Focus (2015)

Focus is an upcoming American romantic comedy-drama film. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa directed the film from a script they co-wrote. Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Rodrigo Santoro are the lead stars of the film. The film will be released on February 27, 2015.

PLOT :
Nicky Spurgeon is a seasoned con-man, who becomes romantically involved with a young attractive woman, while introducing her to the tricks of his con man trade, she gets too close for comfort and he abruptly breaks it off. Three years later, the former flame—now an accomplished femme fatale—shows up in Buenos Aires — as opposing sides of the same scam; a billionaire international race car owner. In the midst of Nicky's latest, very dangerous scheme, she throws his plans for a loop...and the consummate con man off his game.

CAST :

•     Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon
•     Margot Robbie as Jess Barrett
•     Rodrigo Santoro as Garriga
•     Gerald McRaney as Owens
•     BD Wong as Liyuan
•     Robert Taylor as McEwen
•     Dominic Fumusa as Jared
•     Brennan Brown as Horst
•     Griff Furst as Gareth

PRODUCTION :
Earlier iterations of the project were planning to feature the pairings of both Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone who had worked together on Crazy, Stupid, Love in the leading roles. After Gosling dropped out, the role was offered to Brad Pitt but he declined and Ben Affleck, who dropped out citing scheduling conflicts. Kristen Stewart was also cast to star in the film but later dropped out because of age difference between her and Will Smith. She was also accused of being a racist by some sources because of this while others dismissed it citing it was a personal choice. Apollo Robbins served as a consultant, conceiving and choreographing original sleight-of-hand maneuvers. Bringing his unique expertise to the film. Directors Ficarra and Requa stated, "Apollo is the foremost expert in his field and is an inspiration to us." The directing duo and production designer Beth Mickle made a scouting trip to Buenos Aires in June and a second trip with producers Denise Di Novi and Mark Scoon, in which they finally settled to shoot in the neighborhoods of San Telmo, Puerto Madero, Barracas, Retiro, Recoleta and Palermo, as well as Ezeiza Airport and a few hotels.[6] Neil Smith spoke at the Digital Cinema Society forum dropping several hints as to the identify of a film being edited in Final Cut Pro X in a December 2013 presentation. This would make Focus the largest production yet completed in Apple's editing program.

WATCHING TRAILER :


FILMING :
The filming of Focus began on September 12, 2013 in New Orleans, and moved over to Buenos Aires on November 17, 2013 for three weeks. The last day of shooting in Argentina was on December 10. Filming wrapped in New York City on December 17, 2013.

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Annie (I) (2014)

Annie is a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan. But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. 

Director  : Will Gluck
Writers    : Will Gluck (screenplay), Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay)
Stars        : Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose Byrne

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Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

Super spy teams aren't born...they're hatched. Discover the secrets of the greatest and most hilarious covert birds in the global espionage biz: Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private. These elitists of the elite are joining forces with a chic undercover organization, The North Wind. Led by handsome and husky Agent Classified (we could tell you his name, but then...you know). Together, they must stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine, from destroying the world as we know it.

- Written by DreamWorks Animation

Directors     : Eric Darnell | Simon J. Smith
Stars            : Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights, Benedict Cumberbatch

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Big Hero 6 (2014)

The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.

Directors    : Don Hall, Chris Williams
Writers       : Don Hall, Jordan Roberts, 4 more credits »
Stars           : Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)

Alexander's day begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by more calamities. Though he finds little sympathy from his family and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him, his mom, dad, brother, and sister all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Director    : Miguel Arteta
Writers     : Rob Lieber (screenplay), Rob Lieber (screen story)
Stars         : Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Ed Oxenbould

Miguel Arteta is such a compelling choice to direct a family movie; this is a man who made The Good Girl and worked on episodes of "Six Feet Under" and "Enlightened". Kids might not care, but parents may, many of whom were probably kids themselves when Judith Viorst's children's book was first published.

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The Boxtrolls (2014)

The Boxtrolls is a 2014 American 3D stop motion animated fantasy-comedy film based on the novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow. Produced by Laika, it was directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi. The Boxtrolls follows the adventures of Eggs, a human boy raised by trash-collecting trolls, as he attempts to save them from Archibald Snatcher, a pest exterminator. The film stars Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade and Tracy Morgan. It was released on September 26, 2014, to generally positive reviews.

VOICE CAST :

•     Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Eggs, an orphaned human boy raised by the Boxtrolls.
•     Elle Fanning as Winnie Portley-Rind, Eggs's first human friend.
•     Ben Kingsley as Archibald Snatcher, a pest exterminator
•     Toni Collette as Lady Portley-Rind, Winnie's mother.
•     Jared Harris as Lord Portley-Rind, Winnie's father and leader of the White Hats.
•     Nick Frost as Mr. Trout, Snatcher's corpulent, bumbling, yet deep-thinking henchman.
•     Richard Ayoade as Mr. Pickles, Snatcher's, spindly, well-meaning but misguided henchman.
•     Tracy Morgan as Mr. Gristle, Snatcher's diminutive and maniacal henchman.
•     Simon Pegg as Herbert Trubshaw, Eggs's father.
•     Dee Bradley Baker as Fish, Wheels, and Bucket, three Boxtrolls.
•     Steve Blum as Shoe and Sparky, two Boxtrolls.

PLOT :

In the European town of Cheesebridge, rumors abound that subterranean trolls known as Boxtrolls kidnap and kill young children. Pest exterminator Archibald Snatcher strikes a deal with Lord Portley-Rind, offering to exterminate every Boxtroll in exchange for membership in the White Hats, a group of cheese-loving aristocrats led by Lord Portley-Rind that serves as the town council.

In actuality, the Boxtrolls prove to be peaceful creatures, wearing cardboard boxes, who emerge from underground at night to scavenge through the trash for items they can use to make inventions. A baby boy named Eggs lives among them, cared for by a Boxtroll named Fish. As Eggs grows up over a period of ten years, he becomes dismayed over the disappearing Boxtrolls due to Snatcher's capture of them.

Lord Portley-Rind’s neglected daughter Winnie grows frustrated at being ignored and throws his white hat out a window. Leaving the house to retrieve it, she sees Eggs rummaging through trash with two Boxtrolls. Snatcher and his men chase the trio and capture Fish. Devastated, Eggs puts together a disguise and sneaks back up to the surface to find him. Eggs emerges in the midst of an annual fair to commemorate the disappearance of the Trubshaw Baby eleven years earlier – presumably kidnapped and killed by Boxtrolls. Disgusted by the town’s inaccurate portrayal of the creatures, he follows Winnie away from the fair. She recognizes him as the boy she saw the previous night and directs him to Snatcher’s headquarters, an abandoned factory.

Sneaking into the factory, Eggs finds Fish locked in a cage and frees him. Meanwhile, Snatcher holds a cheese tasting with his henchmen, Mr. Gristle, Mr. Trout, and Mr. Pickles, as preparation for becoming a White Hat, disregarding his severe allergy toward cheese that causes grotesque swelling. Eggs and Fish try to sneak out of the factory only to be caught by Mr. Gristle. Snatcher recognizes Eggs as the Trubshaw Baby and reveals that all the captured Boxtrolls are still alive and building a machine. Winnie overhears this exchange, having followed Eggs to the factory. They and Fish escape from Snatcher and take shelter in the Boxtrolls’ underground cavern.

Winnie is surprised to learn the truth about the Boxtrolls, and convinces Eggs that he is not one of them. His father had given him to them as a baby in order to keep him safe from Snatcher. Winnie agrees to help Eggs tell Portley-Rind the truth. At a ball that night, held to commemorate the purchase of a giant cheese wheel, Eggs tries to confront Portley-Rind. He narrowly avoids capture by a disguised Snatcher, but inadvertently knocks the cheese down the stairs so that it rolls into a river. Eggs announces himself to the crowd as the Trubshaw Baby, but no one believes him and Lord Portley-Rind throws him out in a fury over losing his beloved cheese.

Eggs returns to the cavern and tries to persuade the remaining Boxtrolls that they need to flee for their own safety. Snatcher digs into the cavern using his machine, captures the entire group, and takes them back to the factory. Eggs, imprisoned in a cage in the basement, awakens to find his real father, Herbert Trubshaw - captured years ago by Snatcher and held prisoner ever since - hanging upside down next to him. He sees the Boxtrolls stacked in a crusher and begs them to run, but the crusher activates and flattens all the boxes.

Snatcher drives his machine to Lord Portley-Rind’s house, shows him the flattened boxes as proof of the Boxtrolls’ deaths, and demands Portley-Rind’s white hat once he kills the last one (actually Eggs dressed up as a Boxtroll). Winnie persuades Mr. Trout and Mr. Pickles, who initially believed that their actions were justified due to the infamous reputation of the Boxtrolls, to redeem themselves by not killing Eggs. The Boxtrolls suddenly arrive with Herbert, having sneaked out of their boxes just before the crusher activated, and free Eggs. An infuriated Snatcher tries to take Portley-Rind’s hat by force, but Eggs, Herbert, and the Boxtrolls disable the machine. Eggs and Snatcher are thrown clear and land on the giant cheese wheel, freshly fished out of the river. Snatcher swells into a hideous giant and forces Lord Portley-Rind to give up his hat in exchange for Winnie's safety. Snatcher triumphantly enters the cheese tasting room, but unconcerned about his allergy, explodes after taking one bite of a rare cheese.

The townspeople no longer see the Boxtrolls as monsters and come to live peacefully with them. Winnie tells the tale of Snatcher's end to a crowd of people, while Eggs and Fish drive off in one of Herbert’s contraptions.

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