Some movies aren’t designed to win Oscars or be particularly groundbreaking. Sometimes, they are simply engineered to make you feel something or take you back to a place where movies were simple and provided escapism. They may remind you of something in your life or someone else’s.

The Judge is as sappy as a brand new bottle of maple syrup, but the performances of Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Durvall elevate a been there seen that script and plot and take it to another level. As a father and son colliding over a murder case after the mom dies, Downey Jr. and Duvall make you feel everything. We may not see them do this again so this film is a real treat.  (more…)