Movie Review: THE JUDGE

THE JUDGE
Director: David Dobkin
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, Leighton Meester, David Krumholtz, Ken Howard

Tony Stark vs. Tom Hagen. Robert Downey Jr. vs Robert Duvall. They lead an all-star cast in the family legal drama, The Judge. Hank Palmer is that hotshot big city lawyer that never loses a case. As you’ve seen in the trailer, he’s so cocky he pees on his assistant (Krumholtz). Just before they are about to hear a verdict, he gets the dreaded phone call informing him that his mother has passed away. He drives back to his small hometown to be with his brothers (D’Onofrio and Strong) and their father Judge Joseph Palmer (Duvall).

Hank’s trip back home takes another turn when his father is accused of allegedly hitting and killing a man with his car. The man just happens to be someone he once presided over in court. There is blood on his car and all the evidence points back to him directly, but Judge Palmer has no recollection of the incident. Despite the fact that Hank and his father have a very fractured relationship, he takes on the task of being his father’s lead attorney. It’s a huge case that could kill and destroy the strong reputation his father once had as being the top judge in the city. To make matters worse, Judge Palmer has been hiding the fact that he has stage four cancer. Hank is going through his own issues as he is in the early stages of getting a divorce from his wife.

This film has all the right ingredients to be a powerful story, but it falls so flat that it’s a real wonder why such a dynamic cast signed on for such a lousy script. It’s co-written by first timer Bill Dubuque and Nick Schenk (Gran Torino). There’s a very generic wash over it that feels like they wanted to do a legal drama but didn’t have enough experience with the law or the court to write it with some intelligence behind it. I felt like they watched some old episodes of Law & Order just to get some of the basic legal jargon down. I’ve seen better writing on an hour-long TNT drama. At a very long run time of two hours and twenty minutes, there is an abundance of characters and side stories that completely over stuff the movie and take away from the father/son conflict at its core. Hank is the only character that seems to be given this massive back story that doesn’t really serve a purpose. He has a wife that he is divorcing and a daughter that he brings with him back home. There is also the old flame (Farmiga) and a bartender (Meester) that come into play. I love Vera Farmiga dearly, but her storyline with Downey is a prime example of a sub-plot that takes up too much time. Dax Shepard plays the dim-witted attorney that is also working on the Judge Palmer case. Again, there are scenes and bits with him that take up too much time. His sole purpose seems to be just to provide some laughs as the “much needed” comedic character. It’s a script that’s bursting with clichés and not-so-surprising revelations that many of these supporting characters fall victim to this and feel like generic characters you would find in a “how to write a family legal drama” manual.

The Judge is the first film for Robert Downey Jr.’s new production company Team Downey. It’s evident that he wanted to tackle a different character than Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes as he has been stuck in those franchises for the past decade. While I applaud the effort and desire, I couldn’t help but feel like he was just playing Tony Stark (Iron Man’s alter ego) the whole time. This character is another arrogant and hot-tempered individual like Stark.  I could hear him reverting back to old vocal cadences he’s used as Stark. He’s not the only character like this in the movie. Robert Duvall and Vincent D’Onofrio have their bullheaded moments as well. Too many hot tempers flare up with too many father/son meltdown scenes when it just feels like forced drama that is easy to write to create tension. David Dobkin is trying to stretch his range into dramatic territory as he has primarily directed comedies before with Wedding Crashers, Fred Claus, and The Change-Up. He seems a bit out of his league here, and I wish he would have been able to see these actor traits coming out and really challenge Downey and Duvall to try something different.  Instead, he probably just trusted their instincts and took a more back seat approach to shaping some of the scenes.

It is exciting to see Downey and Duvall in their first movie together. Both carry a strong screen presence that should have been exhilarating to watch. With Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga, and Vincent D’Onofrio joining them, there could have been the potential for it to be a touching movie that really resonated with moviegoers. Instead there is nothing fresh or original at hand when it’s painfully obvious that it’s trying really hard to be just that.

Is It Worth Your Trip to the Movies? No. So many talented actors in such a long, drawn out movie.

RATING: 2 out of 5 TICKET STUBS

Movie Review: THE CONJURING

THE CONJURING
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Joey King

If you are familiar with the Amityville Horror case in Long Island, the names Ed and Lorraine Warren may ring a bell. Ed (Wilson) was a noted author and demonologist and his wife, Lorraine (Farmiga) is a clairvoyant and medium. The Amityville case was just one of thousands of cases they investigated involving spirits, possessions, and hauntings. The Conjuring focuses on the Warren’s work and one particular case that occurred in Harrisville, Rhode Island.

At this point in the career, the Warrens are still very active in their cases but they are also teaching seminars about their past work at universities to fascinated college students. While some of their cases are truly out of the ordinary, they can easily debunk a majority of claims by pointing out old water pipes or warped wood in an attack. Carolyn Perron (Taylor) sits in on one of their seminars and is intrigued and knows they are the only ones that can help her family.

Roger (Livingston), Carolyn, and their five daughters moved into an old home in Harrisville looking for a new beginning and fresh start to their lives. I feel like these types of stories all start like that. Carolyn begs of their help and the Warrens agree to stop by their home. Ever since they have moved in strange occurrences keep happening throughout their house and property. The clocks all stop at 3:07, there is a smell of rotting meat that lingers, the temperature often gets quite cold, birds frequently fly into the house and die, and bruises keep appearing on Carolyn’s body for no explainable reason. One of their daughters sees an imaginary young boy named Rory. The moment Ed and Lorraine arrive at the Perron home, Lorraine immediately feels the presence of a dark spirit that lingers on attaching itself to various members of the Perron family. I am going to stop right there in regards to any more plot details. I would hate to divulge any spoilers or secrets that could lessen the scare factor.

The film is set in 1971 and it feels like director James Wan set out to make the film have the same tone and aura of those horror movies from that era. While there are some spooky moments and jumps earlier on in the movie, it has that slow burn effect as it leads up to the insane ending where the shit hits the fan. It is imperative to have the audience gets to learn about and have a connection to these characters so we have an emotional reaction to what happens to both the Warrens and the Perron Family. Farmiga, Wilson, Livingston, and Taylor are exceptional at bringing the beliefs and fears of these people to life. I think that any good horror film should have a haunting score behind it. Adding to this throwback feel is the score by Joseph Bishara and Mark Isham which is reminiscent of the music heard in the horror films of that era. It elevates the suspense and tension making every jump all the more frightening.

James Wan is a growing into a fine director of the horror genre. The "torture porn" of Saw does not really interest me, but Wan's Insidious is one of the best horror movies of the past five years. If a movie is going to scare me, it needs to be based in some sort of truth or possible reality. I find demonic possession and cases of haunted houses and lingering spirits fascinating. The Conjuring is right up my alley in the kind of horror film that really grabs hold of me. Knowing that it is based on a true story makes the film even more terrifying to me. Regardless of what details in the story are accurate or made up for dramatic purposes, I found the film quite fascinating. The real Lorraine Warren was interviewed many times for research into the story and Wilson and Farmiga spent time with her for preparation. The movie also includes pictures of the Warrens and Perron family over the final credits. I always love when movies based on true stories share photographs, news clippings, and updates from the real case.

I love scary movies. Always have and always will. I think that through all of my years of watching scary movies, I have become somewhat desensitized and a little less likely to jump or scream in a movie. No nightmares for me if I stay up late watching one. The trailers for The Conjuring appealed to me right away and I knew it could be a film that would cause me to jump. I was right as there were a few scenes that got a physical and vocal reaction out of me. The rest of the moviegoers in the theater seemed to be even more spooked than I happed to be. If you feel like the horror genre has been ho-hum lately, rest assured as The Conjuring is one of the best horror films that has come across the screen in the last decade.

RATING: ****1/2 (4.5 out of 5 stars)