The Verdict (1982): A lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling. Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling.
Legal Eagles (1986): A New York district attorney works and flirts with his adversary and her kooky artist client, who is on trial for a murder she didn't commit. Robert Redford, Debra Winger, Daryl Hannah.
Note: I liked it, but the reviews seem mixed.
A Few Good Men (1992): Neo military lawyer Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder; they contend they were acting under orders. Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore.
"You can't handle the truth!" - Col. Jessup (Nicholson)
My Cousin Vinny (1992): Two New Yorkers are accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college, and one of their cousins--an inexperienced, loudmouth lawyer not accustomed to Southern rules and manners--comes in to defend them. Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei.
Note: Tomei won a controversial Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
The Devil's Advocate (1997): An exceptionally adept Florida lawyer is offered a job to work in New York City for a high-end law firm with a high-end boss - the biggest opportunity of his career to date. Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino.
Others I considered include: A Time to Kill (Matthew McConaughey), The Rainmaker (Matt Damon), and A Civil Action (John Travolta).
(Credit to IMDB for the one-sentence summaries.)
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE My Cousin VInny! It is a given that I will stop my channel surfing if that movie is on.
ReplyDeleteYeah. It's a funny movie.
DeleteI love The Verdict and saw that in the theatre when it came out and just rewatched it again last year. Great performances. I have only seen certain parts of My Cousin Vinny..one day I will see it. I remember the shock of her winning. Everyone thought Jack Palance gave the wrong answer. I never saw Legal Eagles nor The Devil.s Advocate.
ReplyDeleteA Few Good Men and The Devil's Advocate are dramas essentially. AFGM is probably a bit more female-friendly, but TDA has Pacino.
DeleteLegal Eagles is a comedy / mystery hybrid. Video store clerks didn't know which section to put it in, back in the day.
I haven't seen any of the other nominees' films, so I can't really comment on Tomei's Oscar. Except that she was good in her role.
i don't remember what the controversy was, which is sad. i had forgotten she'd won an oscar for that role, which is inexcusable, because she was awesome in this movie. i didn't see any of the other films for which actresses (judy davis, joan plowright, miranda richardson and vanessa redgrave) had been nominated, but my guess is the controversy was that these other women were so MUCH more established, compared to tomei, and how dare they lose to an upstart. was that it?
DeleteI don't know. Either that or it was kind of a goofy role.
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