TIFF '14: "The Judge" Opening Night Film

Robert Downey Jr.  and Robert Duvall will star in the festival's opening feature next month, a foray into drama from veteran comedy director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Shanghai Knights).  Downy plays a successful lawyer who returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.   With close to 400 films being featured at this year's festival there's pretty much something for everyone.  Here are a few titles that are getting some major buzz !! 

“Foxcatcher” – The true story of wealthy John du Pont (Steve Carell), his involvement with Olympic gold medal wrestler brothers Dave and Mark Schultz (Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum), and a road to murder.

“Hector and the Search for Happiness” – Sometimes funny, mostly serious, this tells of a psychiatrist (Simon Pegg) who, unable to properly explain “happiness” to some of his patients, sets off on a journey to find out what it really is.

“A Little Chaos” – Alan Rickman directs and stars as Louis XIV, for whom a female landscaper (Kate Winslet) is hired to design the royal gardens at Versailles.

“Love & Mercy” – Paul Dano plays the young Brian Wilson, John Cusack plays the older Brian Wilson, and Paul Giamatti played Dr. Eugene Landy, the controversial quack who played with the Beach Boy’s already messed-up head.

“Maps to the Stars” – Emotional problems haunt a Hollywood family (as does a possible ghost) in David Cronenberg’s psychological study of the pursuit of celebrity and escape from the past.

“Men, Women and Children” – Director Jason Reitman looks at contemporary love lives in stories featuring high school teens and their parents, and how social media has complicated and changed everything.

“Mr. Turner” – Timothy Spall won the coveted Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of the brilliant (and a bit crazy) British Landscape artist J.M.W. Turner. Directed by Mike Leigh.

“Nightcrawler” – Busy screenwriter Dan Gilroy (“The Bourne Legacy,” “The Fall”) gets his first directing credit in this study of a freelance writer (Jake Gyllenhaal) who gets caught up in a nasty L.A. crime scene.

“Rosewater” – Remember when “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart took some time off a while back? It was to direct this film about a journalist who was imprisoned in Iran, partly due to an appearance he made on Stewart’s show.

“Tusk” – It’s Kevin Smith’s newest film. I’ve decided to print verbatim what it says on the Internet Movie Data Base: “A man is captured by a maniac and tortured, physically and mentally, into becoming a walrus.”

Infinitely Polar Bear - Stars Mark Ruffalo as a father with bipolar disorder who must take care of his two adorable daughters when his wife leaves Boston for New York to get a  Business degree. Based on a true story. 

For everything you need to know about this year’s TIFF, including a complete list of films and events, visit www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival.