I only managed to see one film in the cinema this month and that was Focus. Although there were other films I really wanted to check out this month (Chappie, Insurgent), university ultimately came first. My life, it seems, is a series of disappointments right now.
FILM
Focus
Focus stars Will Smith as a con-man who falls for an up-and-comer young lady played by the beautiful Margot Robbie. I adore Will Smith as I feel the majority of my childhood contained his films and TV shows. I pretty much enjoy anything he stars in so I didn’t have a problem with this casting choice at all. Margot was fabulous in Wolf Of Wall Street and I was familiar with her acting on the Aussie soap, Neighbours (FYI, Home & Away fan forever and always. Just saying). The two together were great on screen and I was ecstatic about the mixed race pairing, especially as you don’t see a lead couple of different ethnicities in Hollywood much at all.
However……Will Smith…..I practically grew up with the dude! So, I am fully aware of his age (my dads age) and I’m fully aware of Margot’s age (only 2 years older than me!). Now, if I imagine myself with a guy that is my dad’s age…the thought is quite frankly grossing me out. No doubt, Will Smith is a looker! It’s just the huuuuge age difference between them kept creeping me out. I know it’s acting!! But, I unfortunately kept comparing it to a real-life scenario and it was distracting me from the actual movie.
Another small problem I have with this pairing on-screen: if a woman who was Will Smith’s age, was hooking up with a guy 20+ years younger than she was, that would not go down well at all. Words like cougar, tramp, cradle-snatcher come into mind. We all know there is a huge, massive, enormous double standard in this world. You would think in a liberal place like ‘Hollywood’, this type of topic would be practically non-existent by now. You never see an actress in a relationship with a much younger man on film, unless it’s a film where the end result is a disastrous break up, normally consisting of humiliation, divorce and/or most commonly, death.
Imagine Jennifer Garner, Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow….any of these actresses who are in their 40’s, hooking up with Ansel Elgort or Liam Hemsworth, both of which who are of similar age to Margot Robbie (give or take a couple years). Just doesn’t happen, because in society’s minds that kind of pairing is something to look down on, and should be shamed. However, a much older man and a younger woman…..a pat on the back!
I adore Margot. She’s hilarious in interviews and a great actress. I just think a slightly older woman wouldn’t have hurt….especially as actresses over the age of 30 in Hollywood do not look their age. It wouldn’t be hard to believe they were playing a younger character, just as I assumed Will Smith was a playing a character younger than his own years.
Credit where it’s due: for a 46 year old man, Will Smith looked amaaazing!
Keep a look out for whenever this guy shows up. He steals the scene!
Besides from the above, the film was enjoyable. However, if you’re looking for an easy-watch, with a linear storyline, I wouldn’t go for this choice. There were a couple times throughout the film I kept thinking “what’s the storyline exactly??”
Rating: 3/5.
TV
Empire
This show you guys. OMG. Hooked and addicted from the first episode. I can’t believe I’m late in joining this bandwagon. I whizzed through the 12 episodes and was begging for more but my absolute highlight of the show is Taraji P. Henson. I knew she was amazing before, but this show has put her on my list of FUCKING AWESOME ROLE MODELS (which includes Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone, Shonda Rhimes and Ellen DeGeneres).
The character she plays is called Cookie Lyon. Forgive the porn star-esque first name, you won’t think twice about it when Cookie starts firing off her mouth. Just look at her sassy lines!
I stuck around for Cookie, but then I started to get invested in the other family members, especially Jamal Lyon, who has the voice of an angel and swag like Justin Timberlake, but is sometimes despised by his father for being a homosexual.
The show has already touched on many serious issues like racism, homosexuality, mental disorders, poverty and abuse. A definite must-watch that is taking over the network. Each episode has increased by 500k viewers and their finale episode got 17.6 million viewers!! It’s brilliant to see a TV show like Empire, with a ton of coloured actors, getting the acclaim it deserves.
Rating: 5/5.
MUSIC
Empire soundtrack
Each episode of Empire brings a new song and I’m serious when I say the music is on another level. It’s that good. I keep clicking repeat on EmpireFox’s YouTube channel, I just can’t get enough.
My favourite tracks from the first season of Empire:
Money For Nothing – Jussie Smollett (Jamal Lyon) and Yazz (Hakeem Lyon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIUqT3EQC4o
Keep It Movin’ – Serayah (Tiana Brown) and Yazz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJl-Ikw2qxs
You’re So Beautiful – Jussie Smollett and Yazz (originally sung by Terence Howard who plays the main man, Lucious Lyon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krlxHu6pAA0
Rating: 5/5!
Have an awesome weekend lovelies!
| Hannah
X O
SIMPLY HANNAHS MUSINGS 