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Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated Focus (2015) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

Focus (2015)

2015 | Comedy, Drama

6.2

(6 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Focus, a new film starring Will Smith, Rodrigo Santoro, Margot Robbie, and Gerald McRaney seems like it ‘should be’ predictable, but I didn’t find it to be predictable at all.

I only caught one of the tricky story line twists at the last minute, at the very end, and the whole entire movie, I really thought that the leading lady Jess (Margot Robbie) was up to something other than what she was.

The movie overall, after watching it, reminds me a bit of Oceans 11, with twists and turns and surprises and things I just didn’t see coming.

I felt Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon did a great job, and portrayed his relationship, or the fact that he was bothered by his lack of a relationship with Jess very believably.

The story moves along quickly, flowing well, for the most part. We watch Jess try to con Nicky, and watch him school her on ‘how it’s done’.
This sets the tone for the rest of the show which follows Nickys’ path as a con man and him working with his crew in one job after another.
He is supposed to be the best of the best and we watch him successfully carry off con after con in the first half.

The second half of the movie takes place after a number of years have passed, and more closely details Nicky’s feelings or apparent feelings for Jess.
Without revealing too much, I can only say everything is not as it appears, but the action of what is happening is fast enough that it distracted me from being able to concentrate too hard on what the deceptions might be.

I think this might be Will Smiths ‘comeback movie’ after a series of recent films over the past handful of years with him as a headliner have been really, really bad.

I have already encouraged a handful of friends to see the film when it comes to regular release, and I would gladly see it again.

I would give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

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Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated The Nut Job (2014) in Movies

Aug 6, 2019

The Nut Job (2014)

2014 | Animation, Comedy

7.9

(7 Ratings)

Movie Rating

The Nut Job, starring Will Arnett playing Surly the squirrel, and Liam Neeson playing Racoon, is a kids movie, but has political undertones that won’t be missed by the adults. It does send a good message to kids in that it portrays Surly starting out caring only for himself and then growing to learn to help his friends and take care of others.

My 5 year old son says “it was funny, and it made me laugh”. He says he would see it again.

Down at its core, this movie really is about politics. Raccoon rules the park with the outward appearance of benevolence and coordinating all the animals to “work for the good of the park” while Surly is out for only himself, and refuses to conform. He is the cause of an accident that causes their food-storage tree to be burned to the ground, taking all their food with it, and is subsequently banished from the park without a trial, even though Andie, a lady squirrel (voiced by Katherine Heigl), begs her friends to not banish him without a trial. She is almost instantly voted down by the angry residents of Liberty Park.

Surly leaves Liberty Park and has to try and make it on his own. He finds his way to a HUGE stash of nuts, and devises a plan to get them to hold him through the winter. Andie finds him, and wants “in” on the stash to help the animals in the oark, and makes a deal with him to split them if they work together to collect the haul.

After the point in the movie where it is revealed that Racoon is not so benevolent after all and that his goal is to “control the food to control the animals”, some of the animals antics might be a bit troubling for younger viewers, but overall I thought it was a decent movie that kids will likely enjoy & parents can tolerate as well.