Jan Wahl Movie Reviews: 'The Judge' And 'The Two Faces of January'
You can hear KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl's movie reviews on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM Fridays at 8:53am & 4:53pm.
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl reviews "The Judge," starring Robert Downey Jr. as a big city lawyer returning to his hometown to defend his father, a local judge accused of murder, and "Two Faces of January," an original thriller from director Hossein Amini set in 1960s Athens about a con artist, his wife and a stranger fleeing the mysterious death of a private detective.
Jan Wahl Movie Reviews: 'The Judge' And 'Two Faces of January'
THE JUDGE (R) 141 min
Out of superhero mode, Robert Downey Jr. is an actor of depth and emotional range. We know him as cocky and fast talking; but under that, this time, we get conflict, hurt feelings and vulnerability. He plays a brilliant lawyer—the kind you definitely want on your side. When his mother dies, he goes home to a small Indiana town and has to confront his father, a respected judge played by Robert Duvall. My hope is that people don't hear too much about the plot because it unfolds in the flim like life: messy, surprising, dramatic and even humorous at times. It's a half hour too long but the acting of Downey Jr. and Duvall keep it moving and strong. Well worth seeing. Oscar nominations for those two and more of this kind of work from the charismatic Downey Jr., please!
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THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY (PG-13) 96 min
Patricia Highsmith's "Strangers on a Train" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" are two great thrillers that were made into excellent films. In "The Two Faces of January" we get three people under pressure, mystery, money and murder. But it's the locales that make it fun and the characters that hold our interest. It's begins in Greece—Athens and Crete—and then it's off to Istanbul. It's 1961 and Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Isaac meet up at the Acropolis. There's no high technology or fast cuts here, just a whodunnit that will take you on a trip and an escape for a couple hours. Mortensen is dapper and dangerous; I'm always glad to see this under-rated actor. Check him out as Freud in "A Dangerous Method" and as an exciting lover to Diane Lane in "A Walk on the Moon."
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