By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, April 14, unless otherwise noted: Just Mercy (Blu-ray + digital) Details: 2019, Warner Home Entertainment Rated: PG-13, thematic material, racial epithets The lowdown: In an ideal world, the justice system is blind and balanced so that all individuals, no matter their race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, age or gender, are treated equally and fairly. Unfortunately, we do not live in such a world; thus, inequities — especially those influenced by race and economic status — are prevalent. “Just Mercy” is a powerful indictment of such a perversion in the legal machinery and how one young lawyer took on the establishment to correct a grievous wrong. Michael B. Jordan stars as Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law School graduate, whose idealism beckons him to Monroeville, Ala., to appeal the murder conviction of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a black man on death row for the 1986 killing of an 18-year-old white girl. The movie, based on true events, follows Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), as he battles to prove McMillian’s innocence and reveal the prejudice in the Monroe County sheriff’s department and its district attorney that led to McMillian’s arrest and conviction. “Just Mercy,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and based on a book by Stevenson, emits an old-fashioned vibe that recalls another movie set in the area — “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The movie shows how, even in the 1980s, deep-rooted antiblack sentiment and flagrant discrimination still permeated many areas of South. Cretton and his cast bring such strong sincerity to the project that its impact is deeply felt despite its familiarity. At the end, “Just Mercy” will make you think about judicial abuses that have robbed many people — the vast majority of whom are minorities — of their rights as American citizens. A majority of critics were moved by the film, giving it an 83 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
New to View: April 14
New to View: April 14
New to View: April 14
By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, April 14, unless otherwise noted: Just Mercy (Blu-ray + digital) Details: 2019, Warner Home Entertainment Rated: PG-13, thematic material, racial epithets The lowdown: In an ideal world, the justice system is blind and balanced so that all individuals, no matter their race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, age or gender, are treated equally and fairly. Unfortunately, we do not live in such a world; thus, inequities — especially those influenced by race and economic status — are prevalent. “Just Mercy” is a powerful indictment of such a perversion in the legal machinery and how one young lawyer took on the establishment to correct a grievous wrong. Michael B. Jordan stars as Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law School graduate, whose idealism beckons him to Monroeville, Ala., to appeal the murder conviction of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a black man on death row for the 1986 killing of an 18-year-old white girl. The movie, based on true events, follows Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), as he battles to prove McMillian’s innocence and reveal the prejudice in the Monroe County sheriff’s department and its district attorney that led to McMillian’s arrest and conviction. “Just Mercy,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and based on a book by Stevenson, emits an old-fashioned vibe that recalls another movie set in the area — “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The movie shows how, even in the 1980s, deep-rooted antiblack sentiment and flagrant discrimination still permeated many areas of South. Cretton and his cast bring such strong sincerity to the project that its impact is deeply felt despite its familiarity. At the end, “Just Mercy” will make you think about judicial abuses that have robbed many people — the vast majority of whom are minorities — of their rights as American citizens. A majority of critics were moved by the film, giving it an 83 percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.