The Judge
After making those millions upon millions of Iron Man dollars Robert Downey Jr. returns to the multiplex with the windy legal thriller with The Judge. It’s the sort of middlebrow drama that parents go to on date night.
Occasionally those flicks transcend their genre trappings and offer something grittier and some early reviews liken it to a slice of smart ’80s sleaze though the polite mumbling the film received at TIFF has my expectations guarded. I think it’s this week’s best bet – the trailer looks like loads of fun and it got an R rating for language so that’s exciting. It also features a lumpen Robert Duvall one of the greats and one of angriest old men around and the almost always excellent Vera Farmiga who’s like a pair of hot mom jeans come to life.
The Judge trailer
I have absolutely no idea who Dracula Untold will appeal to considering the rumors that it will be part of Universal’s plan to turn its classic gang of monsters (Frankenstein Dracula the Mummy the Wolfman et al) into a superhero-like super franchise. They already tried this once – it was called Van Helsing it wasn’t very good and nobody cared.
In this latest celluloid incarnation of the bloodsucking Count’s exploits Luke Evans plays Vlad the Impaler willingly turning himself into a vampire so he can wage war against faceless European hordes and protect his family. He has the power to turn into a giant flock of bats which according to the trailer looks pretty handy when facing a marauding army.
Dracula Untold trailer
Also this week: Hollywood ruins your childhood with the unnecessary yet long overdue adaptation of Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. Steve Carell and human black hole Jennifer Garner play a couple of parents and Alexander blah blah blah. I have no idea how they turn a 20-page book composed of about 100 words into a feature-length movie (see the dour and depressing Muppet-a-thon Where the Wild Things Are) but Hollywood always finds a way. Then again toddler books are largely bereft of deep plotting and characters so in truth maybe they’re the perfect adaptable material. Also the target audience for the book (three-ish and under) seems weirdly too young to see this movie.
