Seven Hours to Judgment (1988)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Beau Bridges directs himself in this utterly preposterous but entertaining thriller. He plays a judge who was forced to release some minority punks who'd robbed and killed a woman, due to insufficient evidence. This enrages her husband (Ron Leibman), one of those local businessmen you see on TV with the corny ads. Since the husband is more than a little unhinged, he gets even by kidnapping the judges' smoking hot young wife (Julianne Phillips), and forcing the judge to go into the toughest parts of town to obtain some supposed evidence that would have helped convict the punks.You don't have to think too hard about this one. It establishes itself as ridiculous escapism early on, with Bridges putting the pedal to the metal, so to speak. And that's the best thing about "Seven Hours to Judgment": it rarely stops moving, enabling itself to wrap up in a tidy 91 minutes. If it was attempting to make a statement on the sad, sad state of affairs regarding the "justice" system in the U.S.A., it kind of blows it by making Leibmans' character such a nutcase. He goes from being a sympathetic character to an out and out villain pretty quickly, enlisting the services of a simple minded employee (played by the massive "Tiny" Ron, who does get a good showcase). But it does sort of succeed, at least to some small degree, by giving Bridges' well-off character a chance to see how the other half lives.Bridges is overall too insipid for us to root for him that much, while Phillips is wasted in a mostly thankless role. The two of them don't generate any real chemistry, either. Leibman, as he's so often been prone to do, absolutely demolishes the scenery. Reggie Johnson ("Platoon") is fine as a clichéd tough talking gangbanger. Familiar faces like John Aylward ('ER'), John Billingsley ('Enterprise'), and Steve Harris ('The Practice') turn up, while veteran actor Al Freeman Jr. ("Malcolm X", 'One Life to Live') has a nice presence as Bridges' psychiatrist friend.Location filming in Seattle does help a fair bit in the enjoyment of this one. If you desire mindless B movie thrills, you could do worse.Six out of 10.

I am surprised that none of the viewers of this 1988 movie have seemingly thought of 2009 LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, starring Gerald Butler and Jamie Fox, and telling nearly the very same story. I say nearly, not exactly. The cruel vengeance of an ordinary man who desperately seeks revenge of the men who killed his wife, and who becomes worse than them. And the judge, in both stories - Jamie Fox in 2009 feature, and Beau Bridges in this one - are shown as the good guys vs the villain one - the victim seeking vengeance !!! A very interesting scheme, isn'it? !!I suppose there are some other films with such topics, telling the same stories, films made for TV or video releasing, bad directed and acted. B movies, for most of them. The only positive thing in this is that those features give us sometimes interesting schemes, that we don't find in big budget movies, which don't dare to take risks, and use always the same tales, for the most popular audiences. Such a shame.

***SPOILERS*** Off the wall movie about how the justice system fails those that its supposed to protect that has the victim, or her husband, look far worse then his victimizers.With his wife Ellen, Sandra Lee Gimple, after being pushed off a subway platform on life support TV electronic pitchman David, known professionally as "Crazy Davy", Reardon, Ron Leibman, tries to get the judge handling his wife's attackers case John Eden, Beau Bridges, evidence that would have them indited. Judge Eden telling the distraught husband to take the evidence to the D.A's office has Reardon loses it and then ends up not only kidnapping Eden's wife Lisa, Julianne Phillips, but the judge himself.Reardon coming up with this insane plan for Eden to get the evidence within seven hours or else he'll murder his wife ends up letting those who attacked his wife, who had since died of her wounds, get away with even more crimes. That's by Reardon knowingly allying himself, in his attempt to kill Eden, with them! Besides himself Reardon has this seven foot tall hulking assistant Ira, Tiny Ron, in on the plan to do in both Eden and his wife without him, by being a bit retarded, not really realizing it. Treating Ira like a full-grown baby Reardon gives him all the kindness and understanding that he so desperately needed after someone very very close to him departed the scene. You see Ira has never been the same since his beloved pet parakeet passed away. In having the sweet fatherly and understanding Reardon, who gives Ira all kinds of toys and games to play with, as his boss in a way helps Ira forget all that.***SPOILERS*** We have Eden running an inner city obstacle course in him getting the evidence to indict and convict Reardon's wife's killer gang leader Chino played by the handsome charismatic and and very talented, and who's never been seen or heard from since, Reggie Johnson. This crazy scheme thought out by the now obvious insane Reardon comes crashing down on his head with him, not Mr & Mrs Eden, becoming history by the time the movie ends.

Oddly enough i saw this movie a few times as I worked at a theatre and well could never afford film school and dreamed of what would never be. oddly enough as i recall now in hindsight MORT ABRAHAMS was in the theatre with me watching the movie. Wish i would have recognized him then. A curious thing but well, a footnote in my past now. the film is a cross between psycho and the REBECCA LYONS version of THE LADY THE TIGER AND THE DOOR and a "on the lamb movie". The film mixes courtroom drama with a race against time as a judge must be judged by the derrainged survivor of a murder spree who lost his wife. The judge must try to save his wife while racing through SEATTLE to find clues and being pursused by vicious street gangs who do not want the truth to come out. A great modest budget movie which features a fine cast including some very talented extras. the film was an independent feature from TRANSWORLD, before they went primarily straight to video. The film sports good directoral and production values. I liked the "dream like" otherworldly sequences which added a human touch to the judge and a artsy feel. The film did more monetarily on video tape after theatrical release. A fine movie relesed in sleeper status with little fan fare or advertisement. Several films did this one the year before in 1987 was THE HIDDEN.