Will Smith

Focus

  • Title: Focus
  • IMDb: link

FocusWritten and directed by the team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Focus met with mixed reactions from both audiences and critics when it opened in theaters earlier this year. It’s reminiscent of Out of Sight, the film rests largely on the performances of two photogenic and charming stars who, from time to time, need to smooth over the rough spots in the plot.

As a fan of heist and con flicks Focus is right up my alley, and it’s one of Will Smith‘s more interesting acting choices in recent years. As expert con man Nicky “Melo” Spurgeon, Smith takes a young grifter (Margot Robbie) under his wing in a screenplay that has a few too many twists for its own good but still turns out to be largely enjoyable thanks to the chemistry of its two leads. Focus may be cotton candy, lightweight with less going on beneath the surface than one would hope for, but it’s still a tasty treat that goes down easily and will momentarily satisfy your sweet tooth.

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After Earth

  • Title: After Earth
  • IMDB: link

After EarthBased on an idea from one of the film’s stars, the latest from director M. Night Shyamalan stars Will Smith and Jaden Smith as an estranged father and son in the far future who crash-land on a post-apocalyptic version of an abandoned Earth and must work together to survive. Part coming of age story, part father/son dynamic, part horror film, and part shaky science fiction, After Earth proves to be the most straightforward movie of Shyamalan’s career. Instead of twists or late reveals After Earth relies on drama, action, and ramped-up tension to play out a predictable story.

After racing through setting up this version of the future, the destruction of Earth, the settlement across the galaxy, and humanity’s battle with generic movie monster aliens known as Ursas (creatures who can smell and track fear of their prey across great distances), our story begins in earnest with General Cypher Raige (Will Smith) arriving home from his latest assignment to his talented but skittish son Katai (Jaden Smith) who on that very day has been denied advancement in the Ranger Corps for his inability to show calm in the face of danger.

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Men in Black III

  • Title: Men in Black III
  • IMDB: link

men-in-black-3-posterWell that was… in 3D. I wonder how many film series will find themselves resurrected for the soul purpose of cashing-in on Hollywood’s latest love affair with 3D. If Men in Black III is any indication (a franchise that died a decade ago only to have it’s undead corpse dug up and trotted out to make a few dollars at the box office) perhaps movie studios may want to be a little more selective in choosing which movie series to resurrect.

Men in Black III isn’t a bad film. It has some enjoyable moments (like Bill Hader‘s cameo as Andy Warhol) and some nice performances. Hell, Josh Brolin playing a younger version of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones‘s character) is almost worth the price of admission by itself. Almost.

However, the story is stuck in neutral with a generic time travel adventure involving a grizzled alien (Jemaine Clement) out for revenge. Much like Tommy Lee Jones (who only appears on-screen in a limited role this time around), the film simply feels tired and only vaguely aware of what’s going on.

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