The Firm (1993)

One of two movies released in 1993 that kick-started an extra-lucrative time in the career of writer John Grisham, The Firm is an enjoyable thriller that focuses on the legal hoops the lead character needs to jump through, while also adding one or two more visceral moments for those wanting immediate thrills in their thrillers.

Tom Cruise is Mitch McDeere, a brilliant young lawyer who is given an offer he can't refuse from a prestigious law firm. He and his wife (Abby, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn) have to relocate, and there are long working days in his near future, but the rewards seem well worth the investment, especially as he is taken under the wing of Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman). Things seem a bit too good to be true though, which means they are. It turns out that the law firm has one or two secrets, and someone may be willing to kill to keep them secret.

There are very few movies adapted from John Grisham novels that don't benefit from having a stacked cast, but The Firm remains a high watermark. Alongside Cruise, Tripplehorn, and Hackman, you get Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, David Strathairn, Gary Busey, Tobin Bell, and Dean Norris. There are also two main supporting roles for Terry Kinney and Barbara Garrick, people you will know by sight even if you can't put a face to their names right now. This is a Grisham movie, but it's also very much an actor's movie, and there's nobody here who disappoints (although Bell and Norris are very much locked in to the role of the "deadly stranger" required to add the proper physical threat alongside the legal wrangling, which is saying something in a film that also brings in Paul Sorvino and Joe Viterelli before the end credits roll.

Adapted from the novel by David Rabe, David Rayfiel, and the legendary Robert Towne, things are paced really well as viewers are introduced to the onscreen world, start learning some of the jargon, or at least have enough context clues to get the gist, and can then share the unease as some characters start to become suspicious about the way business is being conducted by the firm. The cast are all very capable of selling the dialogue, and Sydney Pollack once again shows himself to be one of the best in the business when it comes to presenting some potentially dry and dull material in a way that feels impressively engaging and propulsive.

It's hard to pin down why this works as well as it does, and those familiar with the novel may disagree (I know many were unhappy with how the ending changed from page to screen), but the main thing is a feeling of quality, as well as the way in which the plot has been made easily understandable without seeming too patronising. There are a few elements I can point to as being sub-par, maybe some of the score and some of the make up being used to show how tired and strained Cruise is in the second half, and some may be put off by the fact that the runtime is 154 minutes, but I would generally recommend this to anyone after blockbuster entertainment that focuses on the cast ahead of any random explosions and special effects.

8/10

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The Big Sick (2017)

Written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (husband and wife), The Big Sick is a romantic comedy loosely based on how . . . Kumail Nanjiani met and fell in love with Emily V. Gordon. What could have seemed smug and self-indulgent ends up being something fully deserving of all the accolades it has received over the past few months. On the poster and Blu-ray cover you can see phrases like "easily one of the best rom-coms of the decade", "romantic and hilarious", and "sparkling and heartfelt", as well as a few five-star ratings to help sell it. And all of those statements and ratings, originating from sources as varied as the likes of Variety and Glamour, are absolutely correct.

Very much in line with the other films that have been helped into creation by producer Judd Apatow, this is a mix of comedy and drama that gives characters room to breath in a two-hour runtime. Unlike some of the other Apatow movies I could mention, however, this doesn't ever feel as if it is overstaying its welcome.

That is down to the main performances, and the fact that Nanjiani and Gordon have such a great story to spin into cinema gold. Director Michael Showalter doesn't concern himself too much with adding any bells or whistles, happy to rely on the characters and the dialogue, which is a smart decision on his part.

Although Nanjiani happily plays himself onscreen, his wife is portrayed by Zoe Kazan. Kazan is fine, although she spends a large portion of the movie offscreen, or visible on a hospital bed (hence the title, the plot is basically Kumail and Emily having a big fight and then Emily ending up hospitalised and placed in a medically induced coma, which can make it a bit awkward to kiss and make up). Holly Hunter and Ray Romano play Emily's worried parents, and they are both excellent, which is something I never thought I would say about Romano, considering I assumed Everybody Loves Raymond was a deliberately ironic sitcom about one of the most annoying men on the planet. Anupam Kher and Zenobia Shroff are both very good, playing Kumail's parents, and Adeel Akhtar is Kumail's brother, Naveed. Other comics are represented by Bo Burnham, Aidy Bryant, and Kurt Braunohler, and there's nobody in the supporting cast who drops the ball, including many not mentioned here.

There aren't any major set-pieces here, and few of the laughs aren't BIG laughs, but the laughs are surprisingly consistent, entwined nicely with the drama and the heart of the whole thing. This is from the script and the presentation of the material, but it would be remiss to undervalue just how much of the film succeeds thanks to the sheer likeability of Nanjiani. He has been putting in fun performances for a good few years now, often in material that isn't really deserving of his presence, and I hope we can now see him in some more lead roles.

9/10

The Big Sick is out now. Buy it here - The Big Sick at Amazon.co.uk

Swing Shift (1984)

It's a sadly familiar tale, while a man is away fighting for his country, his good lady gets bored and lonely at home and ends up falling for the charms of someone lucky enough to not be in battle. The man in this case is Ed Harris, the woman is Goldie Hawn and the charming and lucky other fella is Kurt Russell.

Swing Shift has an easygoing charm to it even while it doesn't do that much at all. The drama isn't all that dramatic, the light moments of comedy are few and far between and any air of romance that might seep from each frame is polluted by the fact that this is a story about a married woman.

Hawn plays Kay Walsh, a woman who ends up discovering a whole new world around her when her husband (Harris) heads off to war and she lands a job at an airport plant. She becomes friends with the neighbour (Hazel, played by Christine Lahti) that her husband had always looked down his nose at and, more importantly, she starts to hit it off with Mike 'Lucky' Lockhart (Russell).

Written by Nancy Dowd, with some uncredited work from a couple of other folk, and directed by Jonathan Demme, Swing Shift is just a simple tale that is told well. It's completely unspectacular but remains worth a watch for a couple of reasons.

Reason one - this is the movie which led to Russell and Hawn starting a relationship and it adds a layer to the movie to see them in the very first stage of their romance. They work well onscreen together though it's not fair to assume that the chemistry is due to their relationship - e.g. Russell also had great chemistry with Stallone in Tango & Cash and they certainly weren't dating.

Reason two - the cast. No, I'm not just talking about the leads here. Hawn, Russell, Harris and Lahti are all very good but this is a film filled with great people in numerous small roles. Fred Ward reminds everyone of just how great he can be, Holly Hunter doesn't do too much but doesn't do it badly either, Reid Cruickshanks is one of those men that you think you don't know but you recognise as soon as he appears, Stephen Tobolowsky gets to be in the movie for about a minute and there's even a small role for Roger Corman. Belinda Carlisle even pops up as, of course, a singer. Blink and you might miss her but she IS there.

Reason three - wait, I said a couple of reasons. The two reasons above. Those are all that I can think of just now.

The movie looks okay, it's paced just right and the characters are, by and large, good fun to hang out with but the script doesn't exactly sizzle and there's nothing that feels really . . . . . . special. The direction from Demme is okay, I suppose, but he's done a much better job with most of his other movies, which can also be said for everyone else involved. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Swing-Shift-Goldie-Hawn/dp/B0000TG95Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357052231&sr=8-1&keywords=swing+shift