The Magnificent Seven(2016)

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Cast:

Denzel Washington – Chisolm

Chris Pratt – Josh Faraday

Ethan Hawke – Goodnight Robicheaux

Vincent D’ Onofrio – Jack Horne

Byung-hun Lee – Billy Rocks

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo – Vasquez

Martin Sensmeier – Red Harvest

Haley Bennett – Emma Cullen

Peter Sarsgaard – Bartholomew Bogue

Verdict:

“The Magnificent Seven” is directed by Antoine Fuqua and is a remake of the 60s film of

the same name. In this adaptation, a town has been overrun by a man named

Bartholomew Bogue (Sarsgaard) and one of the townspeople (Bennett) asks for the help of

Chisolm (Washington). In doing so, he rounds up a group of men to take on Bogue and his

crew. This movie brought so much joy to my life as I had a blast from start to finish. The

entire group of men who defend this town were great on screen. Chris Pratt and Denzel

Washington were definitely the stand-outs but the likes of Vincent D’ Onofrio and Byung-

hun Lee were also excellent. Ethan Hawke was also good in the film and it was great to see

him hug Washington as it took me back to “Training Day” which was also directed by

Fuqua. The only issues I had with the film was Sarsgaard’s character was underdeveloped

and some of the jokes were cheesy. Other than that, the movie was fantastic. Fuqua did an

incredible job at shooting action especially with the final battle. I really bought the

camaraderie between the seven men. “The Magnificent Seven” is a tremendous popcorn

film that deserves the title of magnificent.

Grade: B+

Snowden(2016)

Director: Oliver Stone

Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Edward Snowden

Shailene Woodley – Lindsay Mills

Melissa Leo – Laura Poitras

Zachary Quinto – Glenn Greenwald

Rhys Ifans – Corbin O’Brian

Nicolas Cage – Hank Forrester

Tom Wilkinson – Ewen MacAskill

Ben Schnetzer – Gabriel Sol

Verdict:

“Snowden” is directed by Oliver Stone and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward

Snowden, an NSA contractor who gave information to the press about how the

government was spying on us. The film tells Snowden’s start in the Army to his finish in

the NSA. Gordon-Levitt was amazing as Edward Snowden from his appearance to his vocal

tone. Shailene Woodley was equally as good as him, for she plays his girlfriend who is

caught between Snowden’s personal life as well as his work life. The supporting cast

across the board was tremendous from Nicolas cage playing this form of mentor to

Snowden to Rhys Ifans who was Snowden’s former teacher and boss who was so menacing

and intimidating. The central theme of the story fascinated me throughout as you watch

Snowden who is pro-America witness the government watching all of us through our

electronic devices and it just eats away at him. The style and direction of this film was also

captivating from its use of peering into a computer screen, then channeling into people’s

social lives and ending with a close up shot of Snowden’s eye. It was brilliant. The one

negative I have involves these blackout scenes with Snowden and he is thinking of the

government spying on his girlfriend. This became repetitive and unnecessary to the story.

I liked the allegory depicted at the end of the film with a sign saying “Big Brother is always

watching” and then I cut back to the scene involving Snowden and Ifans character where

he is questioning Snowden about his lie-detector test albeit through a huge screen. These

little things make me question how much do I trust my government and how far are they

willing to go to succeed in preserving their “great America.” “Snowden” is a captivating

hard look at a man who put his morals and principles on the line for the greater good of

his peers. Whether he was right or wrong is your decision.

Grade: A-

 

Sully(2016)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast:

Tom Hanks – Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

Aaron Eckhart – Jeff Skiles

Mike O’ Malley – Charles Porter

Jamey Sheridan – Ben Edwards

Anna Gunn – Elizabeth Davis

Laura Linney – Lorraine Sullenberger

Verdict:

“Sully” is directed by Clint Eastwood and is the true story about the plane crash that

occurred in the Hudson in 2009 and the trial that was put on Captain Chesley “Sully”

Sullenberger. Tom Hanks portrays Sully and he was great as the dialogue he gives really

makes the movie work. Aaron Eckhart is also in this film, and he plays his co-pilot Jeff

Skiles and Eckhart did a good job as well. The plane crash sequence in this film was

astounding and the rescue that took place was even more incredible. You feel for these

people in their situation because they are unsure of survival. Like I said, the dialogue is

what makes this movie. When Sully is getting hammered by the NTSB, his response is

heartfelt and emotional because this guy is being praised a hero by many and on the other

side is being questioned for his actions, and Hanks delivers on his performance. Laura

Linney plays Sully’s wife and she didn’t have much to do except for keeping her husband’s

spirit up. The issue I have with the film is that it spreads the plane crash throughout,

which started to bug me, but nonetheless the movie stayed afloat. “Sully” is a captivating

real life drama with great performances from its two leads as well as a real sense of

heroism and bravery.

Grade: B+

Blair Witch(2016)

Director: Adam Wingard

Cast:

James Allen McCune – James

Callie Hernandez – Lisa

Corbin Reid – Ashley

Brandon Scott – Peter

Wes Robinson – Lane

Valorie Curry – Talia

Verdict:

“Blair Witch” is directed by Adam Wingard and is the true sequel to “The Blair Witch

Project.” In this film a group of friends go out to search for Heather, the sister of James. In

doing so, he and his friends bring along another pair of teens who claimed to have found

the footage of Heather and her friends, so they go to the spot and begin to experience

paranormal events. I for one, was not a fan of the original film, so I was skeptical upon

viewing of this film. Boy was I surprised, as this is the most effective found-footage film

I’ve seen since “Paranormal Activity 3.” This movie actually made me respect the original.

Adam Wingard continues to impress as a director and this film is no different. The

performances given in the film were extremely authentic. The only issue I have is what all

found-footage movies have, too many jump scares. Other than that, this movie is perfect.

The pacing of the film is spot on and even though the scares don’t elevate until the last

act, the movie continues to be intriguing. As I said, the last act is where it picks up, so

that’s where I would like to elaborate on. For one, they actually reveal the creature which

excited me, because that’s what irritated me about the original film. Another thing was

they integrated parts of that PS4 game “P.T.” which made for effective tension and

suspense. Lastly, when this movie ended, I wanted to know more, which is exactly why I

think this film is hiding its true self within “Blair Witch” but its all speculation. I would

love for you guys to comment on this review after you’ve seen the film to give me your

thoughts and theories about what you see. “Blair Witch” is an effective thriller that makes

good use of found-footage while surpassing as well as elevating the original.

Grade: A-