The Pelican Brief

source: The Pelican Brief

Hey, I'm a big fan of Denzel's, alright? Anywho, the books are always better than the movies. This one's no difference. I can't really put a finger on Julia's character. She seemed to live in a state of perpetual fear for being killed, which is understandable. Still, there's nothing to grab onto with her. She just seemed flighty and you turned to Denzel to provide some info on what the hell was going on. He's a natural of course. I'm not being biased either. He handles his scenes with Julia wonderfully by not allowing this chick to confuse his role. The plot's not all too bad either considering it's by Grisham. It's weird that politicians would kill folks over pelicans in the swamps, but that's how it goes I guess. It's more original, I'll give it that. It ties together wonderfully.

Between this movie and The Firm, both of which are terrible, Grisham refused to approve any screenplay he wasn't involved in. I suppose if you've never read the book the movie might have some entertainment value. If, however, you loved the book you'll find so many things wrong with this movie.

I tried to get into this movie but just couldn't, i think it was the sound of Julia Roberts voice, spending most of the time in the film talking over the phone with a low dragging drool, but not only that, the film was just boring, it was slow moving, dull, with no exciting bits. In most movies there is always a little romance between the stars, not in this one, could this have because Julia had a constant throat infection.

You can read the plot synopsis but the point is missed on people from NYC and LA. This goes to the heartland and explains how discreet government corruption can hurt us badly. Its also illustrates why "obstruction of justice" is such an important law and why (now) Donald Trump should be deposed and thrown out. Just remember the truism, "if one lies about small things, they will like about big things too"

The Pelican Brief has to be one of the best suspence thrillers ever, yet the average is only 6.6...respectable but not as high as it should be... Frankly it was masterfully written, and while it may seem slow paced I think it is just about right.

Investigative thrillers are some of my favourite movies, whenever I want to really sink my teeth into something and get absorbed by it, they are my films of choice. The film carries plenty of tension, urgency and mystery which are the elements you need in this kind of movie. The acting is first class and the film will not leave you disappointed :)

This movie is so topical I can hardly believe it. The director of the FBI sits with the president in the oval office and says, "So you want me to back off the investigation for a while?" Could be Comey and Trump. The similarities are chilling. I guess nothing ever changes. If you'd like to know what's going on behind the scenes as Trump, Sessions, Comey, Rosenstein, Mueller, and the comatose GOP Congress debates Trump's involvement as a Russian spy, watch this movie. It will put meat on the bones that you see every day in the news. Denzel and Julie are terrific, and the script is wonderful. I don't know who all these people are who call this movie boring, they must be TRANSFORMERS fans or something. Not a boring minute for a mature movie goer. Every bit as good as ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.

Denzel Washington is usually a guarantee of hours of fun, and you would expect Julia Roberts to perform well. Unfortunately throughout the whole movie she speaks in a soft monotone whisper, and denzel responds by doing similar. After a while this becomes distracting, and the hope is the bad guys will take her out soon. As usual with this author the story is great and fast paced. The acting is bad. So for a potential score of 8 , I give 6.

This movie hasn't aged well. It's probably 20 years since I last saw it, and I remembered it as being much better. The plot is overly convoluted and full of holes, only half of which are filled in by exposition later in the movie. Both Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts are fine actors, but they don't seem overly engaged with their roles here and, frankly, this will never count among their best works. Better Grisham adaptations exist.