Focus

My View: Focus (2015)  R   Nicky (Will Smith) is a long time con-man who agrees to show Jess (Margot Robbie) the tips of his trade. They get involved, and Nicky breaks it off when Jess gets too entrenched in Nicky’s life. Three years later, Nicky is doing one last con, a con that could set him up for life. The only problem: Jess shows up and throws his plan out the window. Con movies are one of the hardest genres to make; you have to have great chemistry between the leads. Con movies need to have several twists and turns the audience doesn't see coming and an ending that is surprising and creative. A movie like the 1973 classic, The Sting, would be a good example. Focus isn't one those movies as it fails in all aspects. There isn't any chemistry between Smith and Robbie, the plot twists are predictable and easy, and the ending is just plain stupid. It's sad when a cast seems to be just going through the motions except for TV veteran Gerald McRaney, who gives a great performance as a henchman. If you see this film, it will be like someone picked your pocket, but believe me, you will notice.  My Rating: Cable   Focus Website

Indiefest: Leviathan (2014)  R  In a small Russian coastal town, Kolya’s (Aleksey Serebryakov) house is about to be taken away from him by corrupt government officials. Koyla asks an old army buddy, who is now a high-power Moscow attorney, to help him combat the local government. Reminiscent of a mob film by Martin Scorsese, this film is worthy of its Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Picture. The film is filled dread and gloom as Kolya desperately tries to keep his way of life but is beaten down every step he takes by a bureaucracy that is corrupt and evil. The film is marked by three performances of the leads, especially Elena Lyadova, who plays the wife of Kolya, as she tries to stand by her husband and ultimately, his bad decisions, and, ultimately, bad decision after bad decision, herself. You eventually get the idea that the characters in this film are like the wrecked boats along the coast. They are doomed to waste away into nothingness.   My Rating: Full Price   Leviathan Website

Indiefest: What We Do in the Shadows (2015)   It’s hard being a vampire in the modern world. You have to pay rent, do household chores, try to keep up with the latest trends and still keep your vampire coolness. Will this group of vampires get along long enough to survive another 8,000 years? Overall, this film drags a bit and probably should have been a little shorter, but it’s still a fun film to watch, and several times it's just out and out hilarious. The household of vampires has let a documentary crew come in and shoot their lives, which leads up to a big vampire ball. Everything that can go wrong does, including mistakenly taking a human friend to the Vampire Ball (not a good move for the human). The film, at times, seems a little like small skits put together, but some of those scenes work as great comedy.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   What We Do in the Shadows Website

Forgotten Film: Julia (1977)    At the request of an old friend, playwright Lilian Hellman (Jane Fonda), agrees to smuggle money through Nazi Germany to Russia. Complicating things is that Lillian is a Jew. This film stands out due to the stunning performances of Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave as Julia, and Jason Robards as writer Dashiell Hammett. This is one of the better films of the 1970s due to its outstanding cinematography and its depiction of the two leads:  both strong women who are willing to risk anything for a noble cause.  My Rating: Full Price   Julia Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Focus: Assistant Football Coach

In Case You Missed It (A New Release Out on DVD and Blu-Ray): Big Hero 6 (2014)  PG  The Academy Award winning film about a young robotics engineer named, Hiro (Ryan Potter), and his plus-sized inflatable robot, named Baymax (Scott Adsit), uncover a criminal plot and put together a team of inexperienced crime-fighters to take on a masked villain. I loved this film, which combines the superhero element of the Marvel films with the nice, personal touch of the Walt Disney films. You will fall in love Baymax and his little fist bump catch phrase. The film is enjoyable for both adults and children and teaches a wonderful lesson of listening to your conscience.   Full Price    Big Hero 6 website  

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:   Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)    A young Japanese woman discovers an old copy of the 1996 film Fargo on VHS. She is convinced that it is a treasure map to the location of the big bag of money that Steve Buscemi’s character buried out in the snow in the film.   Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter Website

Until Next Time!

Low Down

Indiefest: Low Down (2014)  R   Joe (John Hawkes) is one of the best bebop pianists alive. Unfortunately, Joe is a heroin addict and is frequently in jail. His daughter, Amy (Elle Fanning), struggles to keep her dad alive in a seedy Hollywood hotel with the help of her aging grandmother (Glenn Close). I liked the performances in the film and feel that Elle Fanning gives the best performance of her career. Unfortunately, the cast is let down by the script that stops and starts way too many times. It’s a continuous loop of Joe trying to stay clean but can’t and his daughter hoping he will stay clean but knows he won’t. I wish the director had listened to the sound track (which is marvelous) and let the film flow like the jazz standards that Joe plays.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee  Low Down Website 

Indiefest:  Force Majeure (2014) R   A family of four is on a ski vacation at a resort. A traumatic event happens that changes the dynamic of the family, and a once happy marriage becomes broken. This film is part comedy, part drama as the film explores the dynamics of a family coming apart. The film is filled with gorgeous cinematography and is full of long shots that let the film play out over time. It’s an enjoyable film that makes you wonder how you would handle the situation that the family found themselves in.   My Rating: Full Price  Force Majeure Website

Indiefest:  Point and Shoot (2014) Matthew Vandyke, the child of single mom, never really had any friends and spent hours watching adventure movies and playing video games. Even after getting his Masters Degree, he was still  in his mother's basement wondering what to do with his life. Inspired by the films of an Australian documentary filmmaker, Matthew decides to buy a bike and a camera.  He takes both to Africa where he spends two years traveling across the upper continent, including many of the hot spots in the middle east. In his travels, he meets a man from Libya who invites Matthew to visit him. Matthew sneaks into Libya and falls in love with the culture and the people. While  in the US, the Libyan revolt to overthrow Gaddafi starts, and Jerry goes to Libya to fight for freedom. In what sounds like a work of fiction, this fascinating documentary follows Jerry on his trip to "find his manhood."  What makes this film even more interesting is that Matthew has OCD, with compulsions like constantly stopping to check that the bump in the road wasn't a person he had run over. Most of the footage was shot by Matthew, himself, and it looks like a world that most of us will never experience first-hand. At least we have this captivating documentary to enjoy.  My Rating: Full Price  Point and Shoot Website

Forgotten Film: Frenzy (1972)  R   A serial killer (Barry Foster) is murdering women with a necktie in London. The police have a suspect (Jon Finch), but it’s the wrong one. The suspect goes on the run to try and prove his innocence. This film has a couple of scenes that only its director; Alfred Hitchcock could do. One is a scene in an office where the camera pulls back and tracks down the hallway, down a flight of stairs and then goes out into the busy streets of London. Beware that this film was given an R rating, and there is a bit of nudity and language (unlike most of Hitchcock’s films).    By Rating: Full Price  Frenzy Info 

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers But Just Looks Like a Bad Idea): Focus (2015) R  I have seen this trailer twice and still don’t have any desire to see this film about a con man (Will Smith) who takes a rookie grifter (Margot Robbie) under his wing. It looks so boring and I plan on yelling "focus" in the theatre throughout the film.  Focus Website

In Case You Missed It (A Film Just Released on DVD/Blue Ray): The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) I liked the start of this film about an immigrant family opening a restaurant right across the street of a fancy French restaurant. But the film doesn’t finish well, and I never felt any passion for the food they were preparing. My Rating: Bargain Matinee  The 100-Foot Journey Website 

Weird Credits: From the credits of Low Down: driver: honeywagon

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Mr. Turner (2014) There is a lot of Oscar buzz around the performance of Timothy Spall in the title role of the eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner.   Mr. Turner Facebook page 

Until Next Time!