joaquin phoenix

Trailer: Timothée Chalamet Is Bob Dylan In James Mangold’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN

Director James Mangold knows a thing or two about music biopics, having directed the acclaimed Walk The Line, a film about the life of Johnny Cash starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Now, almost 20 years later Mangold is back on the [...]

July 25, 2024

Sing Along With Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga In The Latest Trailer For JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX

Joker: Folie À Deux could be a disaster, it could possibly be an awards winner or it might even become a forgotten footnote to one of the most divisive and controversial comic book movies of the last 20 years. However, one thing’s for sure, [...]

July 23, 2024

No Laughing Matter: JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX Starring Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga Confirmed With Teaser

Originally pitched as a standalone movie, Todd Phillips‘ Joker banked over $1 billion globally and scored star Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. It was only a matter of time before Warner Bros. came looking for a sequel. Now it has been confirmed [...]

August 6, 2022

M. Night Shyamalan’s SIGNS Still Shines 20 Years On

Released 20 years ago in 2002, M.Night Shyamalan‘s Signs is a masterful Hitchcockian thriller about a low-key alien invasion. Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds was clearly an inspiration for the writer-director. Dripping with fear of the [...]

August 3, 2022

Behind The Scenes: Joaquin Phoenix & Director Todd Phillips On The Set Of JOKER

A film which stands alone from Batman in a general way, 2019’s Joker still finds itself wrapped in the Dark Knight’s milieu. It’s subtle in its nods to Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s creation but it firmly sits as a film. Todd Phillips’ [...]

June 11, 2022

Notebook Reviews: 8MM

Joel Schumacher – 1998. The always interesting Nicolas Cage is on tip-top form in Joel Schumacher‘s neo-noir, 8mm. It’s a highly thrilling and gritty detective film which delves into the dark world of the ‘snuff movie’. [...]

September 11, 2021

Remembering The Mighty Joel Schumacher

The mighty Joel Schumacher was born on the 29 August 1939 – the same year that Batman made his first appearance. As one of the all-time great directors, he helmed a wonderful selection of films that included everything from The Incredible [...]

August 29, 2021

Notebook Reviews: GLADIATOR

Ridley Scott – 2000 Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator is a frustrating historical epic. It has some great sequences and impressive effects but there’s quite a bit of inertia in the storytelling. Russell Crowe delivers a muscular, [...]

August 2, 2021

Uncovering Curiosities: Adam Egypt Mortimer’s DANIEL ISN’T REAL

The independent film arena is still the best place to discover stellar genre fare. These films don’t need the huge (and complex) marketing models which have all but destroyed the concept of variety and choice within mainstream cinema. Director [...]

May 29, 2021

Apple To Make Ridley Scott’s KITBAG; Joaquin Phoenix To Play Napoleon Bonaparte In The Historical Epic

Apple Studios is set to finance and produce Ridley Scott‘s Kitbag, a Napoleon Bonaparte biopic set to star Joaquin Phoenix. Deadline is reporting that Phoenix will reunite with his Gladiator director to play the French emperor and military [...]

January 14, 2021

Joel Schumacher’s Unappreciated 8MM Starring Nicolas Cage

The late Joel Schumacher was a brilliant director who could jump around different genres and still make commercial films which felt very personal to his style and vision. He’ll probably always be best known for The Lost Boys, Batman Forever [...]

June 30, 2020

Obituary: Director Joel Schumacher Dies Aged 80

The mighty Joel Schumacher has died at the age of 80. Having quietly battled cancer for a year, he finally succumbed to the disease. Movies In Focus has always been impressed by Schumacher’s visual flair and technique for storytelling. [...]

June 23, 2020

What We Do In Life Echoes In Eternity: Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR At 20

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator has held-up well over the last 20 years. Russell Crowe delivered a muscular career-making performance in the 2000 historical epic, while Joaquin Phoenix gives a wonderfully squirmy performance as the villain of the [...]

May 19, 2020

Darren Aronofsky Talks About His Failed Adaptation Of Frank Miller’s BATMAN: YEAR ONE

After the failure of Batman & Robin in 1997, Warner Bros. decided to take Batman in a different direction. They hired Darren Aronofsky (hot-off Pi and Requiem for a Dream) to develop a take on Frank Miller’s seminal tale, Batman: Year [...]

April 18, 2020

Blu-ray Review: Joaquin Phoenix Leads The Pack In Todd Phillips’ Multi Award-Winning JOKER

Joaquin Phoenix won a slew of acting awards (including a BAFTA and Oscar) for his turn as the Clown Prince Of Crime in Todd Phillips’ take on Batman‘s iconic and anarchic arch-nemesis. After talking some serious talk, it was up for [...]

February 11, 2020

Movies In Focus’ Photography From The 2020 EE BAFTA Awards

February once again rolled around and that meant that Movies In Focus was again in attendance at the 2020 EE British Academy Film Awards. You can read all about my exploits and see the full winners list – or check-out below for [...]

February 3, 2020

BAFTA 2020: Nominations For The EE British Academy Film Awards

It looks like Joker is no laughing matter. Todd Phillips’ Blockbusting DC Comics film leads the pack at the 2020 EE British Academy Film Awards with 11 nominations. Martin Scorsese’s Netflix produced drama The Irishman and Quentin [...]

January 7, 2020

The 2020 Golden Globes Full Nominations List

It’s easy to become cynical when you write about movies. You get to see the good, the bad and the ugly and sometimes that makes you jaded. However, there’s nothing like watching quality movies succeed and when you see the list of [...]

December 9, 2019

Review: DANIEL ISN’T REAL Is A Mind-Bending Horror/Fantasy With A Star-Making Turn From Patrick Schwarzenegger

December 8, 2019

Review: Todd Phillips’ JOKER Is Essential Cinema

After talking some serious talk, it was up for debate if The Hangover director Todd Phillips could pull-off the challenge of making Joker a film which sidestepped its comic book origins and deliver something with more gravitas than your usual [...]

October 10, 2019

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