Courtroom movies

Actors: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland

Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson star in the box office smash "A Few Good Men." Based on the hit broadway play, this riveting courtroom drama surrounding the integrity of the marine corps pits Cruise, a hot-shot naval defense attorney, against Nicholson, the hard-edge Colonel he believes responsible for inspiring the murder of a young marine.

Actors: Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Gary Busey

Three-time Oscar nominee Tom Cruise delivers the most electrifying performance of his career in this riveting film based on the international best-seller. Cruise plays Mitch McDeere, a brilliant and ambitious Harvard Law grad. Driven by a fierce desire to bury his working-class past, Mitch joins a small, prosperous Memphis firm that affords Mitch and his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) an affluent lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams. But when FBI agents confront him with evidence of corruption and murder within the firm, Mitch sets out to find the truth in a deadly crossfire between the FBI, the Mob, and a force that will stop at nothing to protect its interests – "The Firm." Directed by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack and starring Oscar winner Gene Hackman plus a magnificent supporting cast, "The Firm" makes its case as the must-see movie of the year.

Actors: Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney, Frances McDormand

"Serves up twist after twist." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times "Gere creates one of the best performances of his career." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times. Guilty? Innocent? Those questions aren't for high-powered Chicago attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) to decide. His job is to defend - especially if a case will put his name in the headlines and further his career. When Vail hears that a penniless altar boy (Edward Norton) is accused of murdering the local archbishop, he snaps up the case, eager for the media spotlight. Little does he know that it will uncover a viper's nest of corruption, pit him against a prosecutor (Laura Linney) who's his ex-lover, and test all his skill, judgement and even his win-at-any-cost attitude.

Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, Rosamund Pike

Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins and Academy Award nominee Ryan Gosling are brilliant in this "exceptionally suspenseful nail-biter" (Rex Reed) that's so smart it "doesn't let go, even after the final twist" (Gene Shalit, "Today"). Ted Crawford (Hopkins) brutally murders his wife and calmly waits for the police to arrest him. With the weapon and a signed confession in hand, Deputy D.A., Willy Beachum (Gosling), believes a conviction is a slam dunk; that is until the case completely unravels. Now, with little evidence, Beachum goes head to head with the cunning Mr. Crawford in a desperate search for the truth and the answer to one burning question: How is this guy getting away with murder?

Actors: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas

Hailed as a landmark film that dazzles with deep emotion and exceptional acting, Philadelphia stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington as two competing lawyers who join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. And as their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Actors: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet

Academy Award®-winner Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) stars with Oscar®-nominee Kate Winslet (Titanic) in a powerfully gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller hailed as "provocative" (ABC-TV). An electrifying suspenseful journey into deadly conspiracy and murderous deception begins when a respected professor who may - or may not - be guilty is charged with a brutal crime. The Life of David Gale is a brilliantly unpredictable thriller, which builds relentlessly to a shocking final twist guaranteed to blow you away!

Actors: Matt Damon, Danny DeVito, Jon Voight, Danny Glover, Mickey Rourke

Francis Ford Coppola is both scripter and director of this drama adapted from the John Grisham novel about broke, inexperienced Memphis law-school graduate Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon), ready to take any job he can find. Signing on with slimy Bruiser Stone (Mickey Rourke), he learns ambulance-chasing tactics from Bruiser's leg man Deck Schifflet (Danny DeVito) and meets battered teen Kelly Riker (Claire Danes), abused by her husband (Andrew Shue). Baylor has his own clients - friendly Miss Birdie (Teresa Wright), who has a large estate to dispose of, and desperate Dot Black (Mary Kay Place), whose son Donnie Ray (Johnny Whitworth) has terminal leukemia. Medical intervention could have spared his life, but the Great Benefit Insurance Company denied coverage, preventing Donnie Ray from getting a life-saving bone marrow transplant. Rudy finds a place to live in the apartment behind Miss Birdie's house. Deck and Rudy split from Bruiser to start their small firm. When they take on the Blacks' case, they go up against the insurance company's high-priced law firm and are continually thwarted by slick lawyer Leo F. Drummond (Jon Voight). Rudy's voiceover narration was scripted by Michael Herr. Filmed on location in Memphis.

Actors: Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Donald Sutherland

Academy Award-winner Oliver Stone's ("Natural Born Killers," "Born on the Fourth of July") highly acclaimed and Academy Award-winning docudrama chronicles New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison's investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy - controversially putting to the test some of the incredible details of the official "single assassin" and "magic bullet" explanations that have quietly plagued the nation for decades. Academy Award-winning superstar Kevin Costner ("Rumor Has It," "The Bodyguard") heads a tremendous all-star cast, with the real Garrison in an ironic cameo as future Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren, of the government's infamous Warren Commission. Leonard Maltin acclaims this dramatic tale as "absolutely riveting. . . superb. . . Oscar-winner for Robert Richardson's cinematography and Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia's phenomenal editing."

Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland

Source: iTunes

Actors: John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, Rachel Weisz

From master storyteller John Grisham and the director of Don't Say A Word comes a taut suspense-thriller that grabs hold of you, and never lets go. When a young widow in New Orleans brings a civil suit against the powerful corporate consortium she holds responsible for her husband's murder, she sets in motion a multi-million dollar case. It's a suit that may be won even before it begins however, based solely on the selection, manipulation, and ultimately, the attempted "theft" of the jury. With lives and millions of dollars at stake, the fixer plays a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a jury member (John Cusack) and a mysterious woman (Rachel Weisz) who offer to "deliver" the verdict to the highest bidder. Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman stars as idealistic prosecutor Wendell Rohr, and Gene Hackman takes on the role of ruthless jury consultant Rankin Fitch. Packed with danger, intrigue and pulse-pounding twists and turns, Runaway Jury rules!

Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton

Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes movies) stars as a successful attorney who returns to his childhood home for his mother's funeral, only to discover that his estranged father (Oscar® winner Robert Duvall) is suspected of murder. Arrogant and conceited, Hank (Downey Jr.) has no choice but to put his life on hold to deal with his stern, newly widowed father -- the town's judge who is accused of deliberately running someone down. Now determined to find the truth, the big city lawyer must reconnect with the family he left behind years ago. Also starring an acclaimed ensemble cast including Oscar® winner Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade), Oscar® nominee Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and more.

Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, Josh Lucas

In the gripping thriller "The Lincoln Lawyer," Matthew McConaughey stars as Michael "Mick" Haller, a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and a crisis of conscience for Haller.

Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley

Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson deliver electrifying performances in this "tense, superbly-directed and top-drawer drama"* about what happens when the rules that command a soldier become the rules that condemn him. Colonel Terry Childers (Jackson) is a patriot and war hero. But when a peacekeeping mission he leads in Yemen goes terribly wrong, he finds himself facing a court martial. Accused of breaking the rules of engagement by killing unarmed civilians, Childers' only hope of vindication rests with comrade-in-arms Hays Hodges (Tommy Lee Jones), a military lawyer of questionable abilities. Together, they face the battle of their lives.Directed by Oscar.-winning director William Friedkin and co-starring Guy Pearce, Bruce Greenwood, Anne Archer and Academy Award.-winner Ben Kingsley, Rules of Engagement is "a magnificent movie you must see."** *Jeffrey Lyons, NBC-TV **Larry King, USA Today

Actors: Jason Patric, Kevin Bacon, Billy Crudup, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman

A top-notch cast headlines this Oscar-nominated drama about four boys from Hell's Kitchen who grow up in a world where loyalty means everything. A teenage prank gets them thrown in reform school, where they suffer harrowing abuses at the hands of the guards. Once out, their lives take radically different paths, but the quartet intersect again when one of the brutal guards is murdered. With Oscar-nominee Brad Pitt ("Ocean's Eleven," "The Mexican"), Oscar-winner Robert De Niro ("Analyze That," "Showtime"), Kevin Bacon ("Mystic River," "Hollow Man"), Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman ("Moonlight Mile," "Shpere"), Jason Patric ("Narc," "The Lost Boys"), Oscar-nominee Minnie Driver ("Good Will Hunting," "Tarzan"), Bruno Kirby ("When Harry Met Sally," "City Slickers"), and Brad Renfro ("Apt Pupil," "The Client"). Written and directed by Oscar-winner Barry Levinson ("Liberty Heights," "Disclosure").

Actors: Aaron Eckart, Katie Holmes

Based on Christopher Buckley's acclaimed 1994 novel of the same title and adapted for the screen by Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking is a fiercely satirical look at today's culture of spin! Aaron Eckhart stars as Nick Naylor, a sexy, charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke - even if it kills him. When he incurs the wrath of a senator (William H. Macy) bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test. With a smokin' all-star cast that includes Rob Lowe, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes, Adam Brody and Robert Duvall, this hilarious comedy will prove seriously addictive!

Actors: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron

Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax (Reeves--The Matrix films) brilliantly defends his guilty clients. Handpicked by John Milton (Pacino--Scent of a Woman, The Godfather films), the most powerful and feared attorney in New York, Kevin leaves his Southern roots, joining an exotic world of luxury cars, unlimited expense accounts and penthouse apartments. But his heavenly new career soon turns into hell as Milton's lure of limitless wealth, sex and fame spins out of control. As the line between fantasy and reality blurs, Kevin no longer sees his employer as just a smooth-talking businessman, but as someone much more ominous. Now, Trapped in an underworld of depravity and greed, can Kevin stop a demonic plan to spread evil well beyond the courtroom?

Actors: Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote, Robert Loggia

A grisly homicide... a sensational trial... a forbidden affair it's Jagged Edge, a razor-sharp suspense thriller about crime, punishment and passion. Jeff Bridges is the prime suspect and Glenn Close plays the attorney who falls in love with him. When a San Francisco socialite is viciously murdered, her publisher-husband, Jack Forrester (Bridges), is accused of committing the crime. Teddy Barnes (Close) decides to defend the charming, manipulative Jack, only to disregard legal ethics by having an affair with him. With the help of private eye Sam Ranssome (Robert Loggia), she takes on a ruthless D.A. (Peter Coyote) who's using the case as a political stepping stone. However, a startling revelation puts Teddy in jeopardy of becoming the next victim of the Jagged Edge.

Actors: Cher, Liam Neeson, Dennis Quaid, Joe Mantegna

No matter the cost, no matter the danger. They will find the truth. A Supreme Court Justice takes his own life. A woman is found dead, the victim of a grisly murder. A homeless Vietnam vet stands accused. Kathleen Riley (Cher) is an overworked Washington, D.C. public defender who needs a vacation. Instead, she is assigned another case. But this is no ordinary crime with no ordinary criminal. Lobbyist, Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid), gets saddled with jury duty just when a critical bill is coming up for vote. While on jury duty, Eddie discovers evidence critical to Kathleen's case and contacts her outside the courtroom - a violation of the law. Bizarre evidence leads Kathleen on a dangerous trail from Washington's seamy underbelly to the highest levels of government. And the closer she gets to the answers, the more her life is in danger. Cher and Dennis Quaid take the law into their own hands in the daring suspense thriller where everything is revealed in court... except the truth.

Actors: Julia Roberts, Aaron Eckhart, Peter Coyote

A real woman. A real story. A real triumph. In her Oscar-winning role, Julia Roberts stars as Erin Brockovich, a feisty young mother who fought for justice any way she knew how. Desperate for a job to support herself and her three children, she convinces attorney Ed Masry (Albert Finney) to hire her and promptly stumbles upon a monumental case against a giant corporation. Now Erin's determined to take on this powerful adversary even though no law firm has dared to do it before. And while Ed doesn't want anything to do with the case, Erin won't take "no" for an answer. So the two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious fight that will bring a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees.

Actors: Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Annabella Sciorra

Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Jeremy Irons ("Kingdom of Heaven," "The Time Machine") won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the icy aristocrat Claus von Bulow in this stunning true story about two men of vastly different backgrounds who form an uneasy alliance. Emmy-nominee Ron Silver ("Ali," TV's "The West Wing") is Alan Dershowitz (whose book the film is based on), the combative lawyer with working class New York roots and a passion for clear-minded justice who decides to defend von Bulow in the attempted murder of his heiress wife, Sunny (Academy Award-nominee, Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Glenn Close -- "The Stepford Wives," "Fatal Attraction") even though he's not sure of von Bulow's innocence. From Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated director Barbet Schroeder ("Murder by Numbers," "Single White Female") and produced by Edward R. Pressman ("American Psycho," "Wall Street") and Academy Award, Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Oliver Stone ("Alexander," "Any Given Sunday") and co-starring Annabella Sciorra (TV's "The Sopranos," TV's "Law and Order: CI") and Emmy-winner and Golden Globe-nominee Christine Baranski ("Chicago," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"). Entertainment Weekly calls this film "brilliant and outrageously entertaining," and Roger Ebert calls it "a tour-de-force...unforgettable."

Actors: John Travolta, Robert Duvall

Jan Schlichtmann is a cynical, high-priced personal injury attorney who only takes big-money cases he can safely settle out of court. Though his latest case at first appears straightforward, Schlichtmann soon becomes entangled in an epic legal battle ... one where he's willing to put his career, reputation, and all that he owns on the line for the rights of his clients! Also featuring Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, and John Lithgow -- this gripping, widely acclaimed hit delivers edge-of-your-seat entertainment!

Actors: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton

Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house "fixer" at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm's co- founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack), Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach and Ledeen's dirtiest work. Clayton cleans up clients' messes, handling anything from hit-and-runs and damaging stories in the press to shoplifting wives and crooked politicians. Though burned out and discontented in his job, Clayton is inextricably tied to the firm. At the agrochemical company U/North, the career of in-house chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the settlement of the suit that Kenner, Bach and Ledeen is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When the firm's top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), has an apparent breakdown and tries to sabotage the entire case, Marty Bach sends Michael Clayton to tackle this unprecedented disaster and, in doing so, Clayton comes face to face with the reality of who he has become.

Actors: Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Heche, James Gandolfini

Demi Moore stars as Annie Laird, a struggling single mother who impulsively agrees to serve on a jury, hoping for a little excitement in her humdrum life. But she gets far more than she bargained for when she's forced to sacrifice the truth to save her son from the mob's seductive, psychotic enforcer (Alec Baldwin).

Actors: Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy

Superstar Harrison Ford ("Clear and Present Danger," "The Fugitive") stars in this boxoffice winning thriller ($86,000,000!) based on the best-selling novel by Scott Turow. Ford is a prosecuting attorney who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a beautiful colleague with whom he had been having a torrid extramarital affair. As the investigation unravels, the system of justice to which he once committed himself threatens to destroy his career, family and even his life. Jeffrey Lyons of "Sneak Previews" calls this a "first-rate thriller." Directed by Alan J. Pakula ("Sophie's Choice," "All the President's Men") and co-starring Brian Dennehy ("Cocoon"), Bonnie Bedelia ("Die Hard," "Die Hard 2"), Golden Globe-winner Raul Julia ("The Addams Family," "Kiss of the Spider Woman") and Greta Scacchi ("The Player," "White Mischief"). WWOR-TV raves: "murder, sex, suspense, surprises...sensational!"

Actors: Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Karen Young

After obtaining an acquittal in a murder trial, criminal defense attorney Ben Chase (Gary Oldman) decides to prove that his client Martin Thiel (Kevin Bacon) is in fact a serial killer. When new murders occur, Ben takes matters into his own hands, beginning a psychological battle of wills with Martin. Gary Oldman gives an excellent performance as the criminal defense attorney with a conscience, and Kevin Bacon is intriguing and ambiguous as the killer. The action sequences -- particularly when Ben finds a body in the rain in a deserted park -- are terrific as is the fast-paced direction by Martin Campbell.

Actors: Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Sam Shepard, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow

(Academy Award-winner Julia Roberts - "Ocean's Eleven," "Erin Brockovich") who finds herself embroiled in a terrifying web of intrigue extending to the highest levels of government after she writes a speculative legal brief exposing the illegal activities of a powerful oil magnate. When those close to her are killed by assassins, the young woman embarks on a desperate flight with a Washington, D.C., investigative reporter (Academy Award and Golden Globe-winner Denzel Washington -- "Training Day," "Malcolm X") her only confidant and ally. Co-starring Academy Award-nominee Sam Shepard ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "The Right Stuff") and Tony Goldwyn ("The Last Samurai," "Ghost"). With Emmy and Golden Globe-winner John Lithgow ("The World According to Garp," TV's "3rd Rock from the Sun"). Directed by Alan J. Pakula ("Sophie's Choice," "All the President's Men"). "Superb! Fantastic suspense! A major thriller! Fast and exciting" (WNBC-TV). "An exhilarating, breathless, first-class thriller" (CBS-TV). "Perfect casting and stellar work by writer-producer-director Alan Pakula" (Variety).

Actors: Chris O'Donnell, Gene Hackman, Faye Dunaway

Chris O'Donnell, two-time Academy Award® winner Gene Hackman and Oscar® winner Faye Dunaway star in this gripping suspense thriller based on John Grisham's explosive best-selling novel. O'Donnell stars as idealistic young attorney Adam Hall who takes on the death row clemency case of his onetime Klansman grandfather, Sam Cayhall (Hackman). With just 28 days before the execution, Adam sets out to retrace the events leading to the crime for which Sam was convicted. As the impending death sentence looms closer, Adam works quickly to uncover the family's history for any hidden clues. In a white-knuckle series of twists and turns, Adam discovers deceptions and dark secrets that ultimately lead him to the startling truth.