in by Asheley Judd and Morgan Freeman were, as always, superb! It was strange to see Freeman play a less than perfect character. He was still a good guy but he had certain flaws,and he played this realistically.brThe content of this film was well balanced. This was a supsense film and the cleverly built up tension was not clouded by too much sex or violence. brI found that it added to the suspense when there were flashbacks to the event in question. The viewer was shown different scopes on what happened and it really got the viewer involved in the guessing game!brOn the whole, this film was tense, interesting, and moved at the right pace. The characters were realistic, well acted and consistent.brI had no pre-conceived ideas of this film before watching it as i hadnt heard of it but i was pleased to report it as being a top film! Ashley Judd was good, but this film really pushed my buttons December 11, 2003 Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) 7 out of 7 found this review helpful "High Crimes" was one of those movies that just started pushing the wrong buttons on me, which surprised me because usually any film with Morgan Freeman in it is going to be a safe bet. The man is one of the finest actors around and his playing God in the new Jim Carey movie would probably be considered typecasting by everyone who has worked with him. But I am not going to blame him for why I got on the wrong side of this movie, nor am I going to point a finger at screenwriters Yuri Zeltser and Cary Bickley, becaue I am pretty sure the objectionable elements were in the original novel by Joseph Finder.pFreeman is paired with Ashley Judd in this 2002 film, five years after they worked together in "Kiss the Girls." However, this time Judd does the heavy lifting and the basic premise is quite compelling. Judd plays Claire Kubik, a defense attorney whose is about to make partner at a big law firm. Life is good. But then her husband is arrested by the FBI and changed with having murdered civilians is El Salvador when he was in the Army. That is only half the shock, because Claire also finds out that he married her under an assumed name. Her husband is going to be court-martialed for the massacre and if found guilty he will be sentenced to death. But when she sees the young first lieutenant (Adam Scott) assigned to defend the case, she makes herself co-counsel, and, to help her understand the playing field, she tracks down Charlie Grimes (Freeman), an ex-military lawyer and recovering alcoholic. pThe character's alcoholism is one of the aforementioned buttons, because of course the sobriety of Grimes comes into play. I will grant that the situation is contrived well in terms of the plot, but contrivance becomes the key word to describe this plot element. The net benefit is a mild sense of concern because, well, Grimes is played by Morgan Freeman and is clearly a good guy. The other button that gets pushed is that "High Crimes" is another one of these films were the United States military is portrayed as being psychopathic killers. Not only that, they are INCOMPETENCE psychopathic killers. Claire's husband claims somebody else is to blame and that there is a conspiracy going on and eventually she starts getting too close to the truth and shadowy figures try to take care of her in a way that is ultimately guaranteed to shine even more publicity on this case. Fortunately, some of the shadowy figures are on Claire's side.pI want to point out that my disdain for the U.S. military being portrayed as incompetent psychopathic killers existed long before the war to liberate Iraq. Just as I got tired of villains turning out to be Nazis and drug crazed Vietnam vets, I am already tired of villains being ultra-right military men whose ideological beliefs overwhelms their professionalism and sense of morality. Claire's husband says the real killer is a guy named Hernandez (Juan Carlos HernÃ¡ndez), now a Major, who looks brazenly homicidal. But the military is covering things up apparently, so it is not a big deal.pJudd's performance is what hold the movie together on these terms. She might be questioning everything her husband ever told her since the day they met but in the courtroom here legal instincts take over. Every motion she makes might be denied, but she knows how to dissect witnesses with a nice combination of sharp questions and pointed attitude. This is one of those films where it ain't over until its over, so I was ticked off, but I was also entertained, so if you have different buttons than I do you will obviously enjoy this film more than I did. Also, a tip of the hat to Tom Bower as FBI Special Agent Mullins, who gets off some nice shots during a scene with Claire on a park bench; always nice to see a veteran actor milk his little scene for everything it is worth. High Crimes October 31, 2005 Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful Formulaic and predictable and a couple of criticisms that could be levelled at #8220;High Crimes#8221; and certainly at times you do feel that the film is running though the required set of scenes for this type of film. Oh, here comes the scene when the lead female gets spooked in her car, oh here#8217;s the scene when the lead man gets beaten up, oh here#8217;s the stand off between the two main protagonists. But for all that, it does remain a very entertaining film and is extremely watchable.pClaire Kubrik (Ashley Judd) is a high powered attorney who though she knew everything about her husband, Tom, until he is arrested for crimes he committed in El Salvador, whilst a member of a Special Forces detachment. pClaire vows to defend her husband, but being uninitiated in military law she recruits ex-marine Charlie Grimes (Morgan Freeman) to her cause. For all his legal knowledge, Grimes has a reputation for being something of a loose cannon and a reformed alcoholic to boot.pAnd this is where you get the feeling you#8217;ve seen it all before, although its rather well shot and some of the action scenes are well presented you do feel that the direction is running to a script.pThat#8217;s not to say that Judd and Freeman don#8217;t generate some good atmosphere between themselves and you get the feeling that they are obviously enjoying the experience of the film. Both put in good solid performances (as you would expect) and they try to get as much from their roles as possible. There#8217;s not much in the way of support, especially from Jim Caviezel (as Claire#8217;s husband) but both Adam Scott and Amanda Peet put in some great turns with more than a little sweet romance.pDon#8217;t expect anything new here, but this is never the less a good solid thriller adventure film and is well worth checking out. Above Average June 3, 2004 1 out of 1 found this review helpful Lawyer Claire Kubik (Judd) lives a picture-perfect life in San Fransisco with her husband Tom. One day when the couple are shopping, Tom is arrested and charged with the murder of some civilians in El Salvador while he was serving in the Marines. Now Claire must find out the real truth, which may not support "innocent" Tom...pI am a great fan of Ashley Judd and I have enjoyed most of her films (Double Jeopardy, Kiss the Girls) and I was over-all pleased with High Crimes. The plot twists up and down and really keeps you guessing. Although it may have a few clichés (Bugged Phones, Corrupt Officials), High Crimes really did impress me. Morgan Freeman gave a so-so performance, with quite a few good lines. Overall, a decent thriller with a twisting plot. Underrated. Well worth watching September 27, 2005 2 out of 3 found this review helpful I would like to contradict a number of other reviews posted about this film. Although I have not actually read the book, I thoroughly enjoyed watching High Crimes. To be fair, I was watching it as a late night TV movie, but I still found it gripping and compelling, the acting was very well done and the plot, if exceptionally cliched, was exciting stuff, and I found myself glued to it for the duration.brThe basic idea of a lawyer defending her husband over a crime he supposedly committed in a hidden former life as a marine may seem soppy and over romantic, but, I think the film far exceeded the bounds of its plot. The flashbacks, twists and reveals were carefully timed and gave the plot a great momentum.brWhen the final reveal was thrown in with the ambidextrous murderer at the end, I was quite taken aback, even though I had suspected that person all along.brI have just two complaints. The first is, yes, I'll give it this, it is very cliched and not to everyones taste, but I don't think that particularly harms the movie. Secondly, the end is dragged out a bit after the exciting finale. We didn't REALLY want to know what happened to the characters afterwards. Other than that, great film.brProbably not worth buying, at least not for more than a fiver, but if its on telly, watch it. And, if you want a gripping thriller to rent, definitely consider this.br8/10 Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 1 2 Next »

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