Will Smith and the beautiful Margot Robbie ooze plenty of cool & chemistry in FOCUS. Smith is Nicky, a life long con man dabbling in every style of non-violent theft you can imagine and living a lush life of crime. Robbie is Jess, new to the game, built for it and showing some serious natural talent for the art of the scam. To reveal too much of the film's plot would be to spoil the fun of unwrapping it like some elaborate origami of crosses, double-crosses, plot twists, tested loyalties and probabilities. It's best just to sit back and enjoy these talented actors. Smith and Robbie get excellent support from Rodrigo Santoro as the head of a race team willing to go the distance to win, Gerald McRaney as the race owner's old fashioned, tough enforcer, BD Wong as a VERY wealthy Asian gambler and the hilarious Adrian Martinez as Smith's computer expert Farhad. The entire film is set in beautiful places, with beautiful people driving dream cars, wearing designer clothes and offering up a million things for Nicky and his team to steal. The scenes showing you how they run scams in New Orleans will make you guard your wallet with your life! Robbie builds on her powerful debut in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and might be the most beautiful woman in film (sorry Angelina.....). A thriller with plenty of comedy, unending and unpredictaable twists, tight suspense and surprisingly powerful drama, FOCUS smoothly scams a B.

A rare Hollywood big budget film from the 60's with an all Asian cast, Rodgers and Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG is a fun family diversion that's dated but enjoyable. A stowaway named Mei Li and her father come to San Francisco for her arranged marriage with playboy nightclub owner Sammy Fong. Sammy is madly in love with his star singing act Linda Low and a culture clash of young American Asians and old world tradition ensues. Jack Soo brings a lot of laughs to the role of Sammy and Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta are terrific in their roles as Linda and Wang Ta. Rodgers and Hammerstein have created some of the stage and screen's greatest musicals (The Sound of Music, South Pacific) and while this is one of their less serious efforts, its well produced, well staged and enjoyable for the whole family. Some of the stereotypes from 50+ years ago don't translate well, but its harmless and respectful overall. We saw an updated and re-imagined version of the musical on Broadway about 10 years ago and it was a much more serious look at generational and culture clashes. The film is meant to be pure escapist fun and it succeeds nicely. If you are a fan of old fashioned musicals and comedy, Flower Drum Song blooms into a B.

This 1986 horror classic holds up beautifully and still packs a punch. Jeff Goldblum is eccentric scientist Seth Brundle, who is on the brink of developing a teleportation system. He meets Geena Davis, a journalist that agrees to document the final stages of his project in return for the exclusive inside scoop. Things go horribly wrong when Seth decides to be the first human test subject and a housefly sneaks into the original pod, merging their DNA in the teleportation process. As Goldblum becomes "Brundlefly" the makeup, special effects and gore are first class and GROSS. Director David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Dead Zone) pulls no punches in the most mainstream movie of his career and Goldblum is fantastic throughout all his transformations. Some of his odd tics and insect like mannerisms in the last third of the movie are creepy & inspired. This is one gross flick, and I loved it! We'll buzz this FLY an A. Be afraid...be very afraid!

Are you like me? Do you remember the original 1958 version of THE FLY as a low budget, 50's B-Movie? Watching it again 61 years after its release, you soon realize this is actually a BIG budget, CinemaScope feature that 20th Century Fox bet on and won. Their first great step was hiring James Clavell to write their script, adapting a short story in Playboy that had appeared in 1957 (and proving that at least someone actually WAS buying Playboy and reading the articles). Clavell of course would go on to write "Shogun" and "Tai-Pan" massively successful novels and miniseries in the following decades. Clavell creates a terrific story. David Hedison (OO7's Felix Leiter in "Live and Let Die" and "License to Kill") stars as brilliant scientist Andre. He's created the world's first teleportation device in his lab. Other than a surprisingly haunting failed attempt at trying to transport the family cat, he excitedly tells his wife Helene (Patricia Owens) and brother Francois (Vincent Price) that he's created a way to solve famine, change transportation and impact the world. But when he decides to transport himself and that pesky housefly sneaks unnoticed into the device, his DNA is merged with the fly's to chilling effect. There are moments of 50's horror movie cheese, but overall, its a surprisingly serious and well done horror drama. We all remember that famous scene at the end "Help Me! Please Help Me!!!" but I had forgot just how creepy and dramatic it is. The special effects hold up just fine today as well, in that "Fantastic Voyage" live special effects and models way that just makes you smile when you watch it today. Hedison is very good, as is Price. Herbert Marshall (Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent) is also spot on as the local detective on the case. Compared to the excellent David Cronenberg/Jeff Goldblum version in 1986, this is a much less graphic, more innocent take, but its every bit as well told. Looking for a fun 90 minutes with a horror classic? Buzz on over to THE FLY, its gets an A.

Unexpectedly funny throughout and based on an incredible true story, FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS introduces us to the title character, played in all her wealth and glory by Meryl Streep. Immersed in family money but charitable to a fault, Florence is a woman of society who constantly supports the arts and dabbles loudly in her passion, singing. The only problem is, the woman can't sing a note. Tone deaf but passionate, Florence tells her husband St Clair Bayfield (played by Hugh Grant in his best performance in years) that she wants to up her game, get more training and put on a concert. Enter Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) as pianist Cosme McMoon. Shy and gracious and thrilled with the pay, Cosme is startled by Florence's lack of talent but moved by her commitment, but as the gigs get bigger, Cosme grows worried about his reputation. The story goes in some directions you expect and more than a few you don't, painting a portrait of a complicated yet simple woman whose dreams far outweigh her talent. Grant is superb as her husband, involved in a very complicated marriage and a long affair on the side with Kathleen (Rebecca Ferguson) who is well aware of Florence. Grant is aging into a very good dramatic actor, free of the tics of his younger years and wearing his years well. Nina Arianda is a standout as the loud, brash wife of a meat tycoon. She reminds you of Leslie Anne Warren's Norma in "Victor/Victoria", but with more going on beneath the surface. Director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena, Dangerous Liaisons) knows how to execute this material with both hands tied behind his back and serves it well by never turning Florence into a cartoon. It takes a lot of talent to be so bad and Streep continues her legacy of great performances as Florence, turning in one hilariously bad song after another, except for her last number, which is ingeniously staged. For the worst singer in the world, Florence and Streep hit all the right notes for both laughs and drama and get a B.

Old fashioned comedy of the highest order, 1967's THE FLIM FLAM MAN will keep a smile on your face throughout as pros in front of and behind the camera deliver the goods. George C.Scott slays in his funniest role as aging con man Mordecai C. Jones, the most slippery salesman since Harold Hill stole half of River City, Iowa. He's got his shtick down to a fine science, taking a young army deserter named Curley (Michael Sarrazin in his film debut) under his wing. The two prove to be a formidable pair at the game until his protege falls for a beautiful, rich girl in one of the towns. Bonnie Lee Packard (Sue Lyon, "Lolita") falls for Curley too, much to the horror of her dad (Jack Albertson) and the town sheriff, perfectly played by Harry Morgan (Colonel Potter on TV's M*A*SH*). Morgan and Wynn deliver every bit of physical comedy like pros, as do Alice Ghostley (Bewitched), Strother Martin (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Slim Pickens (Blazing Saddles) and Albert Salmi (Caddyshack) as the most fumbling deputy this side of Barney Fife. With the same gentle family wit and laughs of The Andy Griffith Show, its family friendly, fast fun, well directed by Irvin Kirshner (The Empire Strikes Back). Scott shows real comic talent, spewing off lines like his "Masters Degree In Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty-Dealing" while still showing his usual dramatic chops when it serves the story. He followed this film up for Fox the next year with his Oscar Winning role as "Patton". That's quite a bit of range! Just as fun as it's "Mad Magazine" style poster by Jack Davis, THE FLIM FLAM MAN gets a nostalgic B.

Producer Arthur P. Jacobs isn’t known for “going small”. His take on “Doctor Dolittle” famously bankrupted 20th Century Fox. Rarely has he gone as big as in 1964’s WHAT A WAY TO GO! It’s a fantastic showcase for Shirley MacLaine as Louisa May Foster, a widow trying to avoid wealth but finding more of it with every husband. What a group of husbands it is! Dick Van Dyke is simple farmer and store manager Edgar Hopper, bitten by the bug to go up against a huge competitor. Riches pour in, but he works himself to death. Paul Newman is Larry Flint, a mad painter who often shares his brush with a chimpanzee. The purest definition of a starving artist in Paris, Newman is an absolute blast, loading plenty of laughs into his part of the story. Newman is literally eating something in every scene he’s in, a measure of the film’s subtlety in reinforcing his “starving artist” status. Robert Mitchum is Rod Anderson Jr, one of the wealthiest businessmen on the planet. Louisa wants nothing to do with him…at first. Mitchum plays it to the hilt, showing off comic timing I’ve never seen in his classic detective films. Gene Kelly is Pinky Benson, a small-time club singer/dancer doing the same show every night for an unappreciative crowd that forgot he was there years ago. Louisa’s advice turns him into a matinee idol with an ego the size of Hollywood. Dean Martin is Lennie Crawley, the perennial playboy who’s all wrong for Louisa when they are both young, but as the years go on, people change, right? Rounding out the cast is Bob Cummings as Dr. Stephanson, the analyst listening to Louisa tell her life story. She approaches him at the beginning of the film telling him she wants to get rid of all her money, and the film then flashes back to each husband as she tells her life story. It’s all very gaudy, lathered in slapstick and an early sixties feel. Director J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear) knows how to stage spectacle and he pulls out all the stops shooting fantasy sequences for each marriage. Kelly and MacLaine burst into full MGM musical song and dance during theirs and Mitchum/MacLaine drip diamonds and cash in theirs. Newman’s fantasy sequence is a sexy foreign film, Van Dyke’s is a silent movie that brought back memories of his underrated 1969 film “The Comic”. Famed costume designer Edith Head is at full power, lavishing $4 million in diamonds on top of her half million-dollar costume design budget. That’s a lot of bucks in 1964. A black comedy at heart, it was developed as a Marilyn Monroe movie, then an Elizabeth Taylor film called “I Love Louisa” with Sinatra, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as the husbands. MacLaine makes it her own; she’s excellent. One of her biggest box office hits, it was the 7th biggest film of 1964. Dated but a lot of fun, it’s the ultimate showcase for a 30-year-old Shirley MacLaine, who rockets this all the way to a solid, goofy B.

Olivia Wilde delivers a mysterious, enjoyable, and damned clever treat with her 2022 thriller DON’T WORRY DARLING. One of my favorite theatre experiences is when a film surprises me or takes twists that I never see coming. If the final resolve doesn’t quite live up to the thrill of the mystery before it, it’s still a journey well worth taking. Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) is reliably great as Alice, living a picture-perfect life in a flawless Palm Springs style, experimental community. All the employees of the Victory Corporation live in sprawling mid-century-modern splendor. They all drive shiny sports cars, wear perfect clothes, shop in perfect stores and attend perfect ballet classes when they’re not hanging out by ideally beautiful pools. Alice is married to up and comer Jack, well played by Harry Styles, oozing every bit of his stage presence. Jack and Alice are living the ideal 60’s sitcom life of Rob and Laura Petrie, but with a lot more cocktails and sex. Rob and Laura couldn’t be show in bed together, but Jack and Alice are all over each other, including in a dining room table scene that pushes the limits of an R rating. Chris Pine is Frank, the President of Victory, an almost cult-like figure that everyone seems to worship without hesitation. Pine is excellent, giving Frank incredible appeal cut with a creepy menace. Is he a visionary? A life-coach? He’s riveting. Nick Kroll provides comic relief as Jack’s co-worker and neighbor Bill, while Timothy Simons (Veep) leaves his comic abilities untapped playing Dean, the Victory company doctor that’s all too willing to make house calls with his little black bag. Alice’s friends Bunny (Wilde) and Violet (Sydney Chandler) urge Alice to ignore any negative thoughts about their utopia. What could go wrong in this perfect technicolor world? Small cracks in the shiny veneer of Victory begin to give Alice pause. Those cracks become tremors when a tragic accident befalls another wife, Margaret, powerfully underplayed by Kiki Layne. Alice tries to squelch her doubts, but she begins to have disturbing visions. A shopping trip to town takes a turn when she sees a plane plunging into the desert, leading her to a line no one at Victory is supposed to cross. Victory asks one thing of their employees: complete and unquestioning loyalty. Can Alice comply with that? Just what does Victory do and what is Jack working on? The mystery really kicks into gear, and I won’t give away any plot points. Wilde and screenwriter Katie Silberman collaborated on the terrific comedy/drama “Booksmart” and show the same sure footing here in a very different genre. Two thirds of the way through the film, I had no idea where they were taking me. I found the actual reveal a bit disappointing, but the set-up is so brilliant that the feel and look of the resolve are doomed to be a letdown. I really enjoyed DON’T WORRY DARLING. Audiences seemed to enjoy it much more than critics (what’s new?) but like Alice, I was completely seduced by the setting. Discovering what’s really going on in this paradise is fun, suspenseful, and more than a little disturbing. A Victory for me, it gets an A.

It was interesting to watch people get up and leave the theatre about 20 minutes into FLIGHT. Anyone coming to the theatre for an action film about a plane crash is going to be dazed by the powerful, serious, sobering 138 minute flight. The real wreck here is Captain Whip Whitaker, played brilliantly by Denzel Washington. Whip manages some incredible, one-of-a-kind thinking that saves most of the passengers and crew aboard a short Orlando to Atlanta flight. The aircrash sequence is AMAZING and harrowing and incredibly realistic. The tension and suspense that director Robert Zemeckis manages to pull off, when you KNOW the plane is going to crash from any commercial or trailer, is admirable. In the aftermath of the crash, Whip is a hero, plain and simple. However, as details begin to emerge of the 72 hours before the crash, the hero polish begins to fade and reveal something much more disturbing underneath. This is an amazing performance by Denzel. Real, painful, cocky, tortured and bare, look for Denzel to be a strong contender for Best Actor come Oscar time. Newcomer Kelly Reilly is terrific as addict Nicole, in Denzel's flight path figuratively and literally and Brian Geraghty makes a big impression in a small role as a cancer patient. Reliable actors Bruce Greenwood and Don Cheadle are great and John Goodman puts in a BIG performance as Denzel's key enabler. Goodman was kind of an odd fit in the film. He is welcome comic relief in a dark film, but he comes off a bit over the top. At 138 minutes, this is a long, dark ride but FLIGHT soars thanks to Denzel's brilliant performance. Like 'There Will Be Blood", it's a fantastic character study of someone with very few redeeming qualities. A really interesting, TURBULENT, adult ride and an A flight.

1985's FLETCH is one of Chevy Chase's best moments on screen. As reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher, Chase hilariously changes his identity and name every five minutes to Ted Nugent, Harry S. Truman and "Poon". " What kind of name is Poon? Fletch: "Commanche Indian". LOL. Approached by a wealthy businessman (Tim Matheson) who asks Fletch to kill him at his home because he is dying of cancer, Fletch gets drawn into a complicated plot that gets more mysterious as it goes. All that plot is secondary to a lot of terrific one-liners from Chase at the 1980's top of his game. Many of my friends still use "Charge it to The Underhills. Ball Bearings, it's ALL about ball bearings boys!" to this day. Joe Don Baker and Geena Davis provide great support to Chevy. Fletch is a reminder of just how good Chase was when working with a great script by Andrew Bergman (Blazing Saddles, The In-Laws) and strong direction by Michael Ritchie (The Candidate, Smile). The really dated 80's soundtrack is the only thing that weighs down the film. Tons of laughs and tons of characters for Chase to riff on drive Fletch to a solid B.

Loaded with movie stars in their earliest days of stardom, 1990's horror/suspense thriller FLATLINERS fails to deliver on its interesting premise. We meet a young group of medical students who are led by their ballsiest (is that a word?) member Nelson (Kiefer Sutherland) into experimenting with death and the afterlife. Under controlled conditions in a suitably spooky old abandoned Gothic building, they medicate themselves into death and then jump start their mates (clear!) back to life. Nelson sees himself as an explorer into another realm and each member of the group pushes themselves to stay dead longer and longer. A young and beautiful Julia Roberts is Rachel, Kevin Bacon is wild-man med student David, William Baldwin is lothario doctor in training Joe and Oliver Platt brings some common sense as Randy. After a few of them spend some time on "the other side" they have the shared experience of some nasty little things coming back with them. Physical manifestations of their worst deeds, they battle these specters with varying degrees of success and soon must team up to defeat them. Director Joel Schumacher can be stylish and clever (Batman Forever, The Lost Boys, The Phantom of the Opera) or a complete hack (Batman and Robin, by far the worst Batman movie ever made) and lands somewhere in the middle here, providing plenty of cool set design and a moody, wet, dark look to every set, but the story itself peters out long before the unmemorable conclusion. Solid photography by Jan deBont, who would go on to direct "Twister" and "Speed". For maybe half its length, FLATLINERS has an interesting pulse, but soon, its just.............__________________________. We'll zap it a C. Get the paddles.....CLEAR!

After seeing "Ted" and all of its references to the 1980 camp classic, I had to go back and revisit FLASH GORDON. New York Jets quarterback Flash Gordon (played horribly by Sam Jones and YES I think Mark Sanchez would probably be better in the role) meets Dale Arden (Melody Anderson, an actress whose face expresses one emotion, desperation) and are soon on a rocket with Dr. Zarkov (Topol, finally a real actor). They are off to battle Ming The Merciless, played with great relish by Max Von Sydow. This is classic late seventies/early 80's camp movie making by shlock producer Dino De Laurentis, who had huge budgets but zero class. However, you have to give Dino credit for a few great ideas, like hiring some excellent actors in supporting roles, including Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed and Sydow. Someone also had the brilliance to hire Queen to do the musical score and its the absolute best part of the film, along with production designer Danilo Donati's sets, costumes and look of the film. This is silly, silly trash, but parts of it are pretty fun. In the end though, Flash is sunk by horrible acting by it's leads, a silly screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr (following some pretty similar work on Dino's King Kong remake) and an overall goofball approach. Camp? YES. Great? NO. We'll Flash it a C.