Juror #2

Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, Cedric Yarbrough, Leslie Bibb, Keifer Sutherland, Amy Aquino, Adrienne C. Moore, Francesca Eastwood
Running Time: 114 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

In the tradition of 90's potboilers like A Time to Kill, The Firm or even Clint Eastwood's own Absolute Power, the director's Juror #2 is a gripping legal thriller that foregoes histrionics to instead examine the consciences of its characters. Quieter and more subtle than expected, there's a welcome lack of flash to how Eastwood efficiently makes his point about how the legal system can fail even those with noble intentions. There are grey areas here as everyone involved attempts to do the right thing, no matter how skewed the scales seem.

Jurors with different backgrounds, personalities and biases forced to reach a consensus can often make for compelling human drama, but when one's harboring a major secret, those stakes are raised. It's a relatively simple premise, but the performances and execution go a long way, reminding us how good Eastwood is when interpreting material as solid as what screenwriter Jonathan Abrams provides. Logical and engaging, this reimagines Twelve Angry Men through a different lens, with the clever twist of a lone holdout being directly involved in the case he's selected to serve on.

Savannah based journalist and recovering alcoholic Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is called for jury duty in a murder trial just as his pregnant wife Ally (Zoey Deutch) is about to give birth after having previously miscarried. When an attempt to be dismissed fails, he joins eleven other jurors in hearing the case of James Sythe (Gabriel Basso), who's accused of murdering his girlfriend Kendall Carter (Francesca Eastwood) last year after the couple's heated argument at a local bar. 

Prosecutor Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette) anticipates an easy conviction, potentially bolstering her popularity as she runs for district attorney. The opposing counsel is overworked public defender Eric Resnik (Chris Messina), who maintains his client's innocence despite struggling to overcome a mountain of circumstantial evidence and key witnesses. But when Justin realizes he was at the scene and possesses crucial information that could clear Sythe's name, he panics. At the advice of his AA sponsor, defense attorney Larry (Keifer Sutherland), Justin keeps his mouth shut, instead attempting to plant reasonable doubt in these jurors' minds without incriminating himself.

The script covers itself well in explaining how Justin not only slipped through the cracks onto this jury, but isn't aware of his possible role in the crime until the trial's underway. In certain respects, he couldn't be safer since the police already have their man, but knowing the truth, he drowns in guilt as opinionated jurors' theories place him in increasing jeopardy during deliberations. And while Justin's an amiable guy who'd rather be by his wife's side, he still has personal demons he's working to put behind him.

Through Eastwood's use of strategically placed flashbacks, more alarming details concerning where Justin went and what he did that night after leaving the bar are revealed. As small bits of visual information unspool pieces at a time, the fuller picture emerges about why he's so torn about coming forward. Weighing the ramifications of convicting of an innocent man or telling a truth that could  destroy his life, Hoult subtly conveys his character's heavy burden as a trembling Justin nervously tries to nudge these stubborn jurors.

Most of the jury deem Sythe guilty before they've entered the room, such as an irritated Marcus (Cedric Yarbrough), who has an ax to grind that has more to do with his own experiences than the defendant's actual guilt or innocence. Making matters worse, he's incredibly suspicious of James, who's fighting an uphill battle in convincing this group to consider alternate possibilities. That is until retired homicide detective Harold Chicowski senses there could be a whole lot more to this case.  

Expertly played by the great J.K. Simmons, Chicowski's been around the block, his investigative skills proving to be both a blessing and curse for James. One of the more compelling ideas he introduces is that of confirmation bias, with police working backwards to finger an obvious suspect before collecting evidence that affirms it. For them, it's all about the optics of getting that conviction, just so long as their suspect fits the profile. It's something prosecutor Killebrew knows all too well, having presumably leveraged it to her benefit many times before.   

Killebrew's rivalry with Resnick is one of the more realistically rewarding details in the script, bucking the usual trend for this genre. Far from being at each others throats, they're friends, colleagues and former classmates who may be on opposite sides, but can still joke and commiserate over drinks. This shared respect becomes increasingly important when Killebrew starts having her own doubts about Sythe's guilt. Unsurprisingly, a superb Toni Collette brings additional layers of complexity to this woman as she grows suspicious of Hoult's tormented protagonist. The result is a tense, intelligently written showdown between two decent people that Eastwood stages with nuance and restraint. 

As a potentially innocent man's freedom hangs in the balance, the title character can't be sure whether he's actually responsible. And neither can we, until the realization hits that Juror #2 isn't about that, even if we're given more than enough information to put those pieces together. In the eyes of the law, all that ever matters is the verdict, which sometimes exists in an entirely separate universe as our preconceived notions of justice.                                 

Air

Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis, Matthew Maher, Julius Tennon, Damian Young, Jay Mohr
Running Time: 112 min.
Rating: R 

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

After a montage of 80's milestones set to Dire Strait's "Money For Nothing," Ben Affleck's Air kicks off by taking us straight into Nike headquarters, where something huge is about to go down, even if no one knows it yet. Based on a true story, it's about one man's gut feeling based on extensive knowledge and experience. Having already rolled the dice on a number of bad ideas and some really good ones he didn't get credit for, key employee Sonny Vaccaro has a new one he thinks can turn the fledgling company's fortunes around. And it just might be crazy enough to work.

This details how a Nike basketball scout signed college standout Michael Jordan to the sponsorship deal that transformed sports as we know it, to this day still generating a seemingly endless revenue stream. Unlike others, Vaccaro knew what bringing Jordan aboard would mean and was willing to do anything to get him. In retrospect, it's almost impossible to envision another outcome, but the film transports us into a world where it's not such a sure bet, as Alex Convery's script reveals everything that needed to fall exactly into place.

So accessibly mainstream that even those uninterested in basketball or sports in general will be hooked, it's easily the best in its genre since Moneyball, if slightly lighter in tone, but representing the type of adult-driven Hollywood picture that doesn't get made nearly enough. It also marks the long anticipated onscreen reunion of Affleck and Matt Damon, which doesn't disappoint, as both bring their best to this deceptively accomplished audience pleaser.

It's 1984 and Oregon-based Nike is on the verge of shutting down their unprofitable basketball shoe division as CEO and co-founder Bob Knight (Affleck) tasks Marketing VP Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) and Sonny (Damon) with picking recently drafted NBA players to sign. Lagging far behind Adidas and Converse in sales, they're still primarily known for running shoes, leaving this division hurting for resources and attention. 

With North Carolina's Michael Jordan out of their price range and already planning to sign a lucrative Adidas contract, they go down the list of more attainable draft picks like Melvin Turpin and John Stockton. But Sonny can't let it go, pushing Knight to spend the department's entire budget on acquiring an uninterested, unaffordable Jordan and build their entire brand around him.  

While Jordan's understandably protective mother Deloris (Viola Davis) drives a hard bargain, Sonny will have to first find a way around his fast-talking, abrasive agent David Falk (Chris Messina), who makes the player's feelings about Nike abundantly clear. After gauging interest from Jordan's friend and Olympic coach George Raveling (Marlon Wayans) and consulting with upper level executive Howard White (Chris Tucker), Sonny remains undeterred. He's willing to risk it all, even if Nike's entire basketball division goes down with him.     

Sonny's tenacity causes headaches, but he's the real deal when it comes to knowing the game, as we see him continuously rewatch the most famous highlight in Jordan's NCAA career, but through an entirely different lens than everyone else. While Knight got Sonny this job and clearly respects the hustle, he still has a board to answer to, so the latter has to make things happen on his own. If shaking up the status quo and challenging the entire system is what it takes then that's what he'll do. 

Standing out as a likable straight shooter in a sports business full of used car salesmen, it's easy to see why Michael's dad, James (Julius Tennon) immediately takes to him and even the far more skeptical, business-minded Deloris respects his straightforwardness. Sonny's face-to-face with her at the Jordan home is one of the film's best scenes, as he cleverly exposes the competing companies' weaknesses before Deloris eventually finds out just how right he is. It's probably the closest this comes to being any kind of cynical capitalistic critique, which is fine since such an approach would seem wildly inconsistent with what Affleck's trying to accomplish.

If the first few minutes weren't clue enough, the 80's nostalgia rarely lets up, from the clothes to office decor and barrage of period specific needle drops on the soundtrack. There's even a washed-out, VHS look to Robert Richardson's cinematography. But Affleck gets away with it since there's something unabashedly sincere about his intentions, aside from also benefiting from a story that's never been explored to this extent in a dramatic feature.

Damon plays Sonny as disheveled and defeated, until inspiration strikes and he hits the ground running. He knows Jordan is a generational talent who needs to stand out rather than be the third wheel with Magic and Bird at Converse. He has to be the whole brand and treated as such for this to work and many of Damon's strongest moments involve him trying to sell his bosses on exactly that.

Affleck's performance as Knight is something else, almost as if every sad sack internet meme of the actor looking stressed, conflicted and frustrated was suddenly transposed to the screen. Not knowing much about the real Knight beyond him being an eccentric guy, it's hard to tell how much of the portrayal was intended to be comical, but it's a hoot anyway. 

A mullet-haired Jason Bateman steals the movie out from under everyone, as his perpetually irritated Rob Strasser grounds the insanity, reining in some of Sonny's less desirable instincts. He initially comes off as a slick, sarcastic company yes man before Bateman gradually peels back the layers to remind Sonny that while taking risks can pay off, the negative consequences of bigger, less calculated ones don't just fall on him. 

Everything comes to a head in their pitch to the Jordans when Nike sneaker designer Peter Moore's (Matthew Maher) "Air Jordan" masterpiece is revealed. Credited as being played by actor Damian Young, there's a deliberate attempt not to show Michael, other than briefly from the side or behind. Stepping into this iconic role would be daunting for anyone, but you have to wonder whether this decision unintentionally causes the distraction Affleck was looking to avoid. But since the picture isn't technically "about" Jordan he gets a pass and you just roll with it.

Supposedly, Jordan himself suggested Viola Davis play his mom and was that ever the right call. Falk might be his agent, but it's clear from the get-go who really is. Tough but fair, she doesn't suffer fools, remaining acutely aware of her son's worth. What she asks for is unprecedented, but not unreasonable, at least knowing what we do now. The final meeting is full of ups and downs until Sonny digs deep to deliver an unforgettably emotional speech that both predicts and understands Jordan's place in the cultural landscape.      

Lifted by its tremendous cast, you could imagine a few of Air's performances being remembered come awards time, regardless of when or where this was released. It's a rousing, well-made sports drama about recognizing someone's value and fighting for it, especially when no one wants to listen. You could argue all day about how Nike's deal permanently moved the industry goalposts, but there's no questioning the undisputed impact of the player who got it.