Although I haven’t seen the original The Magnificent Seven for the best part of 20 years, I still retained enough memory of the plot to try comparing it with the 2016 Antoine Fuqua (Southpaw)/Denzel Washington, and from those hazy memories, there didn’t seem to be many large deviations from the plot. Instead of a village being raided by bandits, it’s a small (and kind of unconvincing) western town bullied into submission by Bartholomew Bogue, a mining company owner (played by Peter Sarsgaard) who wants the surrounding land, and the vein of gold under it. After a brutal opening wherein Sarsgaard’s armed goons kill a few of the more rebellious townsfolk, the widow of one takes it upon herself to seek vengeance, and a way to stop Bogue from plundering what remains of the townspeople’s land.
Tag: Western
Movie Review: BONE TOMAHAWK
I don’t recall exactly why I wanted to see Bone Tomahawk – despite seeing some great movies in the genre, I’ve never been a huge fan of Westerns. For me, they work better when the genre is used as a backdrop for less conventional stories (The Hateful Eight and The Revenant are two good examples), so it’s entirely possible that the words “horror” and “cannibals” are what pushed me over. It also has Kurt Russell in it, an actor I always enjoy watching.
Movie Review: THE REVENANT
Just one year after the great (and apparently polarizing) Birdman, Alejandro Inarritu returns to the screen with his new offering, The Revenant, which is selling out theaters thanks to the newly revealed 2016 Oscar nominations. Not that I care any more about these award shows, but the movie is nominated in all of the eligible main categories. Continue reading “Movie Review: THE REVENANT”
Movie Review: THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Saw two movies in my birthday week – The Hateful Eight and The Revenant (review here). First up, on my actual birthday itself is The Hateful Eight, the new movie from Quentin Tarantino.
I’ve noticed over the last few years it’s become a trend to rip on Tarantino and his movies – I’m not exactly sure why, but I suspect it’s more contrarian than anything else. I don’t think I’ve ever claimed to dislike anything just because everyone else liked it, but whatever you gotta do to feel edgy, I suppose.