Focus (6/10): Will Smith and Margot Robbie's charismatic performances make this a fun experience

“It's about distraction. It's about focus. The brain is slow and it can't multitask. Tap him here, take from there.”

When Will Smith is on his game it’s hard to resist his films and Focus is one of those movies that benefits from his charismatic performance. The main problem with After Earth was that he was stripped away from all his charm, but in Focus Smith is back in full force doing what he does best. He plays Nicky, a con artist who is very good at what he does. When a young woman tries to con him, he picks up on it right away and decides to teach her a few things about being a successful con artist. Her name is Jess (Margot Robbie) and with her distracting good looks she seems to be a perfect fit for the job so he hires her as a sort of intern for an upcoming job he is performing along with his personnel in New Orleans during a major football sporting event. Romance blossoms but there are several unexpected twists that take the audience for a ride. Focus benefits from the strong lead roles and the fantastic chemistry between Smith and Robbie. Other than that there is really not much more worth recommending considering the film suffers from one too many plot twists. I do have to admit that I had fun during most of its running time and it’s light entertainment, but the movie does lose a bit of its appeal towards the end. It’s one of those films that are easy to the eyes, but forgettable in the long run.

Focus was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa who had already worked together in other solid films such as I Love You Phillip Morris and Crazy Stupid Love. I would rank Focus below those movies but I still had a good time thanks mostly to the charismatic lead performances. Crazy Stupid Love is one of my favorite romantic comedies of the past five years so I have a lot of respect for these writer/directors. They have a strong sense of comedy and like to play with genre conventions at times. Focus feels like it is two movies in one because there is one strong segment taking place in New Orleans during the first half hour and then there is another segment taking place in Buenos Aires that despite being amusing, it keeps us guessing so much that it ultimately begins to lose its appeal. I had some issues with some of the character motivations and so on, but in a light breezy film like this it is easier to enjoy without thinking too much about it. It is similar in tone to the Ocean’s Eleven franchise and it is never dull to look at thanks to the dreamy cinematography. However when it comes to the con element I didn’t find it as witty or engaging as other films. Matchstick Men still remains as one of my favorite in this department and if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it. 

The highlights of Focus other than the strong performances from the good looking duo of Smith and Robbie are the early scenes where we are introduced to the con activities. There is a thrilling scene during a football game where Smith’s character is making some crazy bets with a millionaire played by BD Wong. It’s probably the highest point of the film, but I was still entertained throughout the movie. There are also some solid supporting performances from Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, and Adrian Martinez, who has some funny scenes here. In the end it suffers a bit from being too self explanatory and taking some crazy twists and turns, but if you are bored you will be entertained for a couple of hours.  

My Review: Winter's Tale (4/10)

"Don't know who's more foolish; The horse who won't listen to his master or the master who listens to his horse."

I don't know what was more foolish; the fact that I watched this film knowing it was going to be terrible, or the fact that I'm actually spending time on reviewing it. Considering that the tagline of the film claims "This is not a true story. This is true love," one might expect at least for the romantic elements to be emotionally gripping, but the chemistry between the lead actors isn't even there. This is basically your average chick flick mixed with some classical fairytale elements, and unfortunately neither of them worked. Winter's Tale requires you to stretch your imagination way too far and it just didn't work for me. This is yet another example of a film based on a beloved novel that doesn't quite translate well on the big screen. Since I never had read the book I kind of felt lost trying to understand who the characters were; the story simply didn't translate well on film. This is Akiva Goldsman's first feature film as a director and he disappoints. I've enjoyed some of his screenplays in the past (I Am Legend, A Beautiful Mind, and Cinderella Man), but Winter's Tale is simply poorly directed. Fans of schmaltzy and romantic fairytales might enjoy this, but it definitely doesn't bring anything original or fresh to the genre. 

Adapted from Mark Helprin's novel of the same name, Akiva Goldsman's film takes place in freezing New York City during the early 1900's. The premise is very strange and they never take time to explain the sort of mystical world in which the film is set. We are first introduced to Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) as he is trying to escape from the evil Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe), who wants him dead. Apparently Pearly had raised Peter and taught him how to become a great thief, but now Peter wants out. He barely survives from Pearly and his men thanks to a mystical white horse that helps him escape by performing a miraculous jump. Before leaving the city, Peter decides to burglarize a couple homes and in one of those homes he is discovered by the oldest daughter, Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay from Downtown Abby). When he sees her, he instantly falls in love with her. She tells him she suffers from a severe illness and that she only has a few months left. Peter believes he is destined to use his one miracle to save her, but Pearly will do everything in his power to stop Peter from achieving his miracle and thus restoring hope in humanity. Beverly's father, Isaac (William Hurt), approves of his daughter's relationship, but time isn't on their side.

Winter's Tale also counts with the talented Jennifer Connelly and Will Smith, but there isn't much they can do with their characters. The chemistry between Farrell and Brown Findlay is practically nonexistent. Russell Crowe plays a decent villain, although it's hard to understand what he is saying. Well, actually it's hard to make sense of the actual story as well. The blending of the fantastic elements with the romance doesn't work at all and the film tries to be ambitious but it doesn't deliver anything unique. The score by Hans Zimmer is beautiful, but the way they use it in this film is way too manipulative. Since neither the characters nor the story manage to engage the audience, they try to do so by using the emotional score. It's a film you might enjoy more by simply closing your eyes and listening to the score rather than watching the action unfold. It's a shame because a talented ensemble cast is wasted once again for a film that has nothing to offer.

My Review: After Earth (5/10)

¨Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.¨

I really wanted to like this sci-fi film considering I have great respect for M. Night Shyamalan and I also like Will Smith, but I left the theater very disappointed with the movie. I know a lot of people hate Shyamalan, but I have always been a huge fan of his work. The Sixth Sense is one of my favorite movies, and I also loved Signs and Unbreakable. His latest films: Lady in the Water, The Village, and The Happening might not have been that great, but I still managed to enjoy each one of them. Then came, The Last Airbender, which was his biggest blockbuster movie that really tanked. I hated that movie, and I was afraid After Earth might head in that same direction considering it was yet another big budget film. Shyamalan has always done his best work with a very low budget to work with and simplifying the story by focusing on one or two main characters. I was afraid After Earth would be similar to The Last Airbender since it also seemed like a blown out of proportion sort of film which Shyamalan has trouble adapting too. But since I knew Will Smith would be involved in the project, I thought he would save the film through his charisma. I enjoy most of his films as well (Wild Wild West and Hancock being one of the few exceptions). Unfortunately my fears came true as soon as the film began. Everything seemed so false and out of place. The scenes in space looked false and the performances were terrible. Will Smith´s emotionless performance was way over the top and it didn’t work for me. Jaden Smith was given too much responsibility since he practically had to carry this film on his own and he has developed the talent yet to have a lead role. He was ok in The Karate Kid, but I think it worked mostly because he had Jackie Chan along his side. I was hugely disappointed with After Earth.

A thousand years have gone by since humans were forced to leave Earth after a series of natural catastrophes made the planet uninhabitable. They found their new home in Nova Prime, but they were not alone. They had to fight off creatures which killed humans by smelling their fear. General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) became a legend when he singlehandedly began to kill these creatures once he became fearless. Cypher, might be a war hero, but he has trouble relating to his 13 year old son, Kitai (Jaden Smith). His wife, Faia (Sophie Okonedo) convinces him to take his son for his next mission, but something goes wrong after an asteroid storm damages the ship and they are forced to crash land on Earth. Cypher and Kitai are the only two survivors, but Cypher suffered a severe injury which makes him incapable of getting off the ship. He commands Kitai to try to recover their rescue beacon which is on the rear part of the craft which crashed some 100 kms away. Kitai must make this journey on his own, while his father guides him from the ship. This is Kitai´s chance to prove to his father what he is made of, but Earth has become a very dangerous terrain and danger is all around the corner.

One of the problems I had with this film was the underlying message it was trying to give. I strongly disagree with fear being a choice; it is what makes us humans. We all face fear and we can´t just turn the emotion off. What we can do is face those fears. Courage is about facing your fears, not trying to hide your feelings. I think it is an impossibility not to feel fear when your life is in danger. But we can face those fears and confront them. There is nothing wrong with feeling fear; it is what makes us humans. The problem with Will Smith´s character was that he lacked almost any human emotion. His performance was dull and robotic. He left the entire responsibility to his son, who really doesn’t have the acting chops to deliver a movie like this. He could have used some help, but the movie completely misses its mark by taking this direction. I thought the scenes in Earth were pretty well done and I enjoyed them, but the opening sequence in space and the final resolution of the film made me forget how enjoyable the middle was. Shyamalan has missed his mark for a second time in a row, and I think he should go back to doing what he does best: smaller scale movies. This film makes Oblivion look like a masterpiece. If you haven’t seen that movie, then I recommend you see that instead of After Earth (at least Tom Cruise is able to show his charisma on screen).

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My Review: Men In Black III (6/10)

¨I promised the secrets of the universe, nothing more.¨

It`s been 15 years since Barry Sonnenfeld directed the first Men in Black film paring up the unlikely duo of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. This concept wasn’t entirely original as we`ve seen these sort o pairings in films like Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover playing similar characters. What I do remember about the first MIB is that it was very entertaining and had some incredible effects for the time. Now we have grown used to seeing these special effects, but I still enjoyed this movie thanks to the performance from the cast and it also brought back a nostalgic feeling. I remember that I started falling in love with movies during the 90`s and MIB was one that I enjoyed very much along with Independence Day so Will Smith was one of the first actors I actually knew by name. Of course today after seeing thousand of films I see those movies and I don’t find them to be as great as I first experienced them. I`ve grown into a more grumpy critic who expects more from movies, but MIB III brought back some of those nostalgic feelings so I ended up enjoying this movie despite it not being perfect, and rather silly at times. It`s been four years since Will Smith had last starred in a movie so I really was glad to see him back in action. He is a great actor and brought a lot of comedy to his role with his big loud mouth. Both Sonnenfeld and Smith were able to make a better film than the first MIB sequel, and it lives up to the original one thanks to a clever script from Etan Cohen.

Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) are still working together guarding Earth from all the dangers of the Universe. They face a new threat when a villain from K`s past named Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) has escaped prison and is looking for revenge after K shot his arm off and imprisoned him over 40 years ago. J had never heard about Boris until now and when he tries to do research about the event that happened that day he isn’t authorized to dig any further. Boris gets his hands on some sort of time device and goes back in time to kill Agent K. J wakes up the next day with a feeling that something has happened to K and when he arrives at work and asks about his partner nobody knows who K is. At first Agent J thinks it`s all a prank, but when Agent O (Emma Thompson) tells J that K has been dead for 40 years he realizes that Boris managed to go back in time and killed K. Now times have changed and Boris`s race is invading Earth to destroy it. Agent J is sent back in time to try to save K. He ends up back in 1969 where he runs into a younger version of K (Josh Brolin) and together they try to stop Boris once and for all in order to save the planet once again.

The highlight of the film is probably Josh Brolin`s performance since he plays a very believable young Tommy Lee Jones. His facial expressions and voice is really on the note and it is just so fun to see him imitate Jones`s character. This was really my favorite part of the film along with some of the cameos and the clever jokes and cultural references of the 60`s. Another highlight was Michael Stuhlbarg`s (from A Serious Man) performance as Griffin. He got most of the laughs in the movie. Tommy Lee Jones didn`t have a very big role in this sequel and he is getting very old, but he`s still fun to watch on screen. Men in Black III is not a perfect movie, but it`s entertaining and brings back some memories. I liked the whole back in time concept and it reminded me of other great films like Back to the Future. If you are a fan of Will Smith or the MIB franchise than you will really enjoy this movie, if not you might find it too silly. I really enjoyed Brolin`s comedic turn in this movie and he is the highlight of the film. MIB III is an enjoyable and well made sequel.

   

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