The Magnificent Seven
First, a short history lesson: The first Magnificent Seven of 1960 was chock a block with stars of the day, Yul Brynner, James Coburn, Eli Wallach and Steve McQueen. It was based on the 1954 Akira Kurosawa film Seven Samurai which remains a classic.
The release of the newest The Magnificent Seven features a large cast that includes Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, the awesome Lee Byung-hun, Vincent D’Onofrio, Haley Bennett, a creepy Peter Sarsgaard, a great performance by Martin Sensmeier and at least eight others.
Director, Antonie Fuqua pulls out all the stops as the town is bullied by the evil mining barron. The townspeople freak out as a bold heroin collects money and seeks gunfighters to defend the town.
The production is a Western spectacle with a run time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, rated PG-13 for extended and intense violence, some language and suggestive material. We enjoyed it.
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Blair Witch
This is a followup to the Blair Witch Project of 1999. This Blair Witch follows a similar updated style with a trek into the woods, guided by an odd local pair. Things get creepy and interesting the first night and incrementally intense after that.
The critics were not very complimentary to this film. We agree, there is nothing ground breaking here (pun intended). But it did do its job of being inventive, primal and startling. Isn’t that what audiences want from a horror flick?
Rated R for language, terror and some disturbing images. We do not suggest viewing by children. Run time is 1 hour, 29 minutes.
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Demon
As October approaches along with Halloween on the horizon, we discovered another drama/thriller worth a look, Demon, a 2015 Polish release about a young couple’s wedding in a remote family country estate.
There are many twists and turns not typical in American films. That makes this film dark, intriguing and exciting. It is an Israeli-Polish production filmed in a small town in Southern Poland.
The acting is very good with a talented cast. Critical reviews were quite high and the production received numerous awards in Europe. It is catagorized as “Art House”, International, Mystery and Suspense. Rated R for language and sexuality/nudity. Run time is 94 minutes. Polish and Yiddish with English subtitles.
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In Order of Disappearance
No doubt our pick of the week is In Order of Disappearance. Released just a few weeks ago, we were surprised to discover it was already gone in our theaters. Much to our delight, we found it on Pay Per View. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
What a great surprise! A unique story, told in a clean crisp way, plenty of intrigue and surprises. Don’t be deturred by the 2 hour run time or the multiple languages: English, Norwegian, German, Swedish, Danish and Serbian, all with English subtitles.
This is a world class production, easy to watch, often visually stunning. It is a bit of a black comedy but it shines as a Fantasy Thriller. It has a great cast, most notably Stellan Skarsgard, but you may also recognize Bruno Ganz, Pal Sverre Valheim Hagen, Kristofer Hivju, and Brigitte Hjort Sorensen.
Don’t miss this one! We would love your thoughts after seeing it.
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