david o russell

Notebook Reviews: THREE KINGS

David O. Russell – 1999. Director David O. Russell delivers as visceral and thought-provoking Gulf War movie in the shape of Three Kings. On the surface this is a war/heist film, but Russell’s film much more than that. The director gives [...]

September 16, 2021

George Clooney – The Last Of The Movie Stars

There are movie stars and then there is George Clooney. The actor, who turned 60 years old on 6 May, 2021 is the epitome of old style charm and charisma and he has been compared to Cary Grant on so many occasions that it would be superfluous to do [...]

May 6, 2021

David O. Russell’s THREE KINGS

Three Kings is a Gulf War action-comedy which pretty much set the pattern for George Clooney‘s career over the next two decades. It takes a commercial premise and skews it as an off-beat and political bender. Hard to believe that this was [...]

September 19, 2020

Blu-ray Review: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES Feels Like The Fantasy Of A Sci-Fi/Horror Nerd

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies – if that title appeals to you then you’ll likely enjoy director Burr Steers’ adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s Jane Austen monster mash. It has a cast of young up and comers Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack [...]

June 27, 2016

Jennifer Lawrence And Bradley Cooper Go Head-To-Head In The First Clip From JOY

It feels like there’s now an unwritten Hollywood rule that Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper must star together in every new David O. Russell movie. They’re at it again with Joy and below is the first clip from the drama which [...]

November 14, 2015

JOY Trailer Two Shows More Plot With Less Impact

Joy still looks like serious awards bait – but this second trailer lacks the punch of the first. David O.Russell knows how to deliver but I get the feeling that this won’t be as good as Silver Linings Play Book or American Hustle. At [...]

October 21, 2015

Get What You Want With The JOY Trailer Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper And Robert DeNiro

At this point it would seem that David O. Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper are now an unstoppable cinematic force. The Fantastic Four if you will. In the last several years they have worked together in the multi-award [...]

July 15, 2015

Blu-ray Review: There’s No Silver Lining For Bradley Cooper And Jennifer Lawrence In SERENA

It’s third time unlucky for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence’s latest cinematic collaboration, Serena. It may have all the necessary elements to make a sweeping romantic drama but Susanne Bier’s film lacks the requisite spark to make it [...]

February 22, 2015

Movies In Focus Goes To The 2014 EE BAFTA Awards And The Full Winners List

The glitz, the glamour, the Baftas. Movies In Focus was once again on the red carpet for the 2014 EE Bafta Film Awards. The evening was much sunnier and warmer than last year’s event which saw the stars (and the less glamorous journalists) [...]

February 17, 2014

UK Poster For AMERICAN HUSTLE Shows Off 70s Fashion

Here’s the UK quad poster for David O. Russell’s American Hustle (is it any different from the US one?). At this point I think we all know that this is going to score some major awards gold over the next few months. I’d bet pretty heavily on [...]

November 23, 2013

David O. Russell And Acting Muscle Unite For AMERICAN HUSTLE

David O. Russell’s American Hustle is going to be a major awards contender this year. A cast made-up of Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner is a pretty impressive line-up (how many Oscar nominations and [...]

November 4, 2013

The BAFTA Film Awards 2013 Winners List

Ben Affleck’s career resurgence is now complete. Affleck’s Argo scored three Baftas last night in London (I was there, but more on that later), and it really does look like the thriller will take home the best picture at the Academy Awards – [...]

February 11, 2013

Book Review: THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook is something of a mini-masterpiece. It’s difficult for an author to balance comedy and drama (it’s much easier on film), but Quick manages to do it. He delivers a novel which is light and breezy to [...]

November 14, 2012

George Clooney: Movie Star Part 1

There are movie stars and then there is George Clooney. The man is the epitome of old style charm and charisma and he has been compared to Cary Grant on so many occasions that it would be superfluous to do so here. I’m going to take a look at his [...]

April 6, 2012