Review: 'The Judge' starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall

It's a shame we don't get to see more of Robert Downey Jr.'s swaggering ways outside of playing Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes, because boy is he fun to watch. He's so good that even movies like The Judge which are totally predictable, a little overwrought, and frankly a little bit outdated, are a genuine pleasure to watch. And when matched up with the great Robert Duvall, snarling at one another like a couple of combative bulls, The Judge more often than not exceeds its conventional trappings into purely enjoyable popcorn fare.

With Downey there's always going to be a little bit of Tony Stark in every performance, and right away we see the brash arrogance that undoubtedly hides a heart of gold within big city lawyer, Hank Palmer. After a troubled childhood Hank escaped his small town roots and made something of himself as a high-priced defense attorney. "Innocent people can't afford me", he tells the schlub of a prosecutor (David Krumholtz) who has probably lost to him on more than one occasion. But a sudden phone call with a tragic message sends Hank racing back to Carlinville, Indiana for his mother's funeral and an unwanted reunion with his father, tough-as-nails Judge Joseph Palmer (Duvall).  With a script by the writers of Clint Eastwood's curmudgeonly turn in Gran Torino, it's no wonder Joseph is so darn ornery. He's the kind of guy who believes in old school, All-American values. Joseph is tough but fair in the courtroom, but not so much to his own son who he deems as a troublemaker and failure. So when they are reunited there aren't a lot of hugs. Or no hugs at all, actually. If there's a compliment from Joseph it's of the back-handed sort.

Those old values were never Hank's thing, and he can't wait to leave town and the bad memories behind until Joseph is suddenly charged with a murder. He can't remember what happened; can't remember much lately it seems, and Hank decides to stick around and defend his old man who is either very ill, a murderer and liar, or has fallen of the wagon. Or perhaps all three. Directed by David Dobkin, who also had a hand in developing the story, The Judgehas a hard time getting out of its own way thematically. A big problem is the sheer number of subplots, each of wildly ranging tones that crush a fairly simple story under their weight. Hank pities his pathetic older brother Glen (Vincent D'Onofrio), a former baseball prospect now just an average working stiff; and his autistic younger bro Dale (Jeremy Strong), the "Fredo" of the family. Hank has a young daughter back home and is about to get a divorce from his cheating wife, but that's okay because an old flame resurfaces in Samantha (Vera Farmiga), owner of the town's most popular restaurant. Oh, and she has a daughter (Leighton Meester) who may be Hank's, although that situation is awkward in more ways than one.  You could probably get two or three movies out of all that, but The Judge tries to fit them all into a package just over two hours long, and it's a tough gig to pull off.

Dobkin is best known for directing comedies like Wedding Crashers andFred Claus, and he's clearly more comfortable when handling the many humorous beats. He's less steady when expressing the dramatic themes, and oversells them to make sure we "get" it. A massive thunderstorm erupts just as family tension reaches a boiling point; Hank and Joseph argue angrily and stomp away in opposite directions with the camera practically screaming "Look at the gulf between them!!” These are problems caused by inexperience handling issues of actual weight, and Dobkin isn't served well by a soundtrack that is begging you to tear up. Photographed beautifully by Janusz Kaminski (Schindler's List), the film strikes a perfectly homey image of America through the lens of Norman Rockwell.

Tonal issues aside, The Judge is saved by the performances of Downey and Duvall, two great actors with more in common than one would think. There's a certain level of showmanship in both men, each getting their chances to either chew scenery or strum at a heart string. Duvall really shines as the film goes along and we learn more of Hank's predicament, while Downey is consistently motor-mouthed throughout. They're difficult roles to play because neither Hank nor Joseph is immediately sympathetic. It takes time for the actors to earn that from us, but they eventually do. The courtroom scenes, on the other hand, are no different than anything you'd find on an episode of Law & Order, with the exception of Billy Bob Thornton as a mustache-twirling prosecutor played by Billy Bob Thornton. Why not just stamp "bad guy" on his forehead?

The Judge is too busy for its own good and tries too hard to play with our emotions, but as solidly entertaining family drama it's guilty as charged.

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New Trailer for 'The Judge' Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall

Robert Downey Jr.'s The Judge isn't getting the marketing push that he's used to getting with Iron Man or The Avengers (which really don't need it), but Warner Bros. is definitely trying to get the word out. A pair of trailers for the courtroom dramedy were released just days ago, and now another, more serious look is here. Also starring Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton, and Leighton Meester, The Judge centers on a hotshot defense attorney who returns to defend his estranged father, the town judge, who has been accused of murder. There will be Downey acting like a pompous ass, because that's what he's good at, but also plenty of family reconnection and male bonding.

The Judge is directed by David Dobkin and hits theaters October 10th.

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Ben Foster Joins 'The Finest Hours', Leslie Mann Eyes 'Vacation', Billy Bob Thornton Boards 'Our Brand is Crisis'

Disney's Coast Guard rescue drama The Finest Hours just got a lot more interesting with the addition of Ben Foster (The Messenger) to the cast. He joins Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, and Holliday Grainger in the Craig Gillespie-directed film chronicling the dangerous 1952 rescue attempt after two oil tankers collided during a blizzard. Foster will be seen next as Lance Armstrong in an untitled biopic, and will have a key role in Duncan Jones' Warcraft film. [Variety]


Filming on the remake of National Lampoon's Vacation begins this week, but one major role has remained elusive. That would be Audrey Griswold, the sister of Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) and daughter to Clark and Ellen Griswold (Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo). Leslie Mann (Knocked Up) is eyeing the Audrey role now, with Chris Hemsworth as her TV anchor husband, Stone Crandall. Christina Applegate plays Rusty's wife, with Charlie Day as a river rafting guide. John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (Horrible Bosses) are directing.


Fresh off the multi-Emmy winning Fargo, Billy Bob Thornton is in talks to join Sandra Bullock in the political comedy, Our Brand is Crisis. Directed by David Gordon Green and based on Rachel Boynton's 2005 documentary, the film centers on political spin doctors as they try to sway the 2002 Presidential election in Bolivia.

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Robert Downey Jr. Goes to Court in First Trailer for 'The Judge'

The Iron Man and Avengers movies may pay the bills, but when there's a break in his schedule Robert Downey Jr. is dabbling in projects that don't involve superpowers. He recently took time out for an extended cameo in Chef, the small-budget film from his Iron Man director, Jon Favreau, which is doing gangbusters (for an art house film, anyway) at the box office. He also agreed to star in The Judge, a courtroom drama that Downey has previously said has one of the best scripts he'd ever read.

The question is whether audiences will be as interested in him when not in the role of Tony Stark. Certainly, The Judge isn't going to make $1B or anything like that, but at least judging by the first trailer it may earn Downey some awards attention. Directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) and featuring a solid cast of Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Melissa Leo, David Krumholtz, Leighton Meester, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton, the story follows a slick big-city lawyer called back home upon learning of his mother's death. Only when he returns he discovers it's his estranged father, who happens to be the town judge, accused of her murder.

Not only is this something of a change of pace for Downey, but also for Dobkin who is best known for helming comedies. There's certainly a good bit of humor here, as well, along with mystery and family drama elements making for an ambitious combination. Whether it all comes together for The Judge we'll have to wait until October 10th to find out.


The Judge - The Official Trailer HD by thecinemasource

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Billy Bob Thornton Joins 'Entourage'; Topher Grace goes 'Home'; Adrien Brody Leads 'Manhattan Nocturne'

* HBO's Entourage was all about cool stuff, cool places, and cool people, so it only makes sense the movie would have more than its share of celebrity cameos. With the gang all set to return for the film by series creation Doug Ellin, one new addition will be Billy Bob Thornton, taking on the role of a cowboy billionaire and financier for Vinnie Chase's Dracula movie. He's making a Dracula movie? Uh, okay? Thornton will also have a son who is sent to oversee the expensive production. Adrien Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Dillon, Scott Caan, and Jeremy Piven will be back, and Deadline notes that Perrey Reeves will return as Ari Gold's put-upon wife. [THR]

* Is Topher Grace on the verge of a comeback? He's already lined up a role in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and now he's set to star in Home, a haunted house thriller from the maestros at Blumhouse Productions. Written and directed by Adam Alleca and Dennis Illiadis, the duo behind The Last House on the Left remake, the film centers on a man recently released from a mental institute, who inherits his parents' mansion only to come to believe it's haunted. Patricia Clarkson is also in talks for an unspecified role. Not even Grace can screw up a Blumhouse film, right? They always make money. [THR]

* Adrien Brody will star in an adaptation of Colin Harrison's novel, Manhattan Nocturne, written and directed by Brian DeCubellis. Co-starring Yvonne Strahovski and Roger Dodger duo Campbell Scott and Jennifer Beals, the story follows "a devoted husband and accomplished journalist who is asked by a seductive stranger to dig into the unsolved murder of her husband." [Variety]

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Billy Bob Thornton and Vincent D'onofrio join 'The Judge' with Robert Downey Jr.

Now that the months of courting Jack Nicholson are over, and Robert Duvall has been signed to play Robert Downey Jr.'s father in The Judge, casting is speeding along nicely for the David Dobkin-directed film. A couple of days ago, Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Vincent D'onofrio came aboard, and now Variety reports Billy Bob Thornton is next in line.

This would be a re-teaming of Thornton and Duvall, who worked together on the former's directorial debut, Jayne Mansfield's Car. The Judge is based on an original script by Nick Schenk (Gran Torino), and has Downey as a high-powered lawyer who returns home after the death of his mother, only to find out that his estranged father, the local judge, is a suspect. While attempting to clear his father's name, he reconnects with the family he walked away from. Thornton would play the prosecutor trying Duvall's case, while D'onofrio is Downey's older brother.

While the film sounds potentially heavy, Dobkin's involvement suggests otherwise. He's best known for directing Wedding Crashers, and last helmed The Change-Up with Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds.

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Paul Giamatti, Jacki Weaver, and Billy Bob Thornton join JFK drama 'Parkland'

Movies surrounding the events of John F. Kennedy's assassination continue to be fertile ground for filmmakers, and that isn't likely to change any time soon. Although I'm happy to see that for the most part they've gotten away from focusing on conspiracy theories and the other political nastiness going on at the time. Tom Hanks has his own JFK film lined up which explores it from yet another angle, and he's gathered a incredible group to star in it.

Hanks will produce Parkland, which follows the chaotic events at Parkland Hospital the day Kennedy was shot in Dallas, TX.  Paul Giamatti, Jacki Weaver, and Billy Bob Thornton are the first to sign on, although their roles are unclear at this point. The script comes from Peter Landesman, who will also make his directorial debut, adapting Vincent Bugliosi's novel Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The plan is to have this ready for 2013, around the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. Filming will take place in Austin, TX. 

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Billy Bob Thornton and Forest Whitaker circling 'Out of the Furnace' opposite Christian Bale

Brad Inglesby's script for The Low Dwellar may have started out as a Ridley Scott vehicle with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead, but it has evolved into something entirely different now. With Scott Cooper(Crazy Heart) in the director's seat and Christian Bale starring, the film now titled Out of the Furnace is casting up quite nicely even as Relativity Media looks for another to co-finance it.

With Zoe Saldana aboard and Casey Affleck the frontrunner to play Bale's brother, Deadline notes that Billy Bob Thornton and Forest Whitaker are circling roles as well. The story is pretty simple but with this cast could be something extraordinary. Bale would play an ex-con named Slim who intends to marry his girlfriend upon his release from prison. Instead he finds himself seeking revenge against the men who killed his brother. Whitaker would play a sleazy bookie, while Thornton might be the lead villain.

If everything falls into place on the financial side, production could begin this spring.

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Billy Bob Thornton, James Marsden, and Thomas Jane will battle wild bears in 'Red Machine'

We Bought A Zoo might be the last time we see a happy union between humans and animals on screen for awhile. Next weeks sees the release of The Grey, which has a bunch of feral wolves stalking the one man you know can whup their furry asses: Liam Neeson. It's actually not quite the film you think it is, but I'll save that for my review next week. Now we'll get a chance to see another aging actor do a little damage to a deranged Yogi Bear, as Billy Bob Thornton has signed on to star in the action flick, Red Machine.

He'll be joined by James Marsden and Thomas Jane in the film directed by David Hackl(Saw 5). It centers on two estranged brothers who try to patch things up by going on a camping trip with their girlfriends. That is until they suddenly come under attack by a wild grizzly bear known as 'Red Machine'. Just dump the picnic basket and run! Billy Bob plays some sort of legendary bear hunter. Wait, wasn't Thomas Jane The Punisher? Seems the roles should be reversed.

This sounds pretty terrible, and it's unfortunate because I like all three actors. Marsden continues to do great work in bad flicks, and Jane has been a favorite since Boogie Nights. Now that Hung has been cancelled I hope he gets a chance at some better flicks, and not warmed over rehashes of The Edge. [Variety]

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Faster

Let's face it, it's been a rough few years for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Once considered the new action superstar, stepping into the muddied up boots of such greats as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnson kicked off his beefy resume with brawlers like The Rundown and Walking Tall. However, unlike his predecessors, Johnson made the inevitable move towards family friendly fare way too early before his cred had been firmly established. He's floundered ever since in insulting junk like Race to Witch Mountain and The Tooth Fairy, in which we see far more of Johnson than I ever really hoped to. Faster could best be described as a vengeance thriller on steroids, and hopefully just the first step in Johnson's return to action greatness.


The best revenge flicks are the most simple. Driver(Johnson) is a hurricane force of nature from the moment we lay eyes on him, all seething rage and built up anger. He's just being released from a ten year bid for a crime we know nothing about, and he could  give a crap less about rehabiliation on the outside. He's got a mission. A violent mission. All he needs are his tools. Driver makes his way to the lot where he stashed his ride, a badass ride befitting a badass warrior. Everything he needs is right where he left it: his keys, a gun, and a list. Let the killing begin.

The only question is "why"? Before we ever have a chance to ponder it, Driver has already found his first target. The execution is swift and public. It's as much a shock to us as the victim. The rest of the film is just as aggressive.  You know somebody's got to try and take him down.  Killer(Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is on the trail. Killer is the best at everything. Supermodel good looks, an entrepeneur who has made millions in the software biz, and a survivor of a childhood debilitating disease. He is perfection, but as such he's also gotten bored. He's hired by an unknown client to put Driver in the grave, seeing him as the first real challenge he's had in years.

Killer's not alone. Such a public execution draws the attention of the police, one Cop(Billy Bob Thornton) in particular. In some ways he's a lot like Nicolas Cage's character in Bad Lieutenant. He's a drugged out, shady character with secrets nobody on the force wants to discover. But Cop's not all bad. He has a son that he cares for in his own way, and an ex-wife(Moon Bloodgood) that he's trying to patch things up with.

In case you haven't noticed, none of the characters have any names. They're all bold archetypes, befitting the straight forward, single-minded tone. This isn't about deep, defining characters. It's about pure emotion. About one man making a point. Johnson hasn't been this good in a very long time, which is funny because I don't think he says more than two dozen words the entire movie. He's all energy, with occasional bits of black humor thrown in. This is what I want to see him doing from now on. Billy Bob Thornton makes the most of the occasional weighty scenes he's given, but for the most part this is straight up scene chewing stuff.

George Tillman Jr. isn't known for his action flicks. In fact this is the first one I think he's done, and at times it's obvious that he's more comfortable with less intense sequences. In particular the fight scene between Driver and a hulking opponent(remember Terry Tate: Office Linebacker?) in a bathroom is poorly shot, making it hard to tell what's going on except for the sound effects. Tillman is good at drawing out comedy from tension, in particular in a darkly comic standoff between Driver and a reformed pastor with a criminal past.

It's easy to take movies like this for granted. They're so easy to screw up, and yet so hard to get just right. Faster isn't perfect, but it's a compact, muscular thrill ride that will keep you on your toes. It's good enough that you might even forget this is the same guy you saw in a tutu just last year.

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