Lincoln Lawyer

The term smooth operator is personified by Defense Attorney Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey). He is suave, smart and thinks on his feet. He knows the tricks of the trade like very few others. And did I mention that he is a superb negotiator – knows fully well that most cases are actually decided, won or lost outside the courtroom and not inside. He can well make it to the big league but for reasons best known to him, he has played ball only at the lower levels to date. He is divorced but on extremely good terms with his ex-wife Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei). They have a daughter who the two love very dearly. And he has his contacts – thanks to most criminals who he helps get out of jail. He trusts very few people – occupational hazard. But one of those he trusts is his right hand man Frank Levin (William H Macy). The latest addition to his life is Earl (Laurence Mason), who drives him around in his Lincoln – aah now I know why the movie is called Lincoln Lawyer.


Mickey’s talent (for lack of any other word) finally lands him into a big league case when his contact, bail agent Val Valenzuela (John Leguizamo) puts him through to a wealthy real estate agent Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe). Louis has been charged with assault and attempted murder of a prostitute who picks him up at a bar. Louis claims that she is only trying to fleece him off his money and that he is falsely accused. Louis’ mother is also willing spare no expense in getting her son out of the case. Sensing that it’s a great opportunity to rake in the moolah, Mickey takes up the case. Louis’ is convincing enough and is not even willing to arrive at an out of court settlement. He wants the case to go to trial and prove a point of some sort. Bail is set @ $1 million and Mickey begins building his case.

Lincoln Lawyer is young director Brad Furman’s second movie to date. And with the exception of a couple of cuts which he could have done with, it is a well made movie. He builds up the tension throughout the movie very well – leading upto a good solid climax. We definitely have a solid prospect here. Ryan Phillippe is eerie in his portrayal of Louis Roulet. I only fear that he will soon be typecast into the “ice cold person role” that he keeps getting himself into. There is very little else that he does. Maybe it’s a personal fetish that we aren’t aware of. Minus the drawl, Matthew McConaughey continues be the correct choice for roles that demand sheer good looks with just enough acting capabilities to make it through. I could not quite understand the reason for having a superb talent like Marisa Tomei and barely getting anything out of her but for a few minutes of screen time. Could have done with a meatier role. That was probably the only flaw other than a couple of cuts as mentioned earlier. Definitely a dekko. 6.5 on 10 from my side.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1627364121/

Hackers

She started acting when she was 7 years old in a movie that starred here father in the lead role. The year was 1982. Her first lead role would be 11 years later in a lousy Sci Fi thriller called Cyborg 2 followed by an even worse movie called Without Evidence in 1995 where she played a bit part. Hackers was her fourth movie and I haven’t seen the other 3 that I spoke about. Thank God we have seen Angelina Jolie in movies that have been released in a little over a decade. That she has been inclined towards the action / science fiction / adventure genre of movies is not a worry at all. She is in fact probably the only woman who can really pull it off amongst the current crop of actresses that we have. But that doesn’t change the fact that 16 years back, she could not have been called an actress. The crappy script and the even more horrible direction doesn’t really help her out here. But a little under ten movies down the road, she came up with a performance of a lifetime in Girl, Interrupted (must watch for those who haven’t). So all of you out there who have had a really bad run to begin with – persistence pays. And yes, it helps to have a dad who has been around in the circuit for a while – no insult meant to your acting capabilities at all Ms. Jolie. One has to make the most of the luck factor as well.


“Zero Cool” is the screen name that is used by seven year old Dade Murphy who has taken to computers like a fish to water (could not think of a better line folks – very corny I know). So much so that at this tender age he has the capability of hacking into some of the most secure systems – whatever existed of those in the late 80s – in the US of A. But his luck runs out and soon enough he finds himself in a trial room where the prosecution makes mince meat out of him mercilessly and other than a hefty fine that is imposed on his parents, he is legally banned from being seen around a computer till he is eighteen years old – OUCH!!! That’s harsh. How he manages to stay in touch with the fast moving technology during that time of the world and get to age 18 as “Crash Override” (Jonny Lee Miller) can be understood, only by the director of the movie. When he moves schools he bumps into the much sought after beauty on campus (aargh – Angeliine @ age 18 without cosmetic surgery used to look quite ugly I must say) – Kate Libby (Angelina Jolie) who uses the opportunity to yank his chain like anyone would do with a fresher in school. A few altercations later and more importantly when Dade understands that Libby goes by the screen name of “Acid Burn” is when the two are forced to work together to help a fellow hacker who has been arrested by the FBI.

A barrage of tech dialogues that are absolutely unfriendly even to the biggest of geeks is only the beginning of the list of flaws that in Hackers. The costumes are atrocious but pardonable since the 90s were the most forgettable decade in fashion. Editing and direction are all but absent. And so is acting. So is there anything worth looking forward to here? Not really. And honestly, I tried my best to transpose my brains to 1995 to figure out if there were any pardonable errors. But I came a cropper. When you think hard you realize that a movie like Back To The Future was made in 1985 – a decade before this and yet was so much better in execution. Undeniably a super crappy movie. Playing these days on one of the movie channels. Cannot remember which one. Choose any other movie cause it would be tough to get as low as this one. 2 on 10 and I am being very generous.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2444991257/