Author: FOCUS Newspaper

Director Martin Brest’s 1979 film Going in Style was remarkable in that he wasn’t even thirty when he made the film and yet it so sharply captured the trials and tribulations of growing old. The film’s plot involves three bored...

It’s old news by now that Hollywood studios are not renowned for taking chances. If something works they tend to bludgeon an idea to death until it dies from overexposure or, worse, audience indifference. With the runaway...

The struggles of African Americans in a country that prides itself in being the land of the free forms the basis of director Raoul Peck’s incendiary documentary, I Am Not Your Negro. Based on a proposed book project by the...

By Jocelyn Noveck, AP National Writer One can imagine the pitch meeting: It’s American Idol, but animated, and everyone’s an animal. We’ll star a cuddly koala. We’ll get McConaughey, Witherspoon, some other A-listers. We’ll...

Denzel Washington’s passion project Fences, an adaptation of the celebrated play by the late August Wilson, is a film filled with many moments of winning truth and insight. Washington not only stars in the film but he also...

I just can’t help but wonder what a visiting race of extraterrestrials might make of the way that human grief is depicted in the new Will Smith drama Collateral Beauty. Since this film and the way it depicts grief is about as...

I loved director Damien Chazelle’s second film, Whiplash, from two years ago. In fact, it was my favorite film of its year. It’s no surprise, I suppose, that I would respond so strongly to his bittersweet and wistful musical...

Celebrated designer turned filmmaker Tom Ford stumbles a bit with his second cinematic foray, the much anticipated Nocturnal Animals. This is a film that pulses with Ford’s stylish directorial flourishes but ultimately does not...

Actor Bryan Cranston has, in numerous interviews, repeatedly made mention of the fact that he’s careful about the projects in which he chooses to participate. He’s an actor I generally respect and hold in high esteem and I’ve...

Veteran director Robert Zemeckis’ latest film, Allied, is many things. It is alternately a solid WWII yarn, a love story, a mystery and a meditation on the moments that make up the lives we choose to lead. The good news is that...

Playwright and occasional filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester By the Sea is only his second film in fifteen years but it successfully builds on themes established in Lonergan’s superbly crafted earlier films (Margaret, You...

Poor Octavia Spencer. Having the knowledge that it was only a handful of years ago since she was awarded a best supporting actress Oscar for her work in The Help, it’s saddening to see her returning as a prostitute in the...

Disney’s latest family oriented opus, Moana, is further proof of the company’s systematic rubber-stamping of the majority of its animated film output. It’s pleasant enough and features some occasionally memorable songs, although...

Rules Don’t Apply, Warren Beatty’s much heralded return as a filmmaking force after an eighteen-year layoff, is a major disappointment considering the pedigree of both the subject matter and the creative talent behind the film....

From a cinematic storytelling standpoint, some subjects are just hard to make compelling. To cite one example, a film about decoding symbols would be one of the last things I would have on my short list of go-to film subjects....

Say what you will about Mel Gibson, he knows how to direct a film. That’s clearly been evidenced in critically acclaimed affairs such as Braveheart, Apocalypto and the crowd pleaser, The Passion of the Christ. Some may argue the...

By Lindsay Bahr, AP Film Writer Los Angeles (AP) — “Look at me,” Ruth Negga says in between sniffles. “I’ve only been doing this for two weeks and I’m sick already.” You wouldn’t...

Considering how poorly made and conceived the 2014 horror opus Ouija turned out to be I found myself quite surprised at the positive word preceding the release of the film’s prequel, Ouija: Origin of Evil. Was it possible that...

Inferno, the latest in the series of film adaptations based on author Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon character (previously seen in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code) has many problems, chief among them being a certain lack of...

Whatever you might think about director Gordon O’Connor’s film The Accountant, there’s no denying that the film breaks new ground. With that statement I mean that I can’t recall ever having seen a film in which an autistic...

It’s clear the creative talent behind the film adaptation of author Paula Hawkins’ best selling book The Girl on the Train is attempting to replicate the success of Gone Girl. In fact, the studio has even gone so far as to...

Based on True Events: Masterminds (** 1/2) AND Deepwater Horizon (***) Two recent film releases covering headline-making events can now be found in local multiplexes. One of these is based on a story that made local headlines...

On paper the prospect of remaking the beloved classic western The Magnificent Seven must have seemed like a can’t miss proposition. Especially when it’s a project that reunites director Antoine Fuqua with two of the stars...

‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.’ It’s an old adage to be sure, but never did those words ring stronger in my mind than after I exited the screening the other night for Oliver Stone’s latest film, Snowden. Of all...

Being that the original Blair Witch Project from 1999 was one of the most successful independent films of all time, it’s a surprise that only one sequel was spawned from that first film in the intervening years. That was back in...

Regarding the third and latest in the series of screen adaptations based on author Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones character, what I can’t tell you is how it stacks up against the last entry from twelve years ago, Bridget Jones:...

Sometimes I forget why movies matter and then one comes along that reminds me how much fun it is to be a part of the communal experience that only seeing a movie in a packed theater full of total strangers can provide. The...

The similarities to the Coen Brothers’ 2007 Oscar winner for Best Picture, No Country for Old Men, are evident right from the start in director David Mackenzie’s bank heist thriller, Hell or High Water. For starters there’s the...

Poor Phillip Roth. His track record as a well-regarded giant of the literary world, from both a commercial and critical standpoint, may be virtually unassailable but when it comes to film adaptations of his works, well, that’s a...

In a year full of more cinematic disappointments than you can shake a stick at, it comes as a real surprise to me that one of my most enjoyable movie going experiences of the summer comes as a result of an adult themed, animated...

There’s one, and I mean just one, reason to take in writer-director Woody Allen’s latest film and it’s not something for which the Woodman can actually receive credit. That is unless you want to give him credit for his choices...

I think it’s best to go on the record and start things off by mentioning that I have a curious relationship with the 1977 film Pete’s Dragon. That film was, supposedly, an idea that sprang from the brain of Walt Disney himself...

Should one take into consideration the size of their talents when deciding to flex their artistic muscles? If the person in question is someone you care about is it best to point out the obvious truth that they have no talent,...

It’s so apparent that the film division of DC Comics wants desperately to be a serious competitor for the audience share of their chief competitor, Marvel. In fact, it was never more glaringly obvious than with their latest...

I’m not sure exactly how you might categorize Frank Zappa and I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how he would have wanted it. Obviously, he was a musician, leading his beloved band, The Mothers of Invention, for the better portion...

J.J. Abrams’ initial reboot of the Star Trek franchise back in 2009 was greeted with much acclaim from the critical community and from audiences as well. I found that to be quite confounding. I felt that the essence of Star Trek...

Jason Bourne, the fifth in the series of theatrical films based on author Robert Ludlum’s character of the same name (not counting TV movie adaptations) does get one thing right. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the...

Filmmaker James Wan, the director behind such spookfests as Insidious and The Conjuring 1 and 2, may only serve as producer on the fright film Lights Out, but his handprints are all over it. This is a horror film filled to the...

Before I get into my review of the reboot of Ghostbusters, I think it’s important to address the controversy that has surrounded the film. Said controversy being the choice by director/co-writer Paul Feig to populate the lead...

You have to hand it to the creative talents behind the horror opus Green Room. I can’t recall ever having seen a fright film where a rock group serves as protagonist and the group members are forced to fend for their lives. And...

Independence Day: Resurgence is one of those films that critics were not allowed to screen before its official release. In other words, the studio seems to have no faith in the picture so the feeling is that banning press...

DePalma (*** ½) R My respect and admiration for director Brian DePalma has been mentioned more than once in the pages of this publication. I say that because it should be taken into consideration before reading my review of the...

If the merits of a film set during the American Civil War were based solely on the technical contributions of the filmmakers, then Free State of Jones would surely rise to the top. The early battle scenes, graphic as they may...

I think it’s important to mention that I’m one of the very few, and I do mean very few, who found the beloved 2003 Pixar/Disney concoction Finding Nemo to be merely enjoyable and not much else. The tale of a fish and his quest...

The modestly entertaining 2013 film Now You See Me was a fun, albeit slight, piece of pop filmmaking concerning a group of magicians who called themselves The Four Horsemen and built a career out using their talents to make...

 Those of you reading this review who saw the first installment of The Conjuring some three years ago will most likely remember that film opening with a segment-unrelated to the rest of the pic, involving a vengeful possessed...

Me Before You, based on the best selling novel by Jo Jo Moyes and yet another weepie in the ever-popular Young Adult genre, is the kind of film that did a number on this moviegoer. Just when I thought I was ready to dismiss the...

Metropolitan, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco, the trio of films that put filmmaker Whit Stillman on the map during the decade of the 90s, just never seemed like my cup of tea. I guess every critic has a list of several...

It’s a funny thing about those X Men films. It always seems that when they hit the third installment things seem to go awry. This happened with the original X Men trilogy—witness X Men: The Last Stand—and now it’s happened with...

It’s been awhile since a film truly showcased the sizeable talents of actress Susan Sarandon but as a testament to her acting capabilities, The Meddler should find its spot among the cream of the crop on the actress’ resume....

In interviews Seth Rogen seems like such a likeable guy. He comes across as genuine, down to earth and the kind of person you could sit down with and have a great conversation. In his films he’s only as good as his material,...