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With its big name stars and big star moments, this slick courtroom drama was good Oscar bait material for director Rob Reiner in 1992. There was no way of knowing at the time that the film would only gain weight in the future for events that couldn’t even be thought of in the early ’90s. Set at Guantanamo Bay, the crime story revolves around the death of a marine private and the possible orders that were given that might have lead to his death by the abuse of other soldiers. Aaron Sorkin’s script deals with the following of orders that are not just and a military code of conduct that has become warped. Looking back now, the film almost seems hauntingly prophetic.

Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison, LITTLE BIG LEAGUE) and Private Louden Downey (James Marshall, TV’s TWIN PEAKS) have been charged with murder for the death of William Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo, ALIVE), the weakest soldier in their unit. Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore, ST. ELMO’S FIRE) believes the deaths were the result of a hazy ritual called Code Red, which went awry, and wants the case as a way to expose the practice. Her superiors are playing politics and decide to go with Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise, RISKY BUSINESS), a skilled lawyer who has never seen the inside of a courtroom because he is the master of the plea bargain. Along with researcher Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak, THE USUAL SUSPECTS), Kaffee and Galloway dig deeper into the case and hit nothing but stonewalls from those involved.

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Jerry Seinfeld’s big return is a B- at best. It’s like honey sweet, satisfying, but it’s not something that goes to your head. Even more so than Pixar’s RATATOUILLE, this is an animated film for adults, which is not a negative comment in the least. Visually the little ones might find some of the sillier or more brightly colored moments entertaining, but most of it will buzz right over their heads. Where the film really succeeds is in creating its world. The parallels between the bee world and the human world are at times ingenious.

Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) has just graduated from college. Because of their short life span, bees only have to go for three days. Barry and his best friend Adam Flayman (Matthew Broderick, ELECTION) go off to their first day at the hive, where they have to choose one job to do for the rest of their lives. This idea scares Barry, who decides to head out into the outside world to see what is out there. Along his journey, he ends up almost swatted by the brutish Ken (Patrick Warburton, TV’s THE TICK) if it were not for the pretty florist Vanessa (Renee Zellweger, BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY). Barry breaks bee law and talks to Vanessa to thank her for saving his life. Quickly, Barry is smitten by Vanessa, and on a trip to the grocery store, he discovers the truth about human’s theft of honey. So with the help of Vanessa, Barry decides to sue the human race.

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Tony Gilroy moves from the writer of the BOURNE series to his first directing gig with this solid corporate thriller. With a fairly straight-forward visual style leaving the flare to the script structure, Gilroy is blessed with a cast filled with the likes of George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton and Sydney Pollack. Each actor gives first-rate performances, driving this very believable tale of corporate greed and deception.

Clooney plays the title character, a fixer for a major law firm. He refers to himself as a janitor; the man who cleans up the dirty laundry of the firm’s high paying clients. He is called in when, during a deposition in a billion dollar lawsuit, the firm’s chief litigator Arthur Edens (Wilkinson, IN THE BEDROOM) strips down naked and professes his love for the young woman testifying in the 15-year-old contamination case. Chief legal advisor for uNorth, the company being sued in the class action suit, Karen Crowder (Swinton, DEEP END) is appalled when she sees the tape of Edens. When Clayton comes to her, he doesn’t make her feel confident that the problem will be adequately taken care of, spurring her to take matters into her own hands.

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The best move this courtroom drama does is stay out of the courtroom for most of its running time. The final court proceeding doesn’t even make an appearance. Director Steven Soderbergh (SEX, LIES & VIDEOTAPE) and writer Susannah Grant (IN HER SHOES) find a way to have the revelatory happy ending that is a staple of this kind of film without a judge ruling innocent or guilty and a courtroom full of people jumping to their feet. These moves make the story about the investigation and not the theatrics. It gives it heart.

The film takes its title from its central character, Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts, MYSTIC PIZZA), a poor single mother who provokes with her blunt statements and skimpy clothing. After a car accident, she hires lawyer Ed Masry (Albert Finney, TOM JONES) to represent her. Following the court case (one of only two courtroom scenes), Brockovich pressures her way into a job at Masry’s firm. She is assigned a real estate case, which includes medical records. Wondering why the two are connected, she looks into the case more and discovers that in Hinkley, California PG&E have been contaminating the groundwater with chromium 6, which is causing the residents to have numerous and varying health problems. Turns out, the power company has been covering up the problem and Brockovich makes it her mission to make them pay.

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This film is the quintessential courtroom drama. Well, I guess jury room drama is more accurate. Besides a brief prologue and epilogue the entire film takes place in a jury room on the hottest day of the year. An 18-year-old “ethnic” boy is on trial for murdering his father. A preliminary vote shows that all but one juror would vote guilty right away, which would lead the boy to death row.

In a classic performance, Henry Fonda (GRAPES OF WRATH) plays Juror #8, the man who wants to talk about the case before he sends a boy to the electric chair. He’s not convinced whether the defendant is guilty or not. As the 12 men discuss the facts of the case we see how “truth” is often shaded by pride, prejudice and cultural status. Juror #3 (Lee J. Cobb, THE EXORCIST) is the most bitter and seems to be putting his own personal problems onto the defendant. Juror #10 (Ed Begley, HANG ‘EM HIGH) keeps talking about “those people” and at one point in the film goes on a racist rant, which even people who still think the boy is guilty get up from the table and turn their backs to him. Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall, NIXON) tries to look at the facts with pure logic and no emotion. Juror #7 (Jack Warden, THE VERDICT) seems more interested in getting to his ball game then really giving any real thought to which way he will vote.

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This film really shouldn’t be that good. Most of the film is exposition, people just talking about what has happened. However, the brilliance of the film is that it’s not boring for a second. Oliver Stone has truly made a masterpiece. Along with his editor and sound designer, they have crafted a visually thrilling journey through the labyrinthine plot against the president. As the plot unravels, the scenes pick up speed and the editing becomes more jagged. The sound becomes layered with a subtle ticking clock underneath.

The other driving force is the cast, which is loaded with amazing performances. Kevin Costner as DA Jim Garrison is the central reason the film works. Costner has been known to dial in a performance or two, but when he gets a role he really cares about (see DANCES WITH WOLVES and all three of his baseball films) he really drives home a powerful, convincing performance. Garrison is his best and he really grabs you with his “man in search of the truth” passion. There’s a great character scene close to the end when the film slows down a bit (like reaching the eye of the storm) where Garrison can open up to his wife (Sissy Spacek, IN THE BEDROOM). That quiet scene leads right into the courthouse climax where Costner really excels. His closing monologue is one of the best ever — just listen for the quiver in his voice. Plus, Stone throws at us one of my favorite shots in movie history when Garrison finishes his speech and looks directly into the camera to include the audience in on the fight for justice.

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