My dearest children of the corn, how is everyone this fair week(end)? Are you ready to let loose of the shackles of Cuaresme and Lent…or that damn fad diet you know will only work if you stop eating bread and xuxos every bloody meal! It’s always a bet with those things anyway.
Everything is actually. Cinema certainly is, anyway. One bet’s that based on the skills and/or filmography of an actor/actress, on the fame of the director/writer/et al, the celluloid love and money spent will find a way to make beautiful music together…okay, now I’m getting hella dramatic, but you get the idea.
For the first time in his career…for the first time in my youngish life, Will Smith looks his age and his new film will certainly attract a sizeable audience. Focus tells the story of a legendary conman named Nicky Spurgeon and the drawn-out system of high-priced hustles he orchestrates to amass his wealth, which frankly never seems to come across as plausible, even when suspending disbelief. When he meets Jess (Margot Robbie), things in his life take a turn. In fact, she makes the movie one compelling reason to watch frankly. I’m going to say it now: this stunning beauty is playing her cards right according to H’wood standards, and she’s got great comedic timing. The film seems to sparkle whenever she graces the screen, and even though she’s nearly half the age of Smith, it isn’t difficult to believe her feelings for the protagonist. Ms. Robbie is an ex-Neighbours star, all! The film is a complicated caper with some sincere comedic touches, but it’s just as well served on an HDTV in a few months’ time as on the big screen. I’m sorry but one more time…Margot Robbie…good Lawd! ###
One thing I noticed about Edward Snowden as I watched him deeply observed and documented in the new film Citizenfour by famed documentarian (and now Oscar winner) Laura Poitras is that he is very much like the dorky mate from next door when you were a child…oh yeah and he has Vampire-like fangs. He is also a truth-teller whom we get to see frame-by-frame as he watches his leaks hit the world. What I knew about Snowden going into the film was that he worked as a Dell-trained contractor/analyst while also simultaneously serving the country by working for the NSA and the CIA, apparently as an infrastructure analyst. The film is beyond worth watching and divulging information here might result in a drone flying over my house via an amazon.com delivery. That said, the film’s setting is Snowden’s (very white) hotel room in Hong Kong when the press hits the fan, so to speak. Snowden is currently residing in Russia, where he has been given a three-year visa and asylum…nice slap, US! Right? This film is a must-see because it is a polemical discourse on civil liberties and whether you view yourself a conservative or a liberal, we are living in an age of change. Is it for the best? ####
What’s your favorite animated, Disney classic? Whether you’re 8 or 80, it is quite likely that there is a Disney cartoon that caught your heart and soul when you were wee lads and lasses, and perhaps it has stayed there lo all these many years. I have quite a few, depending on the age and sentimentality but one big classic for me was Cinderella. It’s the classic survivor story served with a fantastic comeuppance at story’s end. But when I read that Kenneth Branagh was directing a live-action, Disney version of my classic, fabled cartoon, I was slightly hesitant. But that’s when the supporting cast hooked me. It’s also fair to say that this is Branagh’s latest foray in the director’s chair and one quite persistent to make good on being a big box office phenomenon, like his Thor and Jack Ryan films, made in the last few years. In this film, it’s easier to know what is about to happen if you’ve seen the cartoon, though songs here are mostly for show. Still, the mice and animals in our new Cinderella also aide our heroine and formulaic as the movie is, it is so well-done and refreshing, you can’t help but like the flick. Nice job! ###-1/2
I truly wanted to review The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel but was simply unable to. Still, critics have been favourable so you have a nice little selection to take a peak at this next week(end). See you then! besos