Juror #2

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 54min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Legal Thriller

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland.

Justice Is Blind, Guilt Sees Everything.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic in Savannah, Georgia, who is called to serve jury duty during a high-profile murder trial. As Kemp listens to the prosecution’s case, a young man accused of killing his girlfriend after a public altercation, he soon discovers unsettling parallels between his own actions on the night of the crime and the evidence presented in court. The prosecutor, Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), sees the case as an opportunity to further her campaign for district attorney, while Kemp’s personal struggles add mounting tension to his role as a juror.

As the trial unfolds, Kemp realizes that he may have unwittingly contributed to the victim’s death on the same night of the incident, igniting a powerful moral conflict. Desperate for guidance, he seeks advice from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and weighs whether to sway the jury’s verdict in light of his possible involvement. Within the jury room, debates intensify as forensic evidence and conflicting eyewitness testimony cast doubt on the defendant’s guilt, while Kemp must grapple with emotions of guilt and responsibility without exposing his secret.

Kemp’s inner turmoil challenges him to confront issues of justice, personal accountability, and family loyalty as cracks begin to show in the prosecution’s narrative. Pressures from the courtroom and worries about his wife’s difficult pregnancy further complicate his moral choices, pushing him toward a decision that might change the outcome of the trial and his own life forever. The narrative artfully explores themes of truth and redemption, keeping the resolution tightly guarded as Kemp’s fate, and the real story behind the crime, hangs in the balance.

I honestly can’t say much more about this movie without giving anything away. And I think it is best viewed that way. I am going to write a separate review/story about the movie and do a deep dive into the story, the plot, the dilemma and the ending complete with a SPOILER ALERT WARNING. Did I like the movie? Would I recommend it? Would I watch it again? The answer to all those questions is an absolute yes. Clint Eastwood did a great job with this movie that sucks you in deeper than quicksand at every turn. As did Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland. It is a different take on the Legal Thriller and the jury process, well worth a watch.

Give it a go and let me know what you think………….

The Accountant 2

2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 12min

Action ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller

Directed by: Gavin O’Connor

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, J. K. Simmons and Daniella Pineda.

DO YOU LIKE PUZZLES?

The Accountant 2 picks up eight years after the events of The Accountant. Ex Treasury Director Raymond King (J. K. Simmons) has been doing Private Detective work since his retirement from the Treasury Department. He meets with an assasin in a nightclub and is found dead with “Find The Accountant” and current treasury Director Marybeth Medina’s phone number written on his arm. She is informed and proceeds to find The Accountant and whoever is responsible for her Mentor’s death. Christian hears about her quest for him and approaches her first. Upon learning of Raymond’s death, Christian decides to help Medina and find out who is responsible.

He decides he must enlist the help of his once again estranged brother, and together they follow the leads to those responsible. They also uncover a larger conspiracy and go into combat mode to set things right. Which leads to a thrilling action packed chase to hunt down those responsible, and when they find out there are children involved, specifically an autistic child it gets personal and all hell breaks out. The Director Gavin O’Connor had stated that he wanted the sequel to focus more on the brothers relationship and The Accountant 2 does just that. There is a lot of bonding between the two of them as we get a better understanding of their tumultuous relationship.

It is a bit lighter in tone than the first movie, but has way more action than the first one. We also see Christian start to come out of his autistic shell as he gets closer and more intimate with people. There is a scene where a cowgirl asks him to join her in a line dance and despite his objections she convinces him and he starts to have a really good time. He even gets her phone number. We didn’t get to see Dana (Anna Kendrick) and Christian get together in the first movie, but we see Christian opening up to the idea of a romance and relationship in this one. And apparently, according to Gavin O’Connor, we will see Christian develop more in that area in the third installment of the trilogy.

We shall have to wait and see on that one. There is a third installment in development as we speak. I liked this one, makes me anxious for the rest of the story. It did go in a little different direction than I thought and after eight years we see that Christian has changed. He has grown out of his autistic shell to some extent and is trying to grow and expand as person. Which includes being a better brother and getting closer to his brother.

I liked it, give it a go, and bring on the third one!

The Accountant

The Accountant 2 And 3

The Accountant

2016 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 8min

Action ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller

Directed by: Gavin O’Connor

Starring: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J. K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow.

CALCULATE YOUR CHOICES

Ben Affleck stars as Christian Wolff, an Autistic Accountant with hidden talents. He operates a small accounting office in Plainfield, Illinois, that serves as a front for his money laundering enterprise. He assists a farmer and his wife with their tax problems, and is seen living a regimented life in a suburban property. His criminal clients contact him via an unnamed woman, who also organizes his business, identities and life. Christian is hired to audit the firm Living Robotics after the company’s CEO, Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow), and his sister Rita learn of accounting irregularities. They assign in-house accountant Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick), who discovered the issue, to assist Christian.

Meanwhile, Treasury Director Ray King (J. K. Simmons) meets with data analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), who has a criminal record as a juvenile but failed to disclose this on her federal employment application. He warns her she faces prison if he chooses to reveal the information and assigns her the task of finding a shadowy figure known as ‘The Accountant’ before King retires in a few months. Medina realizes that Christian is using a series of aliases, chiefly names of great mathematicians. She tracks the Wolff identity to the accounting office and adjacent businesses in Plainfield, realizing he is using them to launder money, most of which is then donated to Harbor Neuroscience.

Which is the key to uncovering who The Accountant is, his ties to The Harbor Neuroscience center. The race is on as Christian gets to the bottom of the cooked books and the missing money, The Treasury Department tracks down who, what and where he is, and the bad guys led by Christian’s estranged brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) try to put a lid on the cooked books and the missing money. Along the way we find there is more to the Autistic Christian as he has special skills instilled in him by his Military father as a way to prepare his autistic child for a cold harsh and cruel world.

This is one of my favorites, I have seen it countless times. I went back and re-watched it last night before I watch the sequel The Accountant 2 tonight. Ben Affleck at his best along with Anna Kendrick, Jon Bernthal and J.K. Simmons. Big fans of all of them, I did want to see more of a relationship between Christian and Anna’s character Dana, felt like that would have been a good road to go down storywise but it wasn’t in the script apparently as she is not in the sequel. So if you haven’t seen it you are missing a good one, give it a go. I hope the sequel measures up, we’ll see tonight.

The Accountant 2 And 3

The Accountant 2 Coming To Amazon Prime Thursday June 5, 2025

The Accountant 2 And 3

The Accountant 2 was released to theaters on April 25, 2025. The sequel to the 2016 Film The Accountant starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Jon Bernthal and J.K. Simmons sees Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and J.K. Simmons all reprising their roles. Noticeably absent is Anna Kendrick not returning as Ben Affleck’s love interest Dana Cummings. Just as The Accountant 2 has hit theaters, word of a third installment in the franchise has been leaked. Rumor has it that Anna Kendrick has been communicating with Director Gavin O’Connor about the possibility of reprising her role of Dana Cummings in the third installment of the franchise.

According to Gavin O’Connor he envisioned The Accountant as a trilogy from the very beginning. In the first movie the film explored Christian’s upbringing and how he became the proficient killer and numbers man that he is, the second film is about further developing the relationship with his brother Braxton (Bernthal). The new film has been praised for its humor and dynamic between Affleck and Bernthal, meaning that the movie has succeeded in conveying its themes. Should the third film come to fruition, O’Connor intends to continue expanding Christian’s development of new connections, possibly in the form of a romantic relationship.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly by Mike Miller on April 25,2025 Gavin O’Connor said:

“We always wanted it to be three movies, when screenwriter Bill Dubuque and I started talking about the second movie, it was very important that we didn’t want a love story. We wanted a love story with brothers. We wanted to do a 48 Hours or Midnight Run kind of buddy picture. In the first movie Braxton and Christian don’t even meet each other until the third act, and it’s violent. With the sequel I wanted to explore their relationship and let them try to fix their stuff, I knew that there were opportunities for comedy to be mined out of there, and also for emotion to be mined out of there.”

“So that was very intentional. I mean, how do I bring Anna into the second and then ignore her? The whole point was exploring the brothers and that emotional line between them. That was always the intention, so she was never going to be in the second. But once we came up with a plan for the third film, we asked Anna Kendrick if she was interested in returning as Dana Cummings.. We’ve had conversations. She wants to do it. We just have to figure out how to do it.

“Then the third movie, which is what the plan has always been, is for Christian’s quest for love and connection to be consummated. I don’t know what that’s going to be yet, but that’s the intention. I’m going to probably do something that makes me interested to come to work every day and tell a story. And then, lastly, yes, if it’s going to be Anna, Chris needs to find love and find connection and go off into the sunset. So it probably will be with Dana Cummings.”

The Accountant 2 was released last Friday April 25, 2025 and is currently in theaters everywhere. No word yet when The Accountant 2 will come to streaming, or when we might expect any more news on the third Installment of the franchise. I have not seen The Accountant 2 yet but I am a huge fan of the first movie. I am looking forward to the second and third movies and Anna Kendrick’s return as Dana Cummings.

The Accountant 2 Official Movie Trailer

The Accountant 2 is the sequel to the 2016 movie The Accountant starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. According to Rebecca Ford in a Vanity Fair Article dated February 11, 2025 Director Gavin O’Connor has been trying to make the sequel for eight years. As studios changed leadership and strategies, the sequel was stepped over in favor of more lucrative script ideas. Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J. K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson all reprise their roles from the first movie, with the exception of Anna Kendrick whose role is not carried over into the storyline of The Accountant 2. The Accountant 2 is being released in Theaters by Amazon MGM on April 25, 2025.

Here is the recently released Official Movie Trailer from Amazon MGM: