#Focus #EnglishHollywoodlmMovieReview #JohnsonThomas #Rating:* *

#Focus #EnglishHollywoodlmMovieReview #JohnsonThomas #Rating:* * 

#Picks&Piques/SnippetFilmReview13thMar2015/#JohnsonThomas

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#NH10 (Hindi) Rating: * * * A darkly violent , reasonably engaging, shadowy thriller that makes violence it’s leitmotif.  The violence and cuss words are shocking alright but the narrative is not entirely plausible or engaging. There’s not much of a story to tell and the performances are at best, befitting. #DeeptiNaval is the surprise packet though! #AnushkaSharma #PhantomFilms #ErosInternational #NeilBhoopalam #DarshanKumar #CleanSlateFilms #VikramadityaMotwane
#AnuragKashyap #VikasBahl #SunilLulla
#KrishikaLulla

 

#InTheirShoes(Documentary/English) Rating: * * * A little too rudimentary and explanatory but has historical significance with it’s digging into the past of the Agra shoe trade business. Atul Sabharwal’s research and explorations into an area that has been hitherto neglected and mostly forgotten, deserves praise! #AtulSabharwal #TheSearchers #AnsarShah #MoesArt #ParmanandKumar
#AnthonyBJRuban #PramodThomas #VipinMishra #RobertLang #GeetikaTyagi

 

#Focus(English) Rating: * * Flimsy excuse for a film.It’s more of an attempt to keep Will Smith’s brand alive in public memory. The lack of chemistry and effort in scripting/plotting is hard to overcome. A few strategic scene stealing gains don’t offer much bite despite the short runtime. #WillSmith #MargotRobbie  #GlennFicarra #JohnRequa #WarnerBros #GeraldMcRaney #AdrianMartinez #RodrigoSantoro

 

#Chappie (English) Rating: * * *   Blomkamp’s ‘Chappie’ tries to hit ‘affecting’ rather than the expected cutting edge visual metric of sci-fi sagas. So what you have here is not a very sophisticated , super effects extravaganza but a much more simplistic telling of a very human tale full of emotions and affections(even if it involves a Robot).  #NeillBloomkamp #SharltoCopley #HughJackman #DevPatel #SigourneyWeaver #SonyPictures

 

English film review

Johnson Thomas

Flimsy and superfluous!

Film : Focus

Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Rating: * *

Runtime: 105 mins

 

Synopsis: Will Smith’s latest foray into cinema appears like some indistinct filler meant to keep his brand alive in the audience mind. Here he plays a veteran con artist, Nicky,  who once had it good with a young female upstart Jess(Margot Robbie) but breaks it off when he finds himself getting in too deep - only to bump into her three years later, this time as a femme fatale , who appears to be very much involved with the handsome formula 1 enthusiast(Rodrigo Santoro) who he is now attempting to con.

 

Review:

While the story could be seen as interesting it’s assay on screen is just not. Will Smith’s charisma and Margot Robbie’s beauty can only do so much. There’s little of interest in the narrative with many sleight of hand tricks that are never really detailed or appear plausible in the least. The first half rolls on like an instructional on conning and the second half gets round to some action with several small cons converting into a big sized one. Smith exudes his usual charisma  getting in and out of plot twists including one at the Super Bowl and the big one fashioned in the world of Formula 1. The cons start small and escalate. All the while, the chemistry between Smith and Robbie is lukewarm. There’s not much passion on display-just a few close-in positioning. The only bits that are interesting in the least are the sequences involving BD Wong as a bet-loving football spectator, Rodrigo Santoro as the handsome Formula 1 driver with Gerald McRaney as his right-hand man, and Adrian Martinez as an all-in-one genius facilitating all those cons. You may w Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

ell wonder why someone with so many sterling abilities would go the con way?

There’s little conviction to be had and not much thrill to this enterprise either. A movie cannot ride on it’s lead star’s charisma alone and ‘Focus’ just proved that dictum, once again!

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