Focus 2015

     Nicky Spurgeon is a liar and a cheater for a living.  He meets Jess, she is amateur con artist and he starts to train her to do a much better job as a pickpocket.  Nicky allows Jess to join the large team he has put together in New Orleans for a football championship game.  The team makes 1.2 million from wallets, credit cards, watches and jewelry.  Nicky has tickets at the Superdome and he gets into a gambling contest using the 1.2 million that belongs to all the team.  Jess is shocked and devastated that Nicky seems to be on his way to losing it all to a high roller.  Nicky and Jess go their separate ways and they don’t see each other until three years later in Buenos Aires.

     There are many times in this film you don’t know if Nicky if lying or is it Jess who is lying?  How is this going to play out and who is going to come out on top is the question?  Has Nicky changed his ways and has Jess left crime behind too but in a different way?  A take of 1.2 million is nothing to sneeze at!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

105 min, Crime directed by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa with Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, Gerald McRaney, Rodrigo Santoro, B.D. Wong, Brennan Brown, Robert Taylor, Dotan Bonen, Griff Furst.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 56% critic 53% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, New Orleans, Louisiana, Las Vegas, Nevada and New York City.  The directors also worked on Crazy Stupid Love.  Another plot element is this film is based on the true story of the McLaren F1 team fined $100,000,000 for possession of the Ferrari team software and design documents.

Jack Strong 2014

     This film is based on the true story of a man spying for the United States in the Soviet Union between 1972 and 1981.  Polish army colonel Ryszard Kuklinski is involved in planning the maneuvers of the Warsaw Pact military forces.  He has access to top-secret information and documents.  The Americans are planning a nuclear counterattack in Poland and he works with the CIA to prevent this attack on his home country.  As soon as he begins down this path he and his family members are in constant danger of torture and death.

     When the Soviets realize there is a mole at the top of their organization, there is a big push to find out who is informing.  It becomes very intense when Ryszard sends an urgent message to the CIA that he and his family must be removed from danger.  His wife and two sons have no idea he is a spy.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

128 min, Action directed by Wladlyslaw Pasikowski with Marcin Dorocinski, Maja Ostaszewska, Patrick Wilson, Dimitri Bilov, Dagmara Dominczyk, Oleg Maslennikov, Krzysztof Pieczynski, Miroslaw Baka.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 77% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 54 reviews.

Special Note:  This movie was filmed in Warsaw, Legnica, Gdanski, Poland, Moscow, Russia and Washington DC.  Patrick Wilson is married to Dagmara Dominczyk, she plays the role of CIA Operative Sue in this film and they have two children.

The Last Picture Show 1971

     This film takes place in the tiny town of Anarene, Texas during the 1950’s.  It’s the lull period between WWI and the Korean Conflict.  Sonny and Duane are best friends and they pass their time with movies, football and girls.  Sonny has been seeing Charlene for a year but they break up on their anniversary.  The breakup is probably just due to boredom with each other.  Duane is seeing Jacey, she’s the most popular and richest girl in town.  All the guys think the one who marries her will be set for life.  The town is slowly changing and so are the people.  Some head for the larger cities and some just want to graduate from high school.

     This time period is when it was inexpensive to go see a movie and before television brought in-the-home entertainment.  There isn’t much to do in Anarene, there is the theater, the pool hall and the all-night café.  This film feels like it was actually shot in 1951 instead of 1971.  All the actors are young and it’s interesting to see them at this stage of their lives.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

118 min, Drama directed by Peter Bogdanovich with Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, Sam Bottoms, Sharon Ullrick, Randy Quaid, Joe Heathcock, Bill Thurman, Barc Doyle, Jessie Lee Fulton.

Note:  Imdb 8.1 out of 10, 100% critic 90% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 4.5* out of 5* with 258 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Archer City, Olney and Wichita Falls, Texas.  This film is ranked as #95 on the listing of Greatest Movie of All Time.  Ben Johnson won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and his role is 9 minutes and 54 seconds.  It's the shortest performance to ever win an Academy Award.  There is a goof too when Lois Farrow makes a telephone call, she dials a 7 digit number but in 1951 it would've been a 5 digit number.

Fire From Below 2009

     A mining company owned by Andrew Stevens has a dig operation going in a cave.  They discover a vein of pure base lithium and an explosion brings it to the surface.  All the men working the dig are killed and the Lithium becomes combustible whenever it comes into contact with water.  Jake Denning and his fiancé Toni Nelson are both seismologists traveling through the area and they discover a body at the lake.  The military is called in and about 200 bodies are found at a town near the lake.  Two of Jake’s team members and a military sergeant are pulled into a part of the mine when the ground collapses under them.  Jake needs to blow up the source of the lithium and also find the three missing people underground.

     Usually movies with Kevin Sorbo are much better than this one?  A lot of the special effects are good but the dialogue is terrible!  This must be a TV movie with very low budget and there is a constant and ever-present false sense of extreme urgency at all times.  Of course, there is the potential for the lithium to form a nuclear bomb!!  If this is viewed more as a comedy, it’s easier to watch!!  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

89 min, Adventure directed by Andrew Stevens, Jim Wynorski with Kevin Sorbo, GiGi Erneta, Maeghan Albach, Alex Meneses, Glen Morshower, James Hampton, Alex Cord.

Note:  Imdb 2.6 out of 10, 19% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 2.9* out of 5* with 90 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Eustace and Dallas Texas and Marengo, Indiana.  There are goofs in this film too.  The equipment used by the US Army is obsolete or no longer used.  A piece of wood was supposedly charred on the underside by flames in the lake water but the nearby posts don't show any damage?

Sally Lockhart Mystery: The Shadow in the North 2008

     This movie is based on a novel by Philip Pullman and it is a sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke taking place six years later.  It’s unusual for a woman to be working as a financial consultant in Victorian England of 1878 but Sally Lockhart has her own business.  One of her clients lost money in a company called the Anglo-Baltic and Sally had advised her this was a good investment.  Sally stands behind her advice and this case calls for an investigation.  Sally joins forces with her detective friends Fred and Jim to solve the mystery of why this company had two ships sink and one impounded. 

     Sally Lockhart doesn’t buckle under intimidation.  When she asks for the money to pay back her client, she doesn’t take no for an answer and she preservers.  This is like a modern mystery with the Victorian setting.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

94 min, Adventure directed by John Alexander with Billie Piper, JJ Field, Julian Rhind-Tutt, John Standing, Lyndsey Marshal, Dona Croll, Matt Smith, Jared Harris, David Harewood, Hayley Atwell.

Note:  Imdb 6.5 out of 10, 50% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.0* out of 5* with 20 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Kent and London, England, UK.  Jared Harris had the role of Lane Pryce in the Mad Men TV Series from 2009-2012.  His job at the advertising agency was to manage company revenues and control costs.  In this film, his character is the former owner of the Anglo-Baltic Company.

What If..... 2010

     Ben Walker has just received a bonus in his career as a financial expert.  He’s asked Cynthia to marry him and they are leaving for Paris in the evening.  He buys a new expensive Mercedes and it breaks down on the road?  A tow truck comes by and picks up his car.  Instead of waiting to have his car repaired, he’s taken to an alternate reality.  This is the life he would’ve had if he had not left his college sweetheart fifteen years ago.  Now his life is being married to Wendy and they have two daughters.

     This film has plot lines similar to It’s a Wonderful Life and The Family Man.  Ben is mystified and he doesn’t know how to fit in as a father instead of a business whiz.  He makes a lot of mistakes but Wendy doesn’t give up on him.  I thought this was interesting with relatable characters and story.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)   

111 min, Drama directed by Dallas Jenkins with Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, John Ratzenberger, Debby Ryan, Kristin Minter, Toni Trucks, Taylor Groothuis, Stelio Savante, Kevin Yon, Tom McElroy, Grant James.

Note:  Imdb 6.6 out of 10, 40% critic 66% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 454 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Grand Rapids, Manistee and Ludington, Michigan.  The story is supposed to take place over 23 years but some of the characters don't seem to age at all?  I would like to be one of those characters!!

Switch 1991

     Steve Brooks works at a New York advertising agency.  He is a man’s man and he’s macho.  He has three ex-girlfriends that are very unhappy about the way Steve treated them.  The three women invite him to a party and what he doesn’t know is that they plan to kill him.  He’s having a good time until they hold him underwater in the hot tub.  They think he’s dead but he comes up out of the water.  One of the women shoots him three times in the chest.  When he goes to the pearly gates, he is given a choice between heaven and hell.  If he wants to go to heaven, he will have to convince one woman to love him.  But, he will be sent back as a woman!!

     Steve has a hard time figuring out women’s clothing and he can’t walk very well in high heels.  He claims to be Steve’s sister Amanda.  She gets hired at his agency and she’s doing a better job than Steve ever did.  He’s having a rough time finding any female on earth that even likes him?  This film is interesting, different and in the style of Victor/Victoria, a woman playing a man playing a woman also directed by Blake Edwards.  3* (This movie is OK)

103 min, Comedy directed by Blake Edwards with Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, JoBeth Williams, Lorraine Bracco, Tony Roberts, Perry King, Bruce Payne, Lysette Anthony, Victoria Mahoney, Basil Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Tia Leoni.

Note:  Imdb 5.7 out of 10, 33% critic 45% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Santa Clarita, California and New York City, New York. This the first film role for Tia Leoni and she plays Dream Girl.