The Magnificent Western...

The Magnificent Seven (2016, PG-13)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio

As far as I know, this is the fourth incarnation of this story-- and by that, I mean that this is the third vision brought to the screen based on the movie The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa.  The first of those being The Magnificent Seven version in 1960 (and I'll include along with it the sequel-- The Return of the Magnificent Seven).  Then there was a TV show (on what network, I have now forgotten) Starring Michael Biehn and Ron Pearlman, which lasted a couple of seasons.  And lastly Antoine Fuqua's vision which is now in theaters.  Now, I know in my last post talking briefly about Hell or High Water, I mentioned the overwhelming amount of regurgitated reboots and remakes coming out of Hollywood is bothersome.  However, having said that, I will also say that (when done well and when keeping in the spirit of the original) sometimes the story is just THAT good.

This is one of those stories; a small town brought to the brink of hopelessness by a money hungry businessman surrounded by paid mercenaries, instilling suffering and control for his own benefit.  He rules with ruthlessness and fear, killing whomever gets in his way.  The townspeople come together in desperation and throw in everything they own to hire their own law to help them fight back.  And fight back, they do.  It's a story of outlaws, justice and redemption-- great themes for the western film genre.

Antoine Fugua has put together a great film that is perfectly cast and entertaining to the last shot.  What a great ride.  Kick your heels up, lean back, oil up your guns and enjoy.

Brice

Come Hell or High Water...

Hell or High Water (R)
Starring Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster and Chris Pine
Directed by David Mackenzie

In a time of Hollywood rehash, remake and regurgitate, we have a new take on an old stand by-- robbin' banks.  Here we have a story of two brothers caught in a hard place with one just out of a prison stint and coming home to nothing and the other having nothing to come home to.  They are caught in a spiral of desperation and decide they have nothing to lose and wage a war against the bank that destroyed the prosperity of their family.

We've all seen bank heist movies and that's what this is, but it's different enough to pull you in and enjoy the ride.  The characters are very well rounded and believable (even Jeff Bridges playing another character of law enforcement who slurs his speech-- annoying, yes, but still good) and the story puts us in a place we can all understand.  It has a feel of western and modern day, much like No Country For Old Men and ultimately is a surprise of a movie.

Thank you, Hollywood, for this sleeper hit.  Maybe stop with all the remakes for a while and do more like this for the people.  This is what we want.

Enjoy.

Brice