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: The Wolf of Wall Street (9/10)

"My name is Jordan Belfort. The year I turned 26, I made 49 million dollars, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week."

How do you begin to write a review about a film that has so much things to comment on? The Wolf of Wall Street is an overblown energetic and hilarious film about these egocentric, greedy, immoral stockbrokers that we are supposed to hate, but ultimately end up rooting for because we have spent so much time laughing with them. These guys make Gordon Gekko from Wall Street look like a saint. Martin Scorsese is a genius; he can basically direct any movie he wants to and make it appealing. This is his follow up to Hugo (which was a brilliant family film) and he takes a 180 degree turn here with The Wolf of Wall Street and makes a comedy about these egocentric rich characters who have no moral boundaries, who spend their time getting high, objectifying women, and which should have been rated NC-17 because their excesses are constantly repeated over and over again on screen.  Many people criticize the fact that it's so long and overblown, but I think that's exactly the point Scorsese is trying to get across by repeating their excesses and debauchery. If there is one word I'd have to use to describe this film it'd be energetic. The film is so energetic and you get it through each one of the brilliant performances in the movie. This is a filthy dark comedy, but one that will stick with you and have you question yourself for having rooted for these characters. I understand the comparisons with Scorsese's Goodfellas in that the characters wrongful behavior is what we become attracted to and makes the film so edgy. I'm not supposed to root for these guys, they are the villains, they do terrible things, we are all their victims, but then why do we want them to get away with what they're doing? These are all questions that only begin to come up long after the credits have rolled and eventually you realize that these guys deserved far worse punishment and got away too easy (but wait that is what really happened with all these Wall Street stockbrokers that almost ruined the country), and that is why Scorsese is such a brilliant director because he is so subtle in getting his message across and does so in such an energetic and funny way.

The screenplay was adapted by Terence Winter from Jordan Belfort's autobiographical book about his rise to becoming a millionaire as a Long Island penny stockbroker. At age 22, Jordan (Leonardo DiCaprio) received early training from his boss Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) and eventually gets a stockbroker license, but the company melts down on his first day and he's left in the streets again. His wife, Teresa (Cristin Milioti), recommends him a job at Investor Center, which happens to be a very unprofessional small establishment that only deals with penny stocks, but has incredibly high commissions. Jordan is a natural and pitches sales so well that he rises to the top easily again. One day a neighbor named Donnie (Jonah Hill) comes up to him and asks him how he makes so much money, which leads him to decide to get into stocks and work for him. The two find a garage and set up their own business bringing along some of their friends: Robbie (Brian Sacca), Alden (Henry Zebrowski), Chester (Kenneth Choi), Nicky (PJ Byrne), Toby (Ethan Suplee), and Brad (Jon Bernthal). Jordan teaches them how to pith the sales and over the years the company grows at a very high rate and even gets marketing from Forbes Magazine where Jordan is nicknamed as the Wolf of Wall Street. These guys don't care about their clients and will tell them anything just to make a sale, and do a bunch of illegal things along the way which eventually gets them into trouble with the law, specifically FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) who begins to follow their every move. Along the way in the midst of all the parties, sex, and drugs, Jordan falls for the beautiful Naomi (Margot Robbie) and eventually divorces his wife and marries her. The film continues to follow Jordan's excesses as he becomes more and more addicted to drugs, the most powerful of all being money.

Scorsese makes several great statements in this film about the world of Wall Street, similar to what he did with the gangster world in Goodfellas. He doesn't shy away from their egocentric world portraying numerous scenes where the characters are getting high, having sex, and getting rich at expense of the rest of the world. He also makes it clear that money is the most dangerous and addictive drug of all, and these men don't know where to draw the line. There are several scenes that truly stood out for me like the scene where Mark teaches Jordan what the business is really about, or when Jordan and Donnie meet for the first time, or when Jordan meets with Agent Dunham in his yacht. In the midst of all the crazy debauchery, these small conversation scenes work so well giving the characters more depth. There are also hilarious scenes like the one where Jordan and Donnie suffer from a delayed drug side effect, mixed with some very dark scenes as well like when Jordan has a huge fight with Naomi portraying him at his lowest point. The performances in this film are also incredible, Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best and funniest performance to date, the scenes where he gives his employees pep talks are mesmerizing, Jonah Hill is also at his best and has some extremely funny and insane scenes, they both truly deserve Oscar nominations for their work here. Matthew McConaughey is no longer a surprise, he has been exceptional in his latest films, but he has a very small role here, Margot Robbie gives an outstanding performance in a world where females are completely objectified, Rob Reiner is funny as Jordan's father, and finally Kyle Chandler also stood out for me as the only character who seemed to be morally incorruptible. They all bring so much energy to this film making the three hours go by fast despite being overblown and repetitive.

My Review: About Time (7/10)

"We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride."

If there is someone who can get away with being too schmaltzy, generic, charming and sentimental it's Richard Curtis. It comes as no surprise here considering he's directed Love Actually, and wrote such rom-coms as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Notting Hill among others. He has a tendency of melting even the toughest hearts and no matter how prepared you think you are for his next film somehow he gets you again. Perhaps About Time is his most sentimental film and that could turn some people off, but I must say this isn't your typical romantic comedy. Half way through the film it turns into a completely different movie becoming one about family dynamics and enjoying the ordinary moments in life. Perhaps the reason why Curtis gets away with being so charming is that he creates a perfect balance in his stories and introduces comedic relief at the right moments. About Time is a flawed film, but you can probably say this about all his films. The thing a lot of people might have a problem with specifically in this one is the time traveling element which many may find a bit absurd, but it worked for me (at least it was much better than the other time traveling movie that Rachel McAdams starred in) and I think Curtis uses this element as a sort of parable to remind us of the importance of savoring each day. It may feel like a sermon at times, but it's one I don't mind being reminded of. Carpe Diem!

Tim (Domhnall Gleeson who you may recognize as Bill Weasley in the last two Harry Potter films) is a shy kid living with his parents (Bill Nighy and Lindsay Duncan) and lovable sister Kit Kat (Lydia Wilson). The morning of his 21st birthday his father shares with him a family secret: the men in their family can travel in time, but they can only do so to moments they personally have experienced. Tim decides to use this special ability to find love, because he really needs all the help he can get for it. Tim leaves his parents beautiful beachside estate in Cornwall for London in order to become a lawyer. He moves in with one of his father's friends, Harry (Tom Hollander), who's a struggling writer with a bad temper. In London Tim meets Mary (Rachel McAdams) and the two fall for each other, but due to a time traveling incident that night is erased from Mary's memory and Tim has to find another way to win her back.

I feared this film would become another sort of 50 First Dates, but surprisingly it took an unexpected turn halfway through the film and becomes something else. It is not just a romantic comedy, it becomes a movie about family, love, and life where Tim learns a couple of valuable lessons along the way. McAdams and Gleeson shared great chemistry on screen, but the true standouts in this film were the supporting characters, especially Tim's father played by the wonderful Bill Nighy. He is great here once again, while Wilson, Duncan, and Hollander all are extremely funny and used for comedic relief. It's a relief from the schmaltzy sentimentality of the film. It's as if Curtis is admitting he's manipulated us way too much with all the emotional sentimentality and now it's time for a good laugh. If you don't find this film funny then you will probably find it way over the top with the sentimentality. It's not a film for everyone, but I had a good time and was charmed by the story.