I always find myself coming back to watch A Few Good Men, it's one of my favourite films and my rewatch last night (which I paused halfway through when I realised we'd forgotten the BeEx Virtual Meet) did nothing to change that. Such a well written screenplay, and I genuinely think it's one of Tom Cruise's greatest performances - and considering he was 30 years old when it was made, he looks incredibly young in it. Power of make-up, I guess.
Anyway, I remembered this morning that I had The Trial of the Chicago 7 to watch - another courtroom drama from the pen of Aaron Sorkin (and directed by him as well, unlike Men) - and I'm a sucker for a good courtroom drama, so I put it on.
Wow, is all I can say. I was unfamiliar with the story, and will be reading up on it further, but what a well crafted movie. Netflix really must be throwing their money around as the cast is packed with some amazing names - Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Rylance (who, for me, is competing with Gary Oldman in the "chameleon" stakes) and the sudden (and very welcome) appearance of Michael Keaton.
All of their performances were a sight to behold, but none really hold a candle next to Yahya Abdul-Mateen's performance as leader of the Black Panther Party Bobby Seale, though.
Powerful storytelling and direction, with repeated use of flashbacks to fill in the gaps and provide a change of scenery from the courtroom itself.
I was worried that at 2 hours and 10 minutes it'd feel like it was dragging or overstaying its welcome, but that didn't happen at all.
Thoroughly recommended.