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Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government

Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about...

Politics

Darren (1599 KP) rated The Pelican Brief (1993) in Movies

Jun 21, 2019

The Pelican Brief (1993)

1993 | Drama, Mystery

7.2

(5 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Story: The Pelican Brief starts when two Supreme Court Justices are assassinated, bring the country to a stand still in shock. Law student Darby Shaw (Roberts) puts together a theory of who was behind the assassinations, which she presents to her boyfriend and professor Thomas (Shepard), one theory that has turned his head.

After the theory is presented to the people investigating, Darby and Tom start getting targeted, when journalist friend of one of the victims Gray Grantham (Washington) start investigating a bigger conspiracy going on within the government, one that will put both their lives in danger.

Thoughts on The Pelican Brief

Characters – Darby is a law student having an affair with her professor, after the assassinations, she comes up with a theory about who was behind them, which sees her become a target for the people behind it, she doesn’t know who to trust seeing anybody she does get killed, her last resort is Gray. Gray is a journalist that has worked with the victims in the past, he is willing to dig for the truth, he does become Darby’s last resort and works with her to expose the truth which will become the biggest story of his career. Thomas Callahan is the connection between Darby and the people involved, he is a professor, with her theory interesting him at his own risk. We do go through many different political figures in search for the truth here, each one has their own agenda and could be involved.

Performances – Julia Roberts in the leading role is strong as she gives us a strong independent figure that has been running for her life trying to expose the truth. Denzel Washington was a growing star at the time of release, here he makes us believe that he is a star in the role which is filled with the determination and skill to start ahead of the game. The rest of the cast are all strong with them each getting the moments to shine with them all having the importance to the story.

Story – The story follows a law student and journalist that must team up to investigate the assassinations of the two members of the supreme court that puts both their lives in danger as it could bring the political system down. This story does give us plenty of swerves along the way as it does keep us guessing just to where everything will be going, it does show us how a political system will be used to gain an advantage and can be used to cover up anything that will incriminate them. The idea of the cover up shows just how corruption can effect so many lives and is ready to be exposed.

Crime/Mystery – The crime side of the film shows just how the laws can be bent to help the people who want to make the most money, how much they will do to cover up their secrets and how corrupt they will become. The mystery side of the film show just how the corruption needs to be investigated, how far up the chain it could go too.

Settings – The film is set in a couple of major cities in America Washington and New York mostly, which show just how the big companies will use the political power to make the most money.

Scene of the Movie – The video.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is too long, with too many characters at times.

Final Thoughts – This is a political thriller that does keep you guessing, it shows how far up the chain corruption can go and how covering it up can be the only option.

Overall: Political thriller 101

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/19/the-pelican-brief-1993/

Kudos

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Rings (2017) in Movies

Oct 29, 2017

Rings (2017)

2017 | Horror

3.8

(21 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Unnecessary

Did we really need another Ring film? And the answer is probably not. The first film wasn t great, the second one I couldn't even finish and I'm afraid the third doesn't fare much better.

Completely agree with Dean, this isn't a horror film it's more of a thriller. It isn't scary in the slightest and is entirely predictable. Johnny Galecki really should just stick with the Big Bang Theory and I'm highly surprised Vincent D'Onofrio was in this. Personally I just think was very disappointing, I was expecting so much more in the way of scares and creeps. The only good thing was getting more of a back story on Samara.

Kudos

Erika (17789 KP) rated I Love You, Now Die in TV

Apr 18, 2020

I Love You, Now Die

2019 | Crime, Documentary

7.6

(7 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

HBO unlocked some content during this whole, dramatic time. I was glad they unlocked some documentaries. I've been wanting to watch this documentary, because I haven't gotten to see much on this case.
I liked that they showed the whole relationship, and not just the texts that hit the prosecution's theory of the crime. I think both of these people equally needed help, and were equal to blame. They both needed to be locked up in psych wards. She definitely failed to call 911, but the dude had jerked her around so much, how was she supposed to know that the threat was legit?
Anyway, I'm glad I got to see it.... for free.