Focus

This movie is so visceral and powerful . It leaves you, though, with hope for our modern humanity. You will cringe, cry, and at last celebrate the fact that we can recover from the worst things that happen.

Very intelligent and emotional portrayal of life in the hood through a starry eyed Hollywood semi-profession photographer. When Robert takes Marcus a young boy with a good eye for photography under his wing Marcus older brother Keith initially rejects the Robert's good intentions. Proving his worth Robert tags along with Keith to prove to his lose ensemble of thugs he has noble intentions and to get an honest portrayal of the hood. Of course things get out of hand and new relationships are tested and tested well. Very well acted and decent cinematography for a low budget film.

The camera used on this film was a 35mm MovieCam Compact. The transfer to DVD was probably not so hot and that's what you're seeing. Speaking as someone who saw it for the first time in an actual theatre, the picture quality on the print is amazing.

Anyway, I liked this movie a great deal. It didn't seem as stereotypical as it could have been and I actually cared when negative things began to happen to the characters. I didn't like the acting of the photographer, but the child actor saved the interactions from being somewhat trite situations. I loved the cinematography. The use of color, light and shadows was amazing. I've watched certain scenes over and over again just to see the red light reflected in puddles in the alley or the graffiti in the LA River scene at the end.

I strongly encourage people to go out and rent this film. It's not a big famous production, but it is thoroughly enjoyable.

On a side note: Lloyd Avery II, who plays "G-Ride" is currently serving hard time for a double homicide.. It's amazing how close this film is to the reality he lives.

I really enjoyed this film! I wasn't expecting much, since there are a lot of trashy hood flicks out there, but this one had unexpected power. I cared for the characters a lot. I thought that Brandon Karrer did a great job as Robert, the photographer, Trent Cameron (who was also good in the wood) gives his best performance ever, in my opinion, as Keith. Where are these two? They should get more rolls whether they are big or small. Performances all around were good to me. My favorite being the menacing G-Ride played by the late Lloyd Avery II (R.I.P). This was his last movie and he played his part way too well! I will not spoil any of the movie. It's really easy to follow and has unexpected power to it. It's a shame that this movie is so underrated. I recommend giving this movie a try. I really liked it. It is on Netflix :)

It shows the emotional hardship and struggle of not being used to such a rough neighborhood and suddenly being thrusted into it. All the deaths were painful and every scene left me at the edge of my seat, awaiting what was going to happen next. This movie shows the realistic parts of the hood more than most hood movies I've seen. The way it portrays the characters and builds them up is amazing, and the attention to detail in this movie is impeccable. I felt like I was there, living the moment during this movie. I felt the fear of Rob as the film got later in, the worry of the gang that they were going to be turned in. Few movies have spoken to me the way this movie has. Every character and event was structed perfectly. This is a near perfect film, and I couldn't recommend it enough.