cult film freak: WILL SMITH AND MARGOT ROBBIE IN FOCUS

Written by James M. Tate / 2/26/2015 / No comments / 2015 , caper , con man , gerald mccraney , margot robbie , will smith

WILL SMITH AND MARGOT ROBBIE IN FOCUS

2/26/2015 | No comment

2015 rating: ***1/2

With Elmore Leonard gone, and Quentin Tarantino making either War, Western or Kung Fu flicks, it’s nice to hear the JACKIE BROWN style groove of classic and modern-nostalgic R&B guiding a hustling-bustling crime caper flick along… And it helps if it’s actually good.

Will Smith’s con man extraordinaire Nicky and wannabe player Margot Robbie’s Jess are made for each other, almost too well…

In a nicely edited sequence, Nicky teaches the stunning blonde how to "hypnotize" a potential victim: followed by so many easy scores with the help of a band of hustlers under Nicky’s watch, your head will spin – yet with the steady music and solid mainline it’s a nice kind of dizzy despite one too many recent flashbacks, and the bigger cons testing a logical ability to suspend disbelief.

Broken into two halves, the initial overdose of steamy bedroom sequences pay off so the leads, developing with each other, mean more when the prime "gotcha" moments occur. And Will Smith proves his worth as an actor, always keeping you guessing if he’s telling the truth, taking you for a ride, or both. Let's just hope the immense publicity for FOCUS pays: It's well worth the price of seeing everyone else being ripped off. OVERALL RATING: Jedi, Rebel, Droid, Sith.

Share This Post :

Tags : 2015 , caper , con man , gerald mccraney , margot robbie , will smith

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)ROBBERY 3)HELL IS A CITY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)HOT CARS 7)VIOLENT SATURDAY 8)THE BREAK 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)JUNGLE STREET 17)WHITE HEAT 18)FALLEN ANGEL 19)A PRIZE OF ARMS 20)THE BIG HEAT 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE MARKED ONES 23)THE DRIVER 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)JOURNEY INTO FEAR 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6)CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER