Report Card----"The Judge"

Robert Downey Jr. is an unscrupulous Chicago hotshot lawyer.
Robert Duvall is his estranged highly-scrupulous small-town judge father.
Logical circumstances force the two of them together, where their estrangement is tested.
This sets the movie in motion.
And it does it very well.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Very.
A.

Compelling even?

Here and there.
B.

Is it controversial?

There are moral questions that are interestingly dealt with.
A.

Is it a story worth telling?

It is a ripping yarn.
A.

Is it good storytelling?

Basically, yes.
B+.

Is it well written?

Yes. Very.
A.

Is it well cast? Well played?

You've got Downey, and you've got Duvall.
You can't hardly do better than that.
And Vincent D'Inofrio, a "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" fave, a little older looking, and a little chubbier, does a nice turn as Downey's brother.
A+.

Well shot?

Very.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

A little long.
B.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

Yes.
A.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

At first, there seemed to be about four endings, which made it seem long first, and predictable.
Then, they hit me with the fifth ending, which totally blindsided me, and wrapped up the movie really well.
A.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

It's self contained, and not really provocative.
But not all of them have to be.
No Grade.

Is it funny?

Here and there.
B.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

I could have waited for HBO.
B-.

Is it impressive ?

On several levels.
A.

Overall grade: A-.

This one has a lot going for it.

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My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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