Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (2009) - May 19, 2011
About a journalist who decides to frame himself on a murder charge in the hope that a corrupt DA will fabricate evidence to put him away, this was a mediocre but basically passable legal thriller sunk by an almost comically dumb premise.  It's an astonishingly stupid plan, though it does seem slightly less stupid in retrospect once the final twist is revealed (however, the fact remains that he was able to convince his friend to go along with this absurd plan, which strains credibility to its breaking point -- actually, it pretty much snaps it in half).  Aside from the dumb plot, the film was decently directed by Peter Hyams (who certainly deserves better material than this, though he did write it himself so it's hard to feel too sorry for him).  It was also decently acted (Jesse Metcalfe was much better here than in The Tortured, though it's still easy enough to see why the man is mostly doing straight to video stuff), with the clear highlight being a very slimy Michael Douglas as the corrupt DA.  **