Runaway Jury/High Crimes (DVD, 2007, 2-Disc Set, Canadian)

RUNAWAY JURY: Director Gary Fleder (THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD KISS THE GIRLS) tackles best-selling novelist John Grisham's tale of jury manipulation in RUNAWAY JURY. Jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) can spin any jury in favor of his client. At least he always could before. But his latest job may turn out to be his most challenging. As an explosive civil case goes to trial in New Orleans Fitch thinks he has arranged for the perfect jury and has the verdict sealed in favor of his client a gun manufacturer. Soon however he starts receiving phone calls from the mysterious Marlee (Rachel Weisz) who claims that she can turn the jury any way she wants and--for a price--she'll spin it his way. Meanwhile Marlee is making the same offer to the plaintiff's lawyer Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) a Southern gentleman who always plays by the rules. Marlee's insider is Juror #9 Nick Easter (John Cusack) who is working with her to influence his fellow jurors. Are these two just grifters in it for the money or do they have another agenda? The audience is kept guessing until the very end.HIGH CRIMES: Based on the novel by Joseph Finder HIGH CRIMES is an engaging courtroom thriller that features standout lead performances by Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman. Judd is Claire Kubik or is she? A successful defense attorney with a seemingly perfect life Claire is shocked to discover that her husband Tom (Jim Caviezal) has been arrested by the United States Marine Corp. for slaughtering innocent civilians in El Salvador many years before. Not knowing who to believe Claire eventually accepts her husband's pleas of innocence and sets out to defend him. With the help of wild-card ex-Marine lawyer Charlie Grimes (Freeman) and wet-behind-the-ears Lt. Terrence Embry (Adam Scott) Claire attempts to set the record straight once and for all. But as she uncovers new information that reveals a cover up even she could never have imagined the stakes are raised threatening her own life in the process. Acclaimed director Carl Franklin (ONE FALSE MOVE DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS) embraces his material like a true professional employing tension-mounting camera movements and clever flashback sequences to turn a potentially standard by-the-books courtroom drama into an entertaining thriller. Playing another self-reliant tough character Judd proves she is one of Hollywood's most dependable stars.