8 Year Old Me: Ugh, not this movie. This movie is so pretentious. From the title I thought it would be exciting, and at least have some punching or something. But no, it's just two hours of a bunch of guys sitting around in a room talking to each other! They don't even leave the room! They talk about some court case (boring) and argue about it. Literally nothing happens in this movie. Also, it's in black and white! What's up with that? They'd had movies in color for like, a hundred years by then. 22 Year Old Me: This movie is incredible. Who would have thought you could make a suspenseful, captivating film about murder without ever showing the murder happen? The way the director Sidney Lumet is able to project the audience into the atmosphere of the film is simply unparalleled. The way the camera starts high in the room, but slowly lowers into eye level of all the characters gives a sense of forced claustrophobia, so you begin to feel the anxiety the jurors are experiencing. The noise of the city slowly creeps in, especially while important discussions are taking place, so you totally understand when one of the jurors explodes with anger. And you don't even realize you sympathize with him! Of course, the script and pacing are vital to this film as well. The characters review the entire case, piece by piece, and in doing so uncover truths that had been right before their eyes which they had missed previously. Finally, the acting is powerful, particularly in the parts when it's revealed some of them are allowing their prejudices and opinions to cloud the facts. Truly, this film is a classic, and is one of my favorite films of all time.
Armed with a laptop, a Pepsi, and a swivel chair, J.D. sets out to uncover the deepest secrets of the film world.
Or, ya know, just write random movie-related lists. Either way....
