Review

First Cow

Review

Kajillionaire

Review

TENET

Review

The Platform

Review

Guns Akimbo

John and Josiah learn the value of friendship and milk while watching the A24 feature First Cow. In this spoiler filled review, they discuss thing things that work in this beautiful and simple richly designed film about ownership and class set in the American West.

This week John takes Josiah on a journey into the world of Miranda July as they watch Kajillionaire, her third feature film. The film inspired an hour of conversation abut the stellar acting, purposeful craftsmanship, rich story and heartfelt message. A caper film in the tradition of Mission Impossible and Oceans 11, Kajillionaire used the genre to expose the depth of human trauma, the possibilities of love and simple moments of grace in a hard world. This is the kind of film that deserves conversation. Available now in theaters and soon to be released VOD, there are a Kajillion opportunities to see it and this conversation is the perfect post viewing companion

And we're back at the theater from quite a long hiatus due to the coronavirus. This week John and Josiah went to see Christopher Nolan's next mind-bending, brain-hurting, time-warping film, TENET. This is a spoiler filled conversation.

Both of our critics felt the film had a lot that could be fixed. Find out what and why in this spoiler filled episode.

This week John and Josiah imprisoned themselves in a chat room and remotely recorded the podcast because of the PA Shelter in Place requirement. Each individually watched THE PLATFORM (El hoyo), an allegorical Spanish language film about a prison where masterful kitchen staff prepares a banquet each day. Unfortunately,  the banquet is served on a platform that descends through a prison where each floor eats from what has been left by the floor above.

John and Josiah are joined by Josiah's wife and John's daughter, Steph, on a crazy and chaotic and spoiler filled adventure through Shrapnel City, a fictional location where underground fight club Skizm has created a live stream fight to the death battle royale that Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) finds himself in the midst of against his own will.

John and Josiah are joined by Josiah's wife and John's daughter, Steph, on a goofy, chaotic discussion of Pixar's new film, Onward, starring Chris Pratt and Tom Holland. Will Onward live up to Pixar's standard or will it fall flat? Find out on this spoiler filled episode of the Racking Focus Podcast.

John and Josiah joined a pack theatre on for a Sunday matinee viewing of Universal's reboot of The Invisible Man. To their surprise, it was quite a solid movie. Hear all of their thoughts on the film, Moss' acting, the unique cinematography, and more in this week's episode.

Josiah joins John's wife and daughters, Lisa, Steph and Tina to watch what is potentially the worst film of 2019, Cats, directed by Tom Hooper. This is a nightmare of a film and we engage in a little Q&A about the film after the viewing. Turns out Steph and Tina are huge fans of the broadway musical, so Josiah asks the questions and they answer the questions, like what the hell is a Jellicle Cat?

John and Josiah view The Call of the Wild. Join them as they talk all about the CGI, why Josiah teared up during the film, and why this film might actually be good...

John and Josiah watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Come them as they journey back to 1770 in France that follows Marianne, a painter, who is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly. John and Josiah discuss the incredible cinematography, production design, acting and all the other incredible things about this wonderful french film.

SPOILERS!!!John and Josiah are joined by comic book expert Michael Yates of Atomic City Comics on South Street in Philadelphia to delve into the madness that is Harley Quinn and her reluctant band of misfit heroes, the Birds of Prey. There is a lot of disagreement this episode and some deep comic book cuts so tune in and discover whether Harley is victorious or falls flat on her face. TO BE HONEST, this is less of a spoilery episode than usual....

John & Josiah respond to The Academy Awards show, the nominations, the winners and generally talk about nearly every category leading up to the big winner of the night, Parasite and if it is deserving of it's accolades and awards. Warning, there are a few spoilers throughout the conversation.

John & Josiah finally found a screening of the absurdly hilarious satirical comedy, JoJo Rabbit. The story is about Jojo, who is a lonely German boy that discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend -Adolf Hitler - Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on. Spoilers everywhere in this podcast and we highly suggest you see the film first before watching. Director Taika Waititi has created yet another wonderful film that showcases his quirky personality.

John & Josiah enter the jungle where Mickey Pearson is the lion trying to maintain control of his life and his product. Guy Ritchie brings the same bit of fun you'd expect from prior cockney gangster crime films like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels; and Snatch. The biggest difference now is that Ritchie has better cameras and lighting creating a much more polished look which suits The Gentlemen nicely. Is Ritchie back? You decide, or you can listen to us decide in this spoiler filled review.

Josiah & John join the March family and view Greta Gerwig's masterwork, Little Women. This extraordinarily charming film left a wonderful impression on us both and we can't recommend it enough. 

Bad boys, bad boys, watcha' gonna' do? Well in the case of Will Smith + Martin Lawrence, they're gonna' make a third movie that practically no one was asking for. Was it fun? Hell yes. Was it crazy? Absolutely. Was it necessary? Not in any way. John + Josiah get a bit goofy and had a ball talking about this film that felt like a worse Hobbs + Shaw, and SPOILERS, SERIOUSLY THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THE SHOW NOTES, but far better Gemini Man (You understand what we mean if you've seen it). Is this the last ride for our bad boys or will they continue to cause mayhem throughout Miami? You'll have to watch the film and listen to the podcast to find out!

Josiah & John are sent on a much less dire mission than our protagonists in 1917. Rather than delivering a message calling off the morning's attack, all they have to do is accurately critique this insane film about two young British soldiers during the First World War are given an impossible mission: deliver a message deep in enemy territory that will stop 1,600 men, and one of the soldiers' brothers, from walking straight into a deadly trap. - IMDb

Join Josiah & John in this spoiler filled podcast as they venture a few years back to 2012 into the shambles that is Howard Ratner's life as a New York City jeweler, and unconfessed gambling addict. He's always on the lookout for the next big score, and makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime. Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.