Conviction

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Plot: Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell) is a low-life in rural Massachusetts, and he is accused of a terrible murder and convicted. His sister Betty Ann (Hillary Swank) is certain he is innocent. She gets her GED, her BA, and her JD -- then goes to work as Kenny's attorney to clear his name. The rest of the movie, which is based on a true story, is fairly predictable.

Review: This movie is a predictable drama, and about average in entertainment value. The story was engaging enough, but a few more plot twists would have helped.

Betty Ann Waters is a sympathetic character, but Kenny Waters is unlikeable. I could see why the police would want to lock him up. The characters get into a rut where they are always angry at each other or at the police. Anger was probably the proper emotion, but the audience gets worn out by it.  The subplot with Betty Ann's kids helps broaden the story out. Swank is a good actress, but the range of emotion required in Conviction was not-so great.

I liked Minnie Driver as Betty's law school friend -- she had some great facial expressions. It was interesting to have Barry Scheck, the real life DNA attorney from the the OJ Simpson case, as a character here.

In summary, a non-enthusiastic recommendation. A good drama for a rainy afternoon.

Cast: Hillary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver

Directed by: Tony Goldwyn

Written by: Pamela Gray, based on a true story

Rating: 2.0 stars


More: The film fails to mention that Kenny Water's died in a fall six months after being released from prison. His estate received $3.4 million from the state for wrongful conviction. It would have been gutsier to have ended the movie with the fall.

Even more: The sound editing during the dinner scene was awful. I never heard such gross-sounding Mac and Cheese. My wife and I both thought the sound of the spoon scooping the Mac and Cheese sounded like something vile from a Halloween funhouse -- like a bowl of gooey eyeballs or a tub of guts.

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Hereafter

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Plot: George (Matt Damon) is a psychic who finds psychic abilities hurt his ability to meet girls, as we learn when he brings Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) home. There are two intercut sub-plots: a troubled boy (George/Frankie McLaren) wants to contact his dead twin; and a French newscaster, Marie (Cécile De France,) plagued by her near-death experience in a tsunami.

Review: A disappointing flop. Hereafter has good performances in the service of an intensely dull and slow moving script.

The movie begins with its best scene, a dramatic tsunami hitting a vacation beach, and Marie's death and rescue in the flood. After this scene pace slows to a crawl, Matt Damon's George is a calm, slow character. I like Damon's acting best in the movie, but the movie drags between his scenes, and the acoustic sound track is like a lullaby . Marie is French, and for some reason most of her dialog is in French. I can't understand this: how does it help the movie to have one third of it in French?

The third story is about a twin boy, Marcus, who survives the death of his brother in a traffic accident. The boy is depicted as a saintly child caring for his drug-addicted mother, and bedeviled by the need to reconnect with the dead twin. The boy's character is not realistic, does not make sense, and the actor depiction of the character is uninspired.

Clint Eastwood fell on his face in this movie. This self-important, ponderous movie wastes its good acting with clumsy editing and a poor story.

Cast: Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cécile De France

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Rating: 1.5 stars


More: More than anything else I am bored by the mythos of near death experiences. Can someone think of something new to say about it?

Even more: My DW liked the movie. She identified with the spiritual seekers, and especially how the "regular" people disregarded Marie's and Marcus's need to deal with their issues. 

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