Lucky Seven: Review of The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven

Director: Antoine Fuqua

By Alex Watson

The odds were stacked against Antoine Fuqua almost from day one when he announced his remake of The Magnificent Seven. Though there are sporadic moments of entertainment, this remake fails to even touch upon the cool or classy nature of either of the two originals. At points, Fuqua does manage to conjure a gold ol' western gunfire in the vein of Sam Peckinpah, but this remake runs out shells pretty fast.

The town of Rose Creek has been constantly bullied and robbed by rich businessman Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). After the death of her husband (Matt Bomer), widow Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) convinces bounty Sam Chisholm (Denzel Washington) to help defend their town. Faced with a monumentally difficult task, Chisholm seeks out Civil War hero Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D'onofrio) and drunken gunslinger Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt) alongside three more killers to keep the villains at bay.

While it has a slick delivery and an impressive cast, The Magnificent Seven is not a movie that will break any real boundaries. It is a fun experience, but there is little in the way of gritty or memorable in this desert. Starting with a gutsy entrance by Bogue who corners the village's population in a church and then burns the building to the ground, we at least get a nasty villain for the seven to play off against. Peter Sarsgaard is wonderfully nasty at this part but never gets to fully expose this evil at its fullest. Fuqua seems in a hurry to get the gang together and we never really get to learn anything of our heroes. Goodnight Robicheaux gets the deepest backstory as a Civil War sharpshooter nicknamed 'The Angel of Death' for his 23 kills. Suffering from PTSD, Robicheaux is a man who has become a toothless bear in the heat of battle.

The Seven each have their merits, Chisholm is a man looking for justice for something close to home, Faraday is cheeky chappie with a penchant for magic tricks, Horne is a gentle yet brutal tracker that looks like Santa Claus went rural. Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee) are just good at killing stuff. There are the obligatory montage sequences as the men train the town to defend itself while picking off the corrupt lawmen that have allowed Bogue to run riot. Being denied a chance to really know or understand these characters leaves a flat aftertaste and they seem like seven guys are just doing this deed because they have nothing better to do. While both John Sturges and Akira Kurosawa dedicated more time to allow their audience to know their heroes, this remake feels worst off without it.

When the big showdown hits, Fuqua does raise the film's thrill levels and as the body count stacks up. Sadly we have no heroes we are really rooting for and our interest in who lives or dies is long gone by this stage. Wanting to reenact grizzly finales like The Wild Bunch, Fuqua is left with a more family friend scenario and what could have been a gutsy display of iron will is just dull and uninteresting. Missing the presence of men like Yul Brenner and Steve McQueen, this seven bonds well together on screen but we never sense there is much comradery among them. Fuqua did a good job resurrecting The Equalizer with Washington, but lightning fails to strike twice.

Denzel Washington is cool as Sam Chisholm but his character depth is barely a foot deep. We know he has his own motives for going after Bogue, but we never really feel the heat or anger coming off them. A frequent collaborator with Fuqua, this movie will not go down as one of his more memorable efforts. Chris Pratt is also stranded in what is essentially a one-note role as Josh Faraday. Given little to do other than giving the same kind of lovable guy persona we've seen in all his recent movies, Pratt feels wasted in what could have been a good redoing of Steve McQueen's Vin. Ethan Hawke has some fine moments as Goodnight and is perhaps the one character that truly stands out, mainly because we actually know more about him.

The Magnificent Seven is another Hollywood classic given an inferior remake, all film fans can do is wonder what this could have been in better hands. Seven Samurai fans beware of future remake attempts.

Great Movie Coaches

Gordon Bombay (Emilo Estevez- The Mighty Ducks)

A former peewee hockey prodigy turned big time drunken lawyer, coach Bombay was possible the only man in Minnesota who could relate to his misfit team. Sporting not only a fierce desire to turn this team around, coach Bombay also made sure everyone was having fun doing so! Only a coach like Gordon could have made naming his team after a Duck seem cool!

Lou Brown (James Gammon- Major League)

A grouchy old timer of the minor leagues, Lou Brown was brought to the Cleveland Indians to ensure they finished last. But instead he completely failed and instead united his horrifically mismatched team. His lack of favour towards the fancy side of the game, which includes pissing on players contracts. Brown is very much the old fashion, no gimmicks coach, but his rigid style sets the Indians on a hot streak.

Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell- Miracle)

Based on the real life coach of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team, Kurt Russell brought to life on of hockey's great figures. Brooks is a man who wants the best out of his team and will drill them hard no matter what the cost. Just watching him repeatedly making his team skate up and down the ice as punishment for blowing an easy game pushes this point home! But his coaching style will come in handy in their crunch game against the USSR.

Norman Dale (Gene Hackman- Hoosiers)

A passionate but controversial coach, Norman Dale as coach of Hickory Basketball is a man on his last chance. His confrontational style sees him ejected from more than one game and tests the town's patience. But he is also deeply committed and very humane, his giving a chance to town drunk Shooter (Dennis Hooper) demonstrates he belief in redemption! He may have blown his big shot, but this one is one chance he will not miss.

Herman Boone (Denzel Washington-Remember The Titans)

As a coach not only dealing with a town with heavy tension, but also a team divided by race. Herman Boone has his work cut out for him. But against all odds, he finds a rhythm in which to connect with his team and they learn that by working together, great things happen. However, his team are not the only worry he has as T.C Williams High School old boys seems more interested in the team failing!

Why Hollywood Needs More Train Disaster Movies

Who doesn't enjoy a couple of hours of big and silly action? Well some people probably... but the rest of us who sometimes like to disengage our brain and enjoy are always right at home with a train disaster film. What makes this kind of movie so great is that there is always an against the clock feel that pushes the story along. For those of us who grew up with Thomas the Tank Engine and his group of other talking friends (before CG ruined it!) we are accustomed to things going wrong on the rails.

Sadly this type of film is only seldom seen these days, which is a shame because it makes for a explosive feel as a pair of brave men struggle to keep the old girl on the rails. Here are some examples of what makes this genre so great.

Runaway Train (1985) 

Under the stewardship of Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky, this 1980's effort still ranks as one of the most under-rated and thrilling action movies of the decade. The story revolves around notorious and violent criminal Manny (Jon Voight) escaping jail along with naive accomplice Buck (Eric Roberts). When they board a departing train, all seemed to set succeed only the old engine pops his clogs immediately upon departure- with no way of stopping the train! The impending disaster succeeds in elevating our sympathy for this pair of unlikeable characters and until the bitter end we are sat tensely in our seat.

Unstoppable (2010) 

One of the final movies of the well loved Tony Scott's careers, this movie saw thrills and spills by the bucket load. When a reckless rail employee (Ethan Suplee) lets a 39 car train speed onto the main line, it is left up to veteran engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and newbie conductor Will Coulson (Chris Pine) to chase it down before it heads for disaster! Ridley's brother never always wowed critics, but his movies always provided get actions and this effort was one his fans could be proud of, particularly the closing stages as Engine 1206 speeds off in reverse to prevent lives from  being taken.

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 

While not strictly a train disaster movie, David Lean's classic movie is essential a big countdown clock until the major event. The allies are planning to blow up the bridge that the conflicted British officer Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) has toiled to build. The moments before the explosion hits are still heart stopping to this day as all manner of unseen obstacles seem to get in the way. But the demolition sequence is still a visual wonder and as we see the engine plummet to earth, you still have the urge to cheer loudly! And to think... the production team spent 8 months building it!

Levelling Scores: Review of The Equalizer

The Equalizer

Director: Antoine Fuqua

By Alex Watson

The late 80's TV series The Equalizer provided audiences with a premise that was truly excellent.  Edward Woodward featured as former government ops man Robert McCall who atoned for past sins by helping people solve problems. After years of speculation, this series finally gets a big screen outing from director Antoine Fuqua. With Denzel Washington stepping into McCall's shoes, this promises to be a hard hitting bout! But just how will this sit with die hard fans?

Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is former Government ops who now lives a normal life in Boston at a hardware depot. One night, a young prostitute Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz) who he has befriended is badly beaten by her pimp. In revenge, Robert kills the man and his associates but in doing so he triggers a war with the Russian mob! Soon notorious henchman Teddy (Martin Csokas) is on his tail and Robert is forced to delve back into the life he had hoped to forget!

Although overly long and suffering from some slightly wayward direction from Fuqua, The Equalizer delivers as a solid and often thrilling big screen movie. The action takes its time to kick in as we begin to learn the solitary life that McCall leads. Between work shifts and quietly influencing his overweight friend to become a security guard, his nights see him sitting alone in a diner reading classic literature. But when he sees a grievous crime committed, McCall kicks into a cold and calculating mode and becomes the hero that the movie desires. What draws us to him, is not his desire to see wrongs rewritten, but the calm and measured pace in which he achieves them.

Nothing is particularly new or different about the story, we have seen this type of vigilante with grudge movie a thousand times before. But on pure thrills alone, the movie succeeds admirably and the race against the clock feel serves it well. McCall as a character is one for even the most organized criminal to fear because he is a man with a set of deadly skills that are never ending. Even clever monster Teddy begins to break a minor swear as the bodies of Russian mobsters and bent coppers begin to pile up! Although there is slightly preposterous feel about the later events of the movie, we are willing to overlook this fact and let the story play itself out.

The noted OTT violence in The Equalizer does leave a somewhat nasty taste in the mouth, but you have to give Fuqua credit for the unorthodox ways in which he has people die! One sequence sees Denzel get creative with a corkscrew and another with a power drill. Action sequences in this movie are ones that truly excite us, even if there is an air of ludicrousness about them. Particularly as we view McCall wandering away at a casual pace from a massive gas explosion.

Robert McCall is a character that isn't particularly testing for Denzel Washington, but as always the man himself is very watchable and he firmly puts his own stamp on Fuqua's movie! Playing all the cool intensity you would expect, Washington ably demonstrates his ability to effectively carry blockbusters and to elevate a humdrum story to an acceptable level. In the supporting ranks, Chloe Moretz is underused in the standard hooker with a golden heart role while talented Kiwi actor Martin Csokas is once again stranded in another one note foreign baddie role!

While it not be one of this years most memorable blockbusters, The Equalizer still provides solid thrills for a good nights entertainment! By the end of this, it will make you wish that such a problem solver actually existed in your neighbourhood!

Five TIFF Movies to Get Excited About

From September 4th -14th, the Toronto Film Festival will be upon us in the province of Ontario and I am looking forward to my time volunteering at this prestigious festival no matter capacity that may be! With stars such as Denzel Washington, Julianne Moore, Tom Hardy, Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Cumberbatch paying us a visit it is hard not to get excited. Here are five movies that I will definitely seeking tickets to,

Foxcatcher (Dir: Bennett Miller)

Winner of the Best Director award at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Moneyball director Bennett returns with what could prove to be one of this years most absorbing movies. Based on the real story of Olympic wrestlers John Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his Gold Medalist brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) and their troubled relationship with schizophrenic coach John Du Pont (Steve Carrell). With an excellent cast (including a break out turn from Carrell) and a superb director this promises big things come awards time!

Maps to the Stars (Dir: David Cronenberg)

One of Toronto's most loved names returns with a movie that is currently making waves and has been selected to be one of the festivals closing night films. With a star turn from Julianne Moore as an egocentric actress living on the edge of insanity,  along with Mia Wasikowska and John Cusack protraying a father and daughter with a troubling past- from the rave reviews it received at Cannes, this could well be another feather in Cronenberg's already established modern day cap!

Men, Women and Children (Dir: Jason Reitman)

One of the more low key arrivals the festival, but after its trailer has finally arrived it has firmly grasped our attention. The story is surrounded in mystery, but from its impressive ensemble cast including Emma Thompson, Jennifer Garner, Dennis Haysbert, Ansel Elgort and errm... Adam Sandler! Jason Reitman's movie could be an engaging look at the dark secrets that people we know hold inside and the potential dangers of using the internet! Reitman's track record has been spotless so far and this movie seems certain to continue that tradition!

Wild (Dir: Jean-Marc Vallee)

Dallas Buyers Club director, Jean-Marc Vallee, makes a welcome return to the festival circuit with another hard hitting drama that focuses on addiction and the 1100 Pacific Crest Trail hike of Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon). Montreal native, Vallee has proven able to find heroes the most unlikely of places and with its redemptive theme and what appears to be a career best turn from Witherspoon, this could be one of the underdog bets come awards time!

Mr Turner (Dir: Mike Leigh)

Mike Leigh always to come up trumps when it comes to awards season and he has now succeeded in grabbing the publics attention once more with Mr Turner. Based on the life of celebrated British painter JMW Turner (Timothy Spall), whose eccentric methods helped change the way we view art forever, Leigh seems to have found a story in which construct a compelling and emotionally charged story. With a Best Actor winning turn at Cannes from Timothy Spall, this piece has rightfully earned it's Special Presentation Gala slot at TIFF!