![]() To coin a phrase, the plot has more holes than Swiss cheese. In today's world of DNA testing, Photoshop manipulation, social media awareness, and police forensics, Peter Hyams's reworked script is incredulous and beyond absurd. Joel David Moore as Metcalfe's sidekick brings some life and humor to a thankless role. His effortless performance is all the more sterling in comparison to the non-support he receives from Metcalfe and Tamblyn. Only Michael Douglas retains his dignity as the ruthless DA intent on a governorship, Douglas plays these smooth villains as though born to them. His unconvincing love interest, Amber Tamblyn, has a passing resemblance to the young Diane Keaton, but in looks only, not in talent. Like a fresh-faced Boy Scout rather than an ambition-driven reporter, hunky Jesse Metcalfe is out of his depth in a shallow role. While the murder trial was in progress, Facebook alone would have turned up witnesses to the reporter's purchases and whereabouts, and any episode of CSI shows what forensics can accomplish. ![]() Today, modern forensics, DNA testing, and social media have reduced the odds of wrongful convictions, especially with evidence as trumped up as the remake suggests. Fritz Lang directed the 1956 original of the same title with a cast that included Dana Andrews and Joan Fontaine however, that earlier decade was a period when purely circumstantial evidence could convict the innocent. ![]() That the police, the judge, the jury, or the viewers are gullible enough to swallow this nonsense is pure fantasy. Heads will shake in disbelief as the reporter openly queries a police officer about the murderer's shoes, clothing, injuries, and weapon and then proceeds to purchase all the required circumstantial evidence to implicate himself. Jaws will drop at the ridiculous proposal, which is intended to win a Pulitzer, and at the ease of gaining access to confidential information. He intends to reveal the corrupt District Attorney when the manufactured evidence is introduced into his trial. With information taken from the DA's office by a willing young assistant and the help of his buddy and co-worker, the reporter frames himself for a murder. Restless from conducting coffee taste comparisons, an ambitious investigative reporter suspects that the District Attorney is planting last-minute DNA evidence to win an unbroken string of convictions. Peter Hyams's 2009 remake of "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" has a low-budget amateurish air, that is only underscored by the mediocre cinematography and the inept performances of the two leads.
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